In 2009, I'll be 59 years old and will have had this dream job for 17 years. When I signed my new contract, I felt that the timing was right to plan for my successor and there is no one more qualified than Conan.Update:
-- Jay Leno, host of NBC's "The Tonight Show"
You know who you are. You stop by the website, checking things out, but you never let me know you're here. You take and take and take. You might say it feels like a vacuum cleaner.
But that's okay. I'm not disappointed in you. Instead, I want to give you an opportunity to get off the Mooch List and reveal yourself. A few ways to do this:
This past week my wife, my daughter, and I have been ill with colds. It just shows that although anyone can take as many precautions as they can to stay well, illness can still be as common as, um, the cold (*grin*).
On Monday we thought our daughter had an onset of chicken pox, but fortunately, it was just a case of bug bites from rolling around in the grass last weekend instead. Still, we had to go to the doctor's office for a check-up. I had to call off work in order to do that.
My wife Jennie has been feeling the worst our of all of us. She's lost her voice these past three days, and she hasn't been to work since Monday night. Tuesday night was her regularly scheduled night off. She had someone else who works part-time work for her on Wednesday and Thursday nights. She would like to call in sick tonight.
I don't claim to understand everything about her company's sick policy. She supposedly has close to 40 hours of sick leave available, but someone in management is saying that she's not allowed to use it.
Since her job is to care for elderly and others who cannot take care of themselves, it does not make sense to require someone who is feeling ill to come to work.
At my job it's different. I'm an hourly part-timer for a fast-food restaurant - one of the largest in the world. I have no vacation or sick leave; if I don't work, I don't get paid. This fact is evident in my most recent paycheck, which is a lot less than what I usually get paid.
I know that sometimes people call in sick when they are not really sick at all. That's why, for example, my employer requires me to bring a doctor's note to show that I was, in fact, sick. It reminds me of school (excused absences and whatnot).
Nevertheless, I would rather not work around someone who is sick; it would be better for that person to stay home and get well.
Remember Aesop's fable about the goose who laid the golden eggs? It feels as though companies that ignore their employees in this way are setting themselves up for failure.
crossposted to Get That Job!
Dave, a fellow blogger from Dayton, talks about his recent, unfortunate encounter with a slug. His story reminds me of the occasion I met a slug. I posted my comments to his blog, but I'll add them here, too:I noticed the slugs outside our home a couple years ago myself.
I had just walked our garbage containers to the curb so that they could be emptied by whomever in the City of Dayton has hired to do it (honestly I can't remember).
After I had done this, I noticed that there was a slug on the handle! I'm glad I'd used a different part of the handle to cart the cans to the curb.
I went inside and returned with the salt shaker. I doused the slug, and it had melted into oblivion by morning.
This past weekend, I saw this on a markerboard at a local recreation center:
Don't count down the days; make the days count.This especially encouraged me because this time of year I tend to get depressed about the summer ending and whatnot.
One day, there was a blind man sitting on the steps of a building with a sign by his feet and a sign that read: "I am blind, please help".Seize the day! Make the days count! Change your strategy when things don't go your way. Have faith that every change will be for the best.
A creative publicist was walking by him and stopped to observe he only had a few coins in his hat. He dropped a few more coins in his hat and, without asking for his
permission, took the sign, turned it around, and wrote another announcement. He placed the sign by the blind man's feet and left.
That afternoon the creative publicist returned to the blind man and noticed that his hat was full of bills and coins. The blind man recognized his footsteps and asked if it was he who had re-written his sign. He wanted to know what he wrote on it?
The publicist responded: "Nothing that was not true. I just rewrote your sign differently". He smiled and went on his way.
The blind man never knew but his new sign read:TODAY IS SPRING AND I CANNOT SEE IT.
At the main branch of the Dayton Metro Library. Things have been rearranged down here since I was here the last time.
The library's internet system doesn't appear to "like" GMail. When I get to the home screen, the login form doesn't display. For it to be viewed, their sysadmins probably need to tweak some kind of setting.
Anyhow, thought I'd drop by for a hello.
Everyone needs encouragement, and this website provides it. Click the link, and, when prompted, type your name.
Now all someone needs to do is have the voice of HAL 9000 (the computer from the movie "2001: A Space Odyssey") say the nice words. That would be a nice upgrade, huh?
Our home PC is behaving badly again. Same old stuff, different day I guess.
Keisha and I are at the library. She's doing homework while I'm doing some job search stuff. Between helping her with that and trying to get a plan for my job hunt, I haven't gotten much done so far.
The lady next to me is trying to get her allotment set up with the armed forces; her husband is in active duty serving right now.
Keisha gets frustrated easily with her math. They've been doing addition and subtraction this session. It seems so easy to me, but I've been doing it for much longer than she has. Jennie and I are striving to encourage her not to give up so easily.
Perseverance is such a big thing for all of us. One great thing about having a daughter is that I'm able to understand God's role as a parent by being one myself. I recognize the very weaknesses in my daughter in myself as well.
For example, yesterday we caught the bus to go to church. We need to transfer to another bus downtown. The busses on Sundays only come around about once per hour, so if we miss one we have to wait.
When the bus arrived downtown, Keisha needed to go to the bathroom, so we went. As we emerged, we saw our connecting bus take off. Jennie and I thought we could catch another bus that would put us in the general area so that we could then make the connection or walk to where church was.
The only problem with that, we found, after arriving at this alternate destination, is that the bus we were expecting doesn't come to where we were on Sundays. Frustrated, we decided to walk.
I had some choice words for our Lord. I also told him that my heart was bad, and that I knew I was wrong. I just needed to vent. All the things related to church, the fellowship, our transportation circumstances, just blew up.
Before long we realized that we were really far from where church was. We could chose to return to the Kettering Meijer or move forward to the Kroger. We opted for the Kroger, so that we could at least use the restroom and get a drink of water. Jennie also knew of a bus route that would take us back into downtown.
By the time that we were done at Kroger, church service was done. We went to the 17 bus stop and waited. It never came. Angry, hot, frustrated, bored (Keisha), we decided to walk one more block to Far Hills (Main St) to catch the 5, 14, or 11. At least we had a 1 in 3 chance of getting picked up.
We finally got home after 2 PM -- we'd been on the road since 7 AM. All this to go to a two-hour service that we never made it to.
Now something appears to be wrong with our telephone. You call us, and it rings only once; no one can leave a message therefore. At least we have the caller ID to let us know who called.
I can see how Jennie and I have withdrawn from our friends at church. They might call, but, like others - mostly creditors - we don't care to return the calls.
Work -- ugh! Maybe I should post this at GTJ.
Therapist and psychiatrist appointments this Wednesday. Lots to talk about, I suppose.
This is brought to you by Blogdrive Insanity.
Let's warm up! Tomorrow, September 9th, is Hot Dog Day. Using the letters W-I-E-N-E-R-S tell us seven things someone would absolutely HAVE to know if they were considering sharing a room with you.
Will not get up when the alarm clock goes off.
I hit the snooze button and return to bed.
Enjoys sleeping with many pillows.
No covers needed on warm nights.
Ends up heading to bed in the wee hours of the morning.
Room tends to be cluttered, despite his own desire for neatness and order.
Snoring - I don't think so, but I'd like to know if you do.
This week, some "getting to know you" fun with a few crazy twists.
Ten years ago, I had graduated from college and was eagerly searching for gainful employment. I would tell myself that it would be okay to stay in Cincinnati instead of moving to Dayton. I would especially tell myself how important continual improvement is, especially professionally.
I've never been asked this question before. I would name it Dan's Domain. A large inflatable figure of myself would be the mascot. Doesn't that sound conceited?
In college there were a couple of times I stayed awake all night and went walking. The first time I walked from my apartment near the University of Cincinnati downtown into Kentucky and back. Another time, I spent the night walking around the campus on a long prayer walk. At either time I could have been mugged or worse. I think the latter time I woke up in the football stadium.
For comfort I usually head to bed. I like chocolate milk. I know I'd need to pray to God.
Coincidentally, as I type this, my daughter is watching "Alice in Wonderland" on TV. I'm not sure if I would take any pill; however, if this is along the lines of "The Matrix" (red pill or blue pill), I suppose I would still take the one that leads to more adventure.
Every day I walk to and from work, with all the trash people discard by the street side, I wonder if we should do the same as the Taiwanese.
This reminds me of some advice I heard from Steve Martin years ago:
Always carry a litterbag with you in your car. That way, when it gets full, you can just toss it out the window.
Rob's Amazing Poem Generator produced this poem, based on this blog:Journey Inside My ! life, Bene Diction
Blogs On
Scab Picking So incredible ! ! ! !
You would do work I cannot
control/I can control I am so much
more
on his roommate Matt H. yesterday
morning, to tease him and the place Let
me Myself, am so sorry, the Official Mom
Happy
birthday!card,
write so much time The voice
of the earth will be crossposted
to you, need to work? at
the bathroom,
and soda, which help create rounded corners depend
on the trimmings. The Israelites did that
I would ask The
weekend and so we switched from it */ I told her
eye thus
saith Dan Johnson, Jr. Jazzmania
Productions, Ltd. Keeping the Past Week
I was in place.
Yet we have this assurance:The phone message stated that our brother in Christ, Rob M., was found by his roommate Matt H. yesterday morning, dead in his bedroom.
Those who belong to God will live;
their bodies will rise again!
Those who sleep in the earth
will rise up and sing for joy!
For God's light of life will fall like dew
on his people in the place of the dead!
-- Isaiah 26:19, NLT
"Sometimes I wonder what it's likeI talked to Keisha about this a little bit tonight. She doesn't remember who he is by name, but I know she will remember when she sees a picture of him. We read some passages in the Bible about death and dying, such as Deuteronomy 34:1-8 (Moses) and Isaiah 26:19 (quoted at the beginning of this post). Keisha's experiences with death have been very few. She's been to a couple funerals with us, but no one close to her has died yet.
To be living life on the other side"
-- Michael W. Smith, "Worth It All"
I would like to write so much more about what's been going on in my life, but I've been online for much longer than I need to be, and my daughter is getting hungry - she's been eyeing our dog somewhat ravenously. Well, not exactly.
WORKPLACE DRAMA
So much drama at work last week. Ever since the high school kids went back to school, we've been understaffed and overworked. Last Monday one of our crew trainers walked out just before we switched from the breakfast menu to the regular menu. Friday morning one of our managers quit. We've had the owner and another store manager at the place last Thursday and Friday. A week ago we lost another manager.
I half-joked to my coworkers, "What if all of us went out and got new jobs over the weekend and called in here Monday morning to say we weren't coming in?" It was a frustrating week indeed. I have a low feeling of dread about going back in tomorrow morning.
LIBRARY ADVENTURE
Yesterday Keisha and I hopped the bus to the library. We needed change to catch the bus back home, so we began walking. We stopped off at the McDs on North Main so that Keisha could use the bathroom, and we walked further to the Speedway at North Main and Shoup Mill to get a candy bar and soda, which we split.
As we were paying for our stuff, I saw our bus drive by.
[KEISHA IS HERE AND SHE WANTS TO TYPE SOMETHING. GO AHEAD, GIRL!]sjklbyuhjabcdertgy[GOOD. NOW BACK TO REGULAR POST.]
We wound up walking the 2 miles from the Northtown-Shiloh branch of the library to our home, and Keisha didn't even complain of having sore feet! In fact, I was the one with the sore feet. Jennie had made dinner, and we watched "Barbie in Swan Lake."
CHURCH AT THE PARK
This morning we all caught the bus downtown and transferred to the 11, which took us northward to Eastwood MetroPark, where we had church today. It was a communion/pot luck event. I'm glad that our minister and his wife stopped on their way in and gave us a ride to our picnic site.
FINAL, JOB SEARCH THOUGHTS
Jennie and I need to set goals about our individual job searches. They will include applying to places in Cincinnati, where we'll be moving next spring.
A man is dining in a fancy restaurant and there is a gorgeous redhead sitting at the next table. He has been checking her out since he sat down, but lacks the nerve to start a conversation.
Suddenly she sneezes, and her glass eye comes flying out of its socket towards the man. He reflexively reaches out, grabs it out of the air, and hands it back.
"Oh my, I am so sorry," the woman says as she pops her eye back in place. "Let me buy your dinner to make it up to you," she says.
They enjoy a wonderful dinner together, and afterwards they go to the theater followed by drinks. They talk, they laugh, she shares her deepest dreams and he shares his. She listens.
After paying for everything, she asks him if he would like to come to her place for a nightcap ......... and stay for breakfast.
They have a wonderful, wonderful time.
The next morning, she cooks a gourmet meal with all the trimmings.
The guy is amazed!! Everything has been SO incredible ! ! ! !
"You know," he said, "you are the perfect woman. Are you this nice to every guy you meet?"
"No," she replies........."
"You just happened to catch my eye."
Happy Birthday to my Mom, the Official Mom of 'Journey Inside My Mind'! If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be!
crossposted to Me, Myself, and I
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License
by Daniel Johnson, Jr. & Jazzmania Productions
Keeping the 'fun' in dysfunctional
Everything written here is my personal opinion and not that of any employer, past or present.
