Cracking the Human Resources Code

"COMPETITIVE SALARY"
Most of our competitors don't pay much either.

"JOIN OUR FAST-PACED COMPANY"
We have no time to train you.

"CASUAL WORK ATMOSPHERE"
You'll be here very late, very often -- might as well be comfortable.

"MUST BE DEADLINE-ORIENTED"
Your first four projects are already way overdue.

"SOME OVERTIME REQUIRED"
Did we mention that you'll be here very late, very often? And most weekends.

"DUTIES WILL VARY"
Anyone in the office can boss you around.

"MUST HAVE AN EYE FOR DETAIL"
We have no quality control.

"CAREER-MINDED"
Female applicants must be childless.

"APPLY IN PERSON"
If you're old, fat or ugly, that position has already been filled.

"NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE"
This job listing is just a legal formality. The position was filled by some executive's nephew.

"SEEKING CANDIDATES WITH A WIDE VARIETY OF EXPERIENCE"
Due to consolidation, you'll be replacing three people.

"PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS A MUST"
This company is a total mess.

"REQUIRES TEAM LEADERSHIP SKILLS"
You'll have all the responsibilities of upper management, without the pay, title or respect.

"GOOD COMMUNICATION SKILLS"
Listen to management, figure out what they want, don't ask too many questions and get the sh*t done.

That's my boy!/Good people/house plans/Mattoon soccer

Cassidy had a county track meet last weekend and placed 6 in all of his events. (That gets him 3 ribbons!) In the hurdles, he made it to the final heat and it was obvious to me (his mother) that he came in 6th. When they placed him, they put him dead last. Dana and Cassidy's coach both loudly announced "That's not right!" Cassidy proceeds over to the scorers table at the end of the line. I then see him approach one of the officials. He has his stick with "8" written on it and I see him shaking it at the official and talking to her. He goes back to the end of the line, checks in and comes back to the fence to exit the track. He was really upset because he knew he wasn't last. We told him it was OK that there was nothing we could do. Then the official that he was talking to came running over and said they had him correct. I asked "What place?" and she held up 6 fingers. I don't know if his bringing it to their attention had anything to do with it, but that's my boy!

There are still some good people in the world. At the end of the 7th grade girls 1600 m, one of the Hoopeston girls actually got lapped by a girl from Oakwood. After she finished, she waited for the Hoopeston girl and she ran along beside her for about 100 m and encouraged her. That Oakwood mom must be very proud of her little girl.

Dana and I have been planning an addition to our house for about 5 years. Remember, we only have one bathroom and it's getting to be more and more of a challenge. One of these days we'll actually be able to afford it. Anyway, we've changed our minds a hundred different times. Dana came up with a new idea this weekend and was sketching it out on paper. Katie saw this and started making her own sketches. She was showing me her design which included a "relaxing room." She said it was a place you could go to relax and not be bothered. OMG! She's a genius!!!! What a brilliant idea! I told her if we could find a spot for it, we would have one. And the rule would be that if you were in the relaxing room, no one could bother you for any reason whatsoever!

We had 2 soccer games in Mattoon Sunday afternoon. Although it was extremely windy, it was a beautiful day. We won our first game and then played Mattoon about 30 minutes later. That sucks because we had just finished and Mattoon was fresh. Additionally, we only had 1 sub, and they had 4 or 5. Before the half it started getting ugly with parents yelling. I hate it when the adults can't act like adults. On 2 different occasions, we had 2 players down and hurt. Most teams "take a knee." I don't recall any of the Mattoon players doing this. Every other team we have EVER played has ALWAYS done this. Apparently the players and parents were also laughing at our players because they were hurt. The reffing was horrible and we ended up getting beat by one goal. The team was very upset. We play them again in 2 weeks in Hoopeston. Let's hope we can pull off a win!!

I'm out of time, and this is too long to proofread. Please forgive any typos!

Today is Earth Day!

I sincerely hope that you are planning to do something positive for our planet today. At work, employees were asked to wear green in support of earth day. As a reward, we were allowed to wear jeans. I'm happy that most of us are wearing green today (along with the company sponsored green "Mardi Gras" beads. . . that were made in China) but I question whether or not any of us will be doing anything differently today, or any other day.

As I've probably mentioned, we have replaced nearly every lightbulb in our house with CFL bulbs. Yes, they do take a little while to warm up, but only a few seconds. Their light is just a bright as a standard bulb.

We've planted a garden, and a pretty large one at that. Dana wanted to start from seed this year, so we've ordered A LOT of organic seed. We saved egg cartons this winter to use them to start the plants. Dana ingeniously made little greenhouses out of them. It worked really well and you can see some decent sized tomato plants in this picture.

We also plan to purchase some chickens. Katie is REALLY excited about this and wanted to name them. I told her we could not name them because we were going to eat them. I don't want her to think of them as pets. Dana is working on a chicken coop. And guess what? He's doing this with re-claimed wood, right from our barn! There's a ton of good wood out there, no need to buy more. He took part of the old manger and will use that as a roost. I'll try to get a picture of that to post. He's also planning to use some of this wood to make a coffee table and an outdoor table.
I felt guilty the other day because I didn't get a chance to pack my lunch for work. I drove to Burger King and sat in the drive through while my car ran the entire time. I suppose at the very least I should stop using the drive through!

We're also planning to set up rain barrells and collect the rain from the tool shed roof. Also in the barn are some huge, old field tiles that Dana is going to fashion into rain barrells. He's so smart. . . that's why I married him. I only wish this project was done since we've been having so much rain lately.

We've also been watching "Living with Ed" on planet green. That's an entertaining show. But Ed said something one day that really struck me. He commented that it's not a pass/fail in going green. And he's right. Even if you're only doing one thing (I'd like to see you do more) at least you're doing something! I told Dana last night that we may not be able to change the world, but at least we're making an effort. We're doing our best to be part of the solution, and not part of the problem. I'm hoping that by me writing this blog, I'll inspire just one of you to make an effort to reduce your carbon footprint.

And finally, you may have noticed that I'm following a new blog - True North. I stumbled on this last week from an article that I was reading on my phone. You might want to check them out. There's a link to the article in their April 16 post.

Tell me, what are you doing today to protect the earth?

What did I ever do to you?

Everyone at work is very nice, but there's this one lady that for some inexplicable reason, doesn't seem to like me. Now I'm not saying that I'm such a perfect person that everyone must like me (I'm not that delusional) but some common courtesy is expected.

A few months ago, this person had a problem (with insurance, I think) and went to the other HR Administrator for help. (Our Benefits Administrator was on vacation.) She should have come to me because I handle the Salary workforce. But she didn't. FINE! I don't mind, really. One less thing for me to worry about. My boss happened to come in and noticed this person in the other Admin's office. She said "Why is she over there?" I laughed and said "I don't know. I don't think she likes me."

I don't necessarily go out of my way to talk to her, but when I see her in the hall or run into her in the bathroom, I'll say hello, just like I do with everyone else. I see her today in the bathroom. I smile and say "Hello." Nothing. I get nothing from her. She looked right at me, continued to dry her hands and that was that.

I don't know what I ever did to her, but she doesn't like me.

A Day with Cassidy

Cassidy received a GAP gift card from Aunt Angie for his birthday. I'm glad it was a gift card and not $$ because all he ever wants to buy are video games. So this forced him to buy some clothes. We're very busy with soccer and track, but had this weekend free, so I thought we'd go spend his money. It worked out quite nicely because Katie was invited to a friends house for the day. Otherwise she would have been hounding me all day to buy her something. And the two of them would have been fighting all day!!

We dropped Katie off at her friend's house before leaving town and headed to Mahomet where Dana was working for the day. We had lunch with him and didn't actually make it to Champaign until 1:30 or 2:00. I don't like a late start to shopping.

I was on the hunt for a black skirt and a pair of jeans. Luckily, I found them both at Bergner's without much problem. That's unusual for me. Of course, I can't walk through Bergner's without going to the shoe department. I found a pair I liked, but they weren't appropriate for work, and I hate to spend $$ on shoes that I can't wear that often. I eventually tried them on and was really disappointed in how they looked on me. So I didn't buy them. But I did find a cute little Liz Claiborne wristlet that was on sale and ended up only costing me $11. It was originally marked $20. I LOVE to find bargains like that!!! It almost makes you wonder why we ever buy anything at full price.

On the way over, I asked Cassidy how his shoes were doing. He said they still fit OK, but when he showed me the sole, it was obvious that he needed a new pair. I told him we'd also look for some shoes for him today. He said he wanted some Converse. I thought that was a little strange, but asked if he wanted some Chuck Taylor's. He didn't know what those were, but ultimately that is what he wanted, he just didn't know it.

He knew exactly where to go to find them, so off we went to Journeys. They had a whole bunch of Chuck's and he finally settled on a two tone gray pair. (In this pic you can also see the hideous shoes I bought him when school started.) Once we had those taken care of, it was off to GAP to try and find him a pair of jeans.

Now my Mom will tell you how difficult this task has been. Cassidy is about 5'7" and only weighs about 100 pounds. I decided to start in the men's section because I didn't really think we would have any luck in the boys. We started with a 28x30 and they fit!!! You can't imagine how happy the two of us were. They could probably stand to be a little longer, but I know a 32 would be way too long. And they don't have 28s any longer in the store; I would have to buy them on-line. He picked out a shirt (also gray. . . to match the shoes???) and had spent all his money, and then some. He was concerned about paying me back (what a good kid) but I assured him that wasn't necessary.

All in all, I had a nice little bonding day with my son, shopping, of all things. He and I don't get much time just the two of us anymore and it was really nice.

Oh, yeah. He also ran in his first Track meet on Thursday. Came in 2nd in the hurdles!! I was so sorry to have missed it. He's also running in the 4x100 relay and the 800m. The relay, well, it didn't go so well. They were dead last. They had to substitute one of the runners, switched around their normal positions and one of them dropped the baton. He usually runs the 2nd leg, but ended up running the anchor and he really gave it his all. I was glad to see that he didn't just give up knowing they were going to get beat. He came in 6th in the 800. Dana laughed and told him he ran a good 600. He got passed by 2 runners the last 200 meters. But for his first meet ever, I thought he did a great job!

And Katie is tuckered out!

Oh, yeah, one more thing. I'm also proud to say that Cassidy and I made 6 purchases today, and did not bring home one plastic bag. I took a shopping bag with us and stuffed everything in there, or the ginormous purse that Mom bought me for my birthday. Remember, Earth Day is April 22.

I'm starting to enjoy Facebook!

At first I didn't really get it, but now I'm starting to have some fun with it. And I am getting more technically savvy. I took a picture of myself with my phone today, e-mailed it to myself, then uploaded it to facebook. I'm so talented! ;-) I know, that's really not so talented, but I am impressed with the quality of the picture from my little ol' phone. And that I figured out how to do it.

I refuse to grow up. I refuse to grow up.

What's on your ipod?

When I came in to work the other day, I was listening to my ipod. It's just a shuffle (I'd love to have a touch) but I'm amazed at how much music this little device can hold. I get so tired of the nonsense on the radio, that I often listen to my ipod on the way to work. Anyway, I was still listening when I came in. I ran into a friend and he asked what I was listening to. It was Ciara's "Oh". I held up one of the ear buds so he could hear. He was shocked and said he didn't think I listened to that kind of music. So it got me thinking about the eclectic mix. Here's a little taste of what I'm listening to right now. Some of it may surprise you. . . . or not.

Vivaldi - The Four Seasons

Jay-Z - Show me what you got

The Police - Every Breath you take

50 cent - In da club

Music from Batman Returns

My Chemical Romance - Teenagers

The Grateful Dead - Cassidy and Katie Mae, of course

Mozart - The Marriage of Figaro

Music from Darkon (google it)

Chris Isaak - Wicked Game

The Veronicas - Untouched

But no LOTR. I just haven't yet taken the time to load it from CD. What I think is really funny is that The Four Seasons is sandwiched in between Jay -Z and House of Pain's Jump Around.

So many thoughts, so little time

Rainy Soccer

Cassidy is on the traveling soccer team this Spring. Not the greatest time for soccer because we tend to get rained out. . . a lot. Anyway, they were originally scheduled for 2 games last Saturday, which was a beautiful day. One was moved to Sunday, which was a nasty rainy day. The game was at 3:00 and didn't start out too badly. It was a little rainy and windy and let up just before then end of the first half. When the second half started, it picked back up again. Dana decided to move the car to the other end of the field so that we could get out of the rain. By the time we got in the car, it was a good solid rain, and before the game ended, it was pouring. The refs even stopped the game and asked the captain of the other team if they wanted to continue. (We were beating them 5-0.) They decided to continue. Those poor kids couldn't have gotten any wetter!!!!Can you see the drops of water on the end of his hair?

Glamour or Seventeen?

I renewed my subscription to Glamour magazine. Not sure why. It has some interesting articles, and it helps make me still feel young. But how young? The first thing I always do when I get a new issue it go to the back where they have their Fashion Do's and Don'ts. So this month, that's exactly what I did. Then I put it down to start working on dinner. A little while later, Katie walks in with it, very interested on an article. Oh, god, what could she be reading. There are certainly things in Glamour that I wouldn't want her to read. But it was OK! It was just an article on Miley Cyrus. PHEW! Wait. . . what. . . Miley Cyrus on the cover of Glamour with a feature story??!! Don't you think she would be more appropriately gracing the cover of Seventeen? Oh, wait, the cover reads "Miley: America's Most Famous Girl Grows Up" I hate to break it you Miles, but you're not "grown up" when you're only 16. I don't care if you are dating a 20 year-old man! UGH! She is a sweet, (I guess, but how would I know) pretty girl, but come on!

Facebook it or Blog it

I was going to post something on here, but decided not to because my mom and mother-in-law both read this. MOM! Don't freak out, it's not that bad, just something that doesn't necessarily need to be shared with you. So I thought I would post it on my facebook page. No, can't do that either. My minister (even though I rarely go to church anymore) is a friend. So, I guess I'll just have to keep this little nugget to myself.

Twilight Movie Round 2

I've been wanting to give Twilight another chance, so I watched it again Friday night. Perhaps my first critique was a little rash. I still feel it was a condensed version of the condensed version of the book, but it was an OK movie. I actually enjoyed it a little the second time around.

I think what I enjoyed was that I knew more about the characters. You don't get to know all of Edward's family until the subsequent books. So the eccentricities of each of them don't make much sense in the movie. But for me, it was comical to see Jasper looking nervous all the time and knowing why.

So, if you have 2 1/2 hours to kill on a Saturday night, I suppose I would recommend it. But, on the same token, if you have 2 1/2 hours to kill on a Saturday night, start reading the book. I really think you'll enjoy it.