And the Fight Rages On

The California Supreme Court validated Proposition 8 today. That does not mean that they agree with the content, only that the process was valid. However, the idea that voters get to decide everything without regard to rights or equality makes me wonder what would happen if someone proposed reinstating slavery and having a majority build it into the constitution. Would slavery then become law because a majority of bigots said it should? I doubt that such a proposal would ever pass in this day and age, but if it did, the court would be bound to uphold it. So -- let's reinstate slavery, let's take away the right of women to vote, and let's see what else we can cram through a gullible electorate to turn this country back a few hundred years. OR -- we can wake up and realize, as many states have done, that just because a majority of people don't approve of same sex marriage, freedom from slavery, or the full inclusion of both genders in the voting process doesn't give anyone the right to legislate such bigotry. I am not going to criticize the Cal. Supreme Court for this ruling -- they are bound by law. However, I say SHAME on the voters of California! I think that all the GLBT people in California need to move to Iowa, Massachusetts, Vermont, or Maine and watch California's already teetering economy fall flat on its face. The decision today is a setback, but folks -- same sex marriage is here to stay. Eventually these inane constitutional bans will fall one by one like dominoes and we will be included as full members of society. Until that day, stand firm and speak out for JUSTICE for all.

What a Week!

Here I am at the start of a three day weekend (except, of course, for church). The break from the secular job is much needed as the pressure of getting things up and running is about wear me out. That's not to say that it is entirely my responsibility -- there are better paid people than I to have the final call on things. However, I am in a position of having to deal with local management who has expectations (I believe them to be a bit unrealistic, but hey -- I'm only a grunt so who cares). Then we have to deal with co-workers from the other side of the world by email and instant messaging whose "way of doing things" impedes the achievement of those expectations. Then there are the people who work with me. We have a team of 11. Management has figured out that this is too small a group to achieve the desired result so they are adding a few folks. Then we got the news that one of the better team members is leaving next week to take another job. OUCH! Add to that the fact that our team absentee rate seems to be among the highest of any job I've ever had and you can imagine the chaos. We have been short one, two, or even three team members every day since the start of this project. Add to that the ever changing processes, and you can begin to see why my stress level is at its apex. Since I am one of two folks scheduled the latest, we have to stay to make sure that all the work put before us for the day is completed. Yesterday was a ten hour day with lunch at my desk while continuing to work. Poor Ben had to keep himself entertained since my workload made me nearly two hours late picking him up after work. He was so good about it and didn't complain, but even though it wasn't my fault, I sure felt a good case of the guilty's. Today will be sermon day (and I hope a little R&R), tomorrow is church and then I am OFF on Monday before heading back to the grindstone on Tuesday. I sure hope that things balance out or I may lose my cool! Can't afford to chuck the job -- the creditors would just not understand. Ah well, this too shall pass -- like a kidney stone!! Hug someone.

TGIF

For some reason this has been an incredibly long week. Today was the completion of training for my new duties. Monday I start the new task and the new schedule from 1030-7pm. That's not horrible, just different. Of course, between gaps in the training schedule and Ben's car trouble, I lost out on about 9 hours this week - plus the 5% pay cut took effect this week. Next paycheck will be a bit anemic, but it's better than NO paycheck. The bright note in all this is that the work I will be doing is the same work (with some revisions) that I was doing for these folks a couple of years ago. At that time, the work went overseas, but it's coming back -- and bringing work back to Michigan (the unemployment champ) is a victory. If we do well and keep the customer happy, there is more work to be had. That means if our team does well, I should have a degree of job security for some time -- I hope.

The computers are up and running after two monitors and a power supply. Perhaps that will be the end of that for a while. Tomorrow will be Sermon day! Sunday will be church, a board meeting, and then a trip to see Mother for M day! So-- I will likely not be home until around 8 on Sunday evening. At least with the new work schedule, I can sleep late on Monday.

That's the way it is on this fabulous Friday! Hope you all are well. Hug someone.

The Economy Strikes Again

Well, I experienced the joys of the current economic situation today. All of the temp help was called into an office one by one and informed that we will be taking a five percent pay cut starting next week. My response, while not happy, was reasonable -- 95% is better than no percent. I was kidding with a couple of co-workers by saying that I should wait until next week to call in sick so it won't cost me so much -- of course, I'm not sick and I won't be calling in. I also reasoned that an across the board five percent pay cut was better than a five percent staff reduction. So, the little bit extra that Ben has started getting from the church counterbalances part of what I am losing -- the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. Ah well, life goes on .....

Life Moves Forward

Well, it was a long and time consuming move, but we turned in the keys to the old place last night and brought the last load of stuff back -- Ben called those boxes the "Miscellaneous Boxes". They will get opened in the next couple of days and all will be well within a week or so. Another casualty -- besides the table leg, a chipped glass, and a couple other small oops's -- was the laptop display screen. I was sitting here the other night typing away (or playing a game or something equally exciting) when all at once Ben let out a howl. Before he could explain it, the entire rack of dvd's and cd's came toppling over toward me and the computer. It smacked the lid of the laptop and the display went all whacky and useless. Well, I worried and stewed about it for a while, and we decided to find a monitor to hook to the laptop. I posted my need on freecycle.org and within hours yesterday I had a couple of emails offering monitors. I went this afternoon and picked one up, brought it home, hooked it up, and --voila!!-- I'm back up and running. All things seem to work out somehow.

Hello all; miss me?

When I looked at how long it's been since I last posted, I was almost embarrassed to come back. Between a serious facebook addiction, moving, job, and church, things have been a bit hectic. I've missed you all. Our move is nearly completed -- we have about one and a half more carloads and then final clean up to finish up. Then, of course, there's the joy of unpacking it and finding places for everything. It amazes me how quickly the space fills up. We are settling in nicely, however, and look forward to staying here for a while. I am so sick of moving. This is my fifth move since moving back to Michigan in 2004. Doing the math, that works out to about one a year. TOO MUCH. I am so sick of seeing cardboard boxes!!!. My time at the church is winding down -- two more months and I'm done. The turnaround in the congregation's involvement and attitude over the past six months is amazing -- almost makes me want to stay to see where it leads. But I won't and I cannot according to contract. They will now need to step up and move forward into the next chapter of their life as I do so in mine. I did have the opportunity to go to Ben's church with him today and meet a bunch of his folks. At work I am back in training for a desk that will be doing the work that I did when I was there nearly two years ago--the work that went to Malaysia is now coming back to the good old USA -now if only our primary client (a large US automaker) stays in business! Spring seems to be coming finally. We've had some hot weather already and oh the spring rainstorms!! I think I saw a big boat full of animals go past the window last night. All in all, things are good. We are happy and looking forward to making this place into a home we can enjoy together for a good long time. We shall see.

The Economy Strikes Again

We continue to read and hear about how the economy is struggling for growth and survival. In our area, many folks have fallen victim to this economic mess as jobs vanish, homes are lost, and prices continue to rise. I have felt very fortunate to have landed a decent job, but even this one is not immune from the ravages of the economy. Relax -- I still have my job, but they are cutting 40 hours per employee over the next five weeks. While that will result in a loss of several hundred dollars for our household (and many others), I am thankful that I still have a job. This management decision adds to an already uncertain future for my job. We shall persevere -- God hasn't let us down yet. But that doesn't lessen the worry factor. It is perhaps the least desirable part of working through a temp agency -- the lingering knowledge that any day could be the last balanced by a desire to do a professional and worthwhile job. Ah well, life goes on!