Adding the Hatchling

Facing Up To Facebook

I'll admit it.

I like to think I know when I've got an addiction - and I think I've found one.

Thanks to everyone - especially my loving husband- but also to all my friends, co-workers, etc. that have convinced me that it is a good idea to go onto this thing called Facebook.

I am now a Villain, a Dwarven warrior, a magician in a school of magic. I save rainforests 1 square foot at a time. I send fish to all of my friends. I become a fan of things I never even realized I could be a fan of! I can Kidnap people to my secret hideout. I can chase a rainbow. I can read the writing on the wall and write on someone else's.

Above all and much more importantly, I can keep up with friends that I haven't spoken to in years. I found out that schoolmates are now married with children. Some friends are even living in the same city I am! I can catch up with family that I wouldn't necessarily get to see otherwise.

And I don't have to feel like I have to update it every couple of days (like some other Spaces...)

OK, so now I have to think about what I want people to know what I'm doing. It can be pure fun or something completely mundane.

But regardless, I'm addicted.

I've got to check in and see what everyone is doing. And I can't forget to do my part in saving the environment. Plus, I want to see exactly how many fish and little plant creatures I can collect!

So off I go... I think I'll see about defeating my first Hero in my Villianous career!

In which I am tightly surrounded and cannot sleep...

It's late.

Well, if I had been working a closing shift at the store, it would be early - but that's not the case.

As a rule, when I sleep, I need to be covered up. Be it by sheet alone or accompanying blankets. It's winter, so the blankets accompany. I like to be warm, but not too hot. Chilly evenings bundled up are the best!

As a rule, Morning Star will jump up and join me - always closest to the side of the bed, because the dog gets the middle. He will stay next to me for no more than 30 minutes or someone moves and disturbs him. Usually the latter.

As a rule, I sleep with earplugs due to various city noises outside the window, the dog noisily snacking on the chewtoy du jour and various other night noises mixed in with the gentle snorings and teeth grindings of the loving husband slumbering beside me.

Finally, as a rule, I forget my earplugs and always need to get out of bed to procure them.

All of these, as a rule.

Rules are made to be broken.

Of course, the rule that wasn't broken was the last one. I forgot the earplugs. I can be sooooo reliable.

I got into bed and was finishing up my book, Skulduggery Pleasant - an excellent book by the way. It's meant for older kids, but is a fantastic read for all ages.
Morning Star, of course joined me and settled along my legs as a fine example of a personal heater. I finished up and turned off my light to get some sleep as I need to be at work early in the morning. Shortly after, my husband did the same. Jack, our Cava-Tzu, did the settled some minutes later.

Normally, Morning Star will move as soon as someone moves around or the dog starts scratching out a nest in the blankets.

Not so tonight.

He stayed fast and wasn't about to move for anything. And is he a little heater!

I never move this cat from the bed when he joins me. He is usually so picky about how much movement there is that he will move in his own time. I can usually wait to get my earplugs until he has vacated his position.

Unfortunately, tonight I drifted in and out of sleep for an hour or so while his little fire burned against the length of my legs.

In addition, Jack curled up right against the crook of my knees. And you well know that when you are under the covers, anything that is on top of the covers basically pins you down.

Feelings of being trapped, anyone?

And a furnace on either side...

Luckily, the rest of the night noises were at a minimum tonight - including the gentle snoring beside me.

Kitty finally moved and I was freed from my confinement. Having been roasting nicely, I needed a drink - so here I am. OJ beside me and merrily typing away.

As ordeals go, this wasn't a horrible one. I am still awake, though. There is the fresh excitement of discovering something new - I am now on Facebook and am becoming thoroughly addicted to it with special thanks to my husband and Betty!

I think I am about ready to expose this blog to the world.

Watch out Facebook - here I come!

Whose Rule is it Anyway?

I learned a new grammatical rule the other day and it interested me so much, I figured I would share!

I have never been able to use "whom" correctly. I have a friend, though, who is an editor for a local publication and she revealed to me the great SECRET. The secret is this:
(Looking around furtively to ensure no one else is listening)
The secret is: if you ask the question about a man, how would it be answered? If the answer is "he" then the correct word to use is "who". If the correct answer is "him" then use "whom". Finally, (and I figured this part out all on my own) if the answer is "his", use "whose".
The end letter of h(e), hi(m) and hi(s) determines the ending of wh(o){the vowel}, who(m) and who(se) respectively.

So, [who] does the cat belong to? Him? It should be "Whom does the cat belong to?"

[Who] is going to the park? He is? And this one is correct!

[Who] rule is it anyway? His?

WHOSE rule is it anyway?

Thus ends the English lesson for the day!

I was so very excited about learning this that I HAD to share!

The Ethics of Ethic

It's been an interesting and long weekend. Rather enjoyable, too. Though I had to work Saturday, I did get Sunday off to spend with my honey. I also got to finish a nice set of gloves - and none too soon!



Very quickly, they are a set of fingerless gloves with a mitten top that flips over to cover the fingers. I don't know what they are formally called, but I love them! I finished knitting them just in time, because it is supposed to snow today! The first real snow of the season...



But on to ethics:



I guess, as I get older, I am starting to feel more and more like my parents. It's true. They raised me well on our little farm in central PA. I was brought up to finish a job when I start it, not be afraid to try new things, always use my manners, and act professionally when called for.



Do people still raise their children this way???



I know many of my generation try to mimic their parents, but there is a new generation of parents out there now. When did they stop caring if their children act like idiots in public?



My gripe comes from going back to work on Monday after my nice Sunday off... *sigh*



On returning to work Monday morning I discovered that half the Sunday staff called out or resigned. Not the best of things to walk into, but a curiosity none the less. The couple of people that called out are understandable. They never do and we've had some pretty drastic weather changes - I've got the sniffles, but some have got worse.



On the other hand, the two that resigned were brand-new. One only worked 2 shifts, the other hadn't even worked one yet!



My thought is that if you are looking for a part-time job, you need the extra money. You already have an idea of what you need to get and how to get it. You also, usually, have an idea of how much extra work you can handle. If not, you start out slowly and pick up extra hours as you get used to the extra work load. It is also a good idea to see if your primary job will allow for a part-time position elsewhere. Finally, if you are looking at several options for the part-time job, let an interviewer know. I'd like to be prepared if someone is holding out for a different position and my offer is secondary to them.



Am I wrong on any of this?



One of these guys, the one that had worked for a couple of shifts, was actually working out for us. He seemed to be very professional, displayed good customer service and was an all-around nice guy. Then he decides to just not show up for his shift on Saturday.



OK. One freebie. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt for the first time, but don't let it happen again. You might not have read the schedule correctly. Time got past you and you might be on your way - late, but coming to work. You are waiting on the bus or train and their is a massive delay - that's a popular one in DC. But there is no real excuse for not showing up and not calling!



When I called him three hours later, I got the excuse that he was across town and wouldn't be able to make it in. I should have known better at the time, but the first time benefit of the doubt thing kicked in. I can be too nice.



Fine, we'll get through, but so you know - you work tomorrow and next Saturday at such-and-such times. Which he was not planning on showing up for. Luckily, there was a call on Sunday to let us know he was quitting.

Now the other one that quit...

This one went through the interview process and passed. He seemed to be like a good guy and very personable. He even came in to fill out his final paperwork and get into payroll so we could get him started. We scheduled him for his first training shift and Boom! He gave us a call on that day - Sunday - to let us know he wouldn't be able to join us, because he got a better offer someplace else.

I don't know about you, but if I'm interviewing for a job and I've got several interviews, I let the people I'm talking with know that there is competition out there. I feel it is a sign of respect for them to make them aware that if their offer is good enough, I will choose them if I get the opportunity. I also let them know in case I choose to go with a different offer.

We had no knowledge of any other offer he might have had! Big surprise for us!

Why is it? Do these people don't believe in respect any more? Have they no ethics when it comes to joining with a company? When they do get the job, could they show us the respect of actually working for the money they are getting paid?

That's another one of my irks! If you are getting paid to do a job, why not actually work for it?

One of our other lovely employees is avoiding just that... There are some people out there that will do only the bare minimum to get a job done... believe it or not! I just can't imagine going to my job and just hanging out or not caring if the job gets done or is done properly. I'm getting paid, so I'm going to earn it - no matter how little I'm getting for it.

So this poor guy is wondering why his hours are getting cut. We ask him to do the simplest thing and it turns into the hardest task in the world. Everything needs to be spelled out to the letter. Cleaning, sweeping, mopping, putting a stack of books away. You name it and we'll have to tell him every step of how to do the task and we'll still be told that we didn't tell him to do part of it.

Oh, but thinking about it is just making me upset.

Think about happy things...

On the way to work this morning I had a wonderful experience. Snow was forcast for today. As I left the house, I could tell that the weather was trying to do something. If I looked up into the streetlights, I could see small frozen drops misting around. I could hear a bit of crunching as I walked over the slowly crystalizing ice droplets under my feet. And as I approached the park I pass through, I could see the first of the beautiful fluffy flakes drifting down among the trees. I could count them falling - 1... 2... 3... 4.. 5.. 6. 7. 8 9. They started falling more frequently. By the time I got to the other end of the park, the sky was filled with fluffy lovelyness.

I had just witnessed the beginning of a snowfall. I don't think I've ever seen anything so beautiful for quite a while.

This is the happy thought that helped me get through the rest of the day.

There is nothing like the clean surface of a newly-fallen snow...

Sunny Days Bring Happiness

There is absolutely nothing like being stretched out on a nice comfy sofa in warm flannel pajamas with a sleeping cat by your side. The tranquility of it all is amazing! In addition, I have plenty of nice things that happened today to think about...



To begin with, today was just beautiful. After a couple of weeks of bone-chilling weather, the sun decided to show her strength. I think it may have been in the forties today, but it may as well have been a summer day. The weather was so perfect, I decided to walk to work so I could enjoy it. Granted, the shaded areas were cold enough to make me pull my coat closer, but who needs to go through the shade?!? And of course, a beautiful day makes for beautiful people and beautiful attitudes. I think everyone on the streets was as happy as can be.



I'm still thinking about people helping others. It's not something I've done much of in the past. I'm horrible with strangers and don't like meeting new people, but I think that may be something I can work through. Maybe. Baby steps.



I did get to help out (or try to) a few people today. The first was when I took my hubby's packages to the post office.



Now, I absolutely love the Post Master (Mistress?), or at any rate, the lady behind the counter at my Post Office. She's got a no-nonsense attitude and has a face for every occasion. I know that every time I go to the Post Office, I will get a chuckle and a smile. Today was no exception.



The lady in front of me had come in with the express interest of asking directions. Unfortunately, she went about it all wrong with Ms. Post Mistress. I think the poor lady insulted her by first asking if she (Ms. PM) ever got out into the field or if she was stuck behind the counter all the time. I think she may have thought that being in the office the whole time meant she didn't know the surrounding area. Whether Ms. PM knew where this woman was looking for may be, I don't know, but today's look said everything from "Lady, you are crazy for asking me that!" to "I'm not going to tell you if I knew!" while taking a side trip through "Do you really think I'm that stupid?" The conversation between them wasn't much better.



When I got to the counter with my parcels for post, I got the look I've seen so many times before that showed that this poor woman wore the weight of the world on her shoulders accompanied by a slow head shake and an "Mmm, mmm, mmm..." that only an African-American mother can utter after yet another shovel of woes has been loaded on. Then she broke into a grin and bid me a blessed day, because she knew I would not add to her troubles.



After leaving, I saw the woman walking down the sidewalk not far in front of me. I ran up to see if maybe I would be able to help her find her destination. It turns out she was looking for a shelter and I happened to know of one. I couldn't tell you if it was the same that she was looking for, but I gave her the best directions I could - it wasn't too far away - and left with a smile on my face. I hope I left her with a good feeling toward mankind, also. After all, it was a man who wronged her that caused her to seek this shelter (from the bit of conversation that I remember) and now it was a man who was helping her. That's got to be a satisfactory reason to see that there is some type of good in the world.



A bit of time passes - I needed to get ready for work and got side-tracked by my earlier installation. But I'm brought up to my walk to work.



I live a little over a mile and a half from my job. On a nice day, like today, I would much rather get my excericise and take the walk. I get to go through a park and some nice neighborhoods as well as a small shopping district on my way. All the people I saw seemed to be really enjoying the day. I saw a couple kissing, a man taking a quick nap in the sun on a bench, people walking just a little bit slower to enjoy the weather and prolong the fact that they had to get back to work.



About three or four blocks before I get to work, I pass a little playground with a basketball court. I think it's a attatched to a small school or daycare or something. There was a young mother standing in front of a parking meter with her 2 cute little girls waiting (impatiently) to go play on the swings. I heard Mom say she was digging for a pen to write a note because the meter wasn't working. And my hand in my pocket was resting on - you guessed it - a pen. So I turned around and offered it to her.



Fortunately, she had just surfaced from her purse with a pen of her own, but this is the one where I tried to help. She thanked me and I went on my way, but not before I overheard the older girl ask her why I was talking to her. And I smiled as I heard her say, "That nice man was offering me a pen because he heard that I needed one."



My final good deed for the day didn't happen until later in the evening. An older woman came into my store looking for books about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Apparently, she had called and spoke with one of my associates and was told that we had quite a few books about him. Unfortunately, once she got there, the girl that helped her on the phone could only find one book. I just happened to be passing by as the lady was explaining that she had just driven 40 miles to get to the store, after she had called and was told we had quite a few books, only to find there was just one?!?



This had the potential of being really bad, as anyone who has worked in retail may know.



I sent my young lady over to the Biography section to see if she could find anything there while I set about trying to calm down and help the older lady myself. Together we found another book in the section we were looking in, then I offered to check my computer and see what else we might have. We finally pulled together 2 more books out of the Political section, 2 out of Biography and 3 from the Kids section.



This lovely lady bought them all. She left happy and promised to be back again. And all because, I believe, of one little thing. I was doing my job. Retail is customer service. That involves talking with customers, focusing on them. Show that you are there to care about their needs and their needs only.



I could identify with her... I grew up in a small town that was 30 minutes from EVERYTHING. We didn't go anywhere unless we had a reason to go. You made a trip that was worthwhile - the sum of the purchases was greater than the sum of the gas it took to make the whole trip. Or in another point of view, the value of the time spent in the destination was greater than that time spent driving to and from.



I was able to help this lady feel that her trip was worth it, instead of being a total waste of time.



So I got to feel good about myself for having helped these three women today. It definitely gave me a warm fuzzy feeling deep in the pit of my heart. Kind of like the warm fuzzy bundle slumbering beside me now, feet and whiskers twitching as he chases fairies in his dreams.



And I think it is high time for me to head off to my own slumber and reflect on these good things that have happened and the good that is yet to come.



Sweetest dreams to all...

The Morning Star

Good afternoon all!

As I'm getting things together for the Blog, I've found a great picture to put up for my profile. OK. It's not me. I'm not that fuzzy. But it IS my baby.

This is the wonderful one who curls up beside me during the day or beside me on the bed (besides by husband and the other pets.) This is the Morning Star.

This loving, 20 pound ball of fur was found by my husband a few months before we met. The cat was thrown out a car window near the property of Farmer's Market/Flea Market near York, PA - where we lived before coming to DC. This market was called Morningstar Markets, hence the name of the kitty.

MS wandered around the market and was fed by some of the nice ladies selling their wares. But as winter approached, fewer people were there to feed him and they grew worried about how he would survive.

Along comes the (then, going-to-be-)husband. MS approached him and let him pick him up. He had found a home! The ladies twisted my husband's arm (just a little bit) and convinced him to take the cat.

A couple months later, I entered the picture. The cat was being standoffish (a cat? really?) and was just happy having food and company, but kept to himself. He may have also been a little unhappy that he was thought to be a she... give him a break - he's fat, fixed and has a high voice. As soon as I entered the picture, the cat loved me!

At the time, I was having problems with my knee and needed to stay off my feet as much as possible. The cat and I would curl up on the couch and watch TV or play video games. Our bond was forged.

Now 3 years later, we are in DC. Morning Star lives up to his other namesake. For those of you familiar with religious lore, you may recall that Lucifer was also referred to as the Morning Star before his fall. And what a devil this cat can be.

He may be cute and loving, but he's all claws and teeth when he wants to be. You might think that when a cat exposes his belly, he is exposing his softest part to you. He's exposing a bear trap. There are five lethal weapons waiting to clamp down on your hand!

But for all the claws and teeth, though, my Morning Star is the second love of my life - following closely behind my husband.

He's cute, fuzzy and warm and he's reminding me that I need to get to work.

Farewell for now...

The Birth of a Blog

I've often wondered how a blog is born. I'm sure it's different for each individual who decides to post their life for all to see. Mine began on a bus...

I was thinking about the day yesterday. That day happened to be Inauguration Day: January 20, 2009. The inauguration of our 44th president, Barrack H. Obama. Living in this city, the center of politics for these United States of America, I am proud to be an American. This nation is (hopefully) getting on the right track. Many decisions have been made by the previous administration, both right and wrong. It all depends on the point of view. My viewpoint? I'm not entitled to an opinion... I did not vote for the last president, nor did I vote against him. I did not vote. I am proud to say that I did vote for the first time in this election. We will see how our decision affects the world in the coming years...

Our first African-American president did not, however, influence the decision to birth my blog. It just happened to be the end of an excitement filled Inauguration Day. My mind was full of the day's happenings. Thoughts were flying through the maelstrom of my mind. I am not an outspoken person. I am married to a wonderful man who is unafraid of stating his opinions. His mouth is always on the move - I sometimes think he talks to kill the silence in the room. This is definitely not a bad thing. He has great thoughts; he's funny; he's intelligent. I just don't need to talk. I am the listener. Not that I do not have great thoughts or am not funny or intelligent. My physical words are few. I just tend to smile and nod.

When I do say something, my husband tends to listen. While I don't say much, what I do say tends to have some weight. This has earned me some level of love and respect in the house. It just takes me a little while to get my words together.

In addition, have you ever had those moments of life when you just don't have the right words at the right time. I find that I can come up with the snappiest of remarks and responses AFTER I've had time to think about it. The timing just is not the best!

Finally, there are just times when nobody is around that I want to rant and rave about normal, everyday life.

So here I am: my laptop in front of me, my cat curled beside me, the other animals curled up in their own warm spots on the bed in the other room. Thoughts are swirling through my head. I would like to thank my sister-in-law for assisting my decision to begin this blog (though as of yet, she is unaware of this fact). So my thanks go out the The Knitting Linguist. My thanks also go out (ahead of time) to the many past and future customers who may enter the store where I am a manager and provide me with plenty of material for future blogs. And many thanks to those of you that may find my life to be interesting. Stay tuned as I persevere into the future and expose myself to another sect of technology.

Thanks are over.

Blogging is entirely new to me. The first blog I ever read was that of my sister-in-law. And that was amazingly recent. It seems to me that this is a medium to post your views, rants, ideas or even pure drivel. It is an insight into a person's mind. A door to the psyche. Who knows? I'd like to think that this will let you look into my ear and see what there is to see. Hopefully you won't see straight through to the room on the other side!

As mentioned before, my day was quite eventful. It was exciting from the beginning, as it was Inauguration Day. A friend of ours was visiting from New York. He played Sousaphone in one of the marching bands in the Inauguration Parade. Another dear friend came with her son and his half-brother from Baltimore in order to be a part of history. They were able to get down to the National Mall and see the crowds and festivities first-hand. My husband and I spent the morning in front of the TV seeing what most people saw by way of the Jumbotrons across the Mall. Then I went to work.

While it may have been a very important day in the history of our nation, it wasn't important enough to close our store. Business as usual in a hectic city. Granted, between the time of the early festivities and Happy Hour and the later Inauguration Balls throughout the city, we did get a small bit of business. But as the evening wore on, I think we only had 20 customers that really just wanted to get warm and have a cup of coffee while enjoying a good book or magazine.

We had excitement though! The fire alarm went off for some unexplained (at the time) reason. So everyone was herded out the doors while we waited for the Firemen to show up and save the day. As it turns out, some drunken sot who was attending a ball near our store decided to try to drive out of the adjoining parking garage with their parking break still on. Parking garages in our area tend to have very steep ramps and are difficult to drive through in the best of circumstances. This poor person ended up burning up his car enough to send smoke and the smell of burning rubber into the building's ventilation shafts and set off the smoke detectors.

Did I mention it was cold outside? DC has finally gotten into the cold of winter and it was pretty obvious last night. At least we were only outside for about 20 minutes.

Once the firefighters were able to get all the alarms turned off, it was back to business as usual. And back to an uneventful evening followed by a bus ride home that began the ideas flying through my mind.

It is not an overly long bus ride that I take. In fact, there are three options for me to get to work. Four, if my husband is home to drive me in. I can walk - about a mile and a half. I can take the bus or I can ride the train. Between waiting for the bus or awaiting a transfer on the train, or just waiting for lights to cross the street, it takes me about half an hour to get to work. So there is plenty of time to reflect.

Last night's ride triggered thoughts of new beginnings. Where will be be in 4 years. How about 8 years (I hope everyone is as optimistic as I am about this new administration)? My thoughts were also on people in general. We are surrounded by plenty of happy and excited citizens. As I waited for my bus, a man was walking down the opposite side of the street yelling, "OBAMA!" Anyone who responded with an "OBAMA!" was treated to him running up to them and getting a high-five. It was entertainment for a couple minutes. But I think it is the physical manifestation of what is going on in a lot of our heads.

There were also quite a bit of African Americans riding the bus with me. I've seen in this city that before Obama came along, people wouldn't look you in the eye very often. I think I was met by all of their eyes with a smile during the duration of my trip. Hope springs eternal.

Finally, a woman was trying to pull the wire to signal the bus to stop. She was encumbered by very thick gloves and had trouble getting it away from the window. Somewhere behind her, someone pulled it for her. She was the only one to exit the bus. I can't say that I was the silent saint to help her on her way, but kudos to the one who was. I've found a way that I can become a better person because of it.

Well, I think it is time to sign off. After a morning of struggling with our washer/dryer to get it rebalanced, it is time to change loads after a blessedly silent spin cycle. Plus, my Wii is calling to me.

Happy new beginnings to everyone!