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After the hurricane, another storm....
My company announced today it is reducing it's workforce by 3%,
That meant 150 jobs in my division alone.
We found out today, at a noon meeting, that four people in our department were now gone... *poof*
Four out of maybe two dozen people. That's a lot more than 3%.
I came back to my cubicle and realized that my friend in the next cubicle (who was in ( Read more... ) -
Ryan C. Archer, 1989-2008
Today I did something no one should ever have to do. I went to a funeral for a 19-year-old.
Trust me, your day just can't get much worse than that.
He was dirt biking last Thursday and hit a telephone pole. Was able to call 911 and his mom (my coworker). His older sister went with him in the ambulance, and his parents followed in their car.
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Ike Part 5 - Home
The drive east to Houston was uneventful -- not even a traffic jam in Giddings. The dogs once again tried to get into the front seat with the kitties (we finally reached a form of detente -- Apple in my lap and Bear crammed in the front seat behind the cat carriers.) I took the Beltway because it was free, then north on 45 to the Woodlands. There ( Read more... ) -
Ike Part 4 - Austin
Driving from Houston to Austin up Highway 290 is a lot like driving through Central California to San Jose. You pass lots of farmland and small towns, until you get to the Hill Country, and soon after is a large, confusing metropolitan sprawl. The first half of the trip was uneventful, save for the dogs trying desperately to get into the front seat ( Read more... ) -
Ike Part 3 - Betty's
Betty lives in an "assisted living" apartment complex. She has a two-room apartment which includes a small kitchen area, but she goes to the cafeteria for meals. It's a nice complex -- walkways and gardens with benches and trees -- but it probably looked better before Ike came through. There was a "doggy area" at the corner of the complex, so I ( Read more... ) -
Ike Part 2 - The Road to Betty's
Normally, the drive from my home to Betty's assisted-living apartment is about a 30-minute drive; Sunday morning it took 2 hours. It was like some futuristic, post-nuclear war movie. No traffic lights were working. Shell-shocked drivers drove aimlessly, torn between staring at the devastation and circumventing multiple road hazards: rampant ( Read more... ) -
Ike Part 1 -- Welcome to Hell
As Styx says, "I'm not dead yet."
It just feels like it.
I am, however, officially an evacuee, and a survivor of Hurricane Ike.
I'm typing on Amie's laptop (she was keeping it and her dog at my house while she is away, so I brought them with me), in an Austin hotel, with two dogs at my feet and two cats hiding in the bathroom. (Note: I don't type ( Read more... ) -
Run from the water; hide from the wind.
Or so the saying goes these days in Houston.
I'm fortunate that I'm not near enough to the water to have to run, but since I live in a heavily wooded community, I am going to probably be hiding in an interior closet by this time tomorrow.
My day today started early, though not by choice. I can't even blame the dogs (I'm taking care of a friend's mini ( Read more... ) -
To Brighter Days
Bamboleo! Bambolea!*
Porque mi vida yo la prefiero vivir asi!
bambolear - to stagger or sway, move freely without restriction
Went to the Gipsy Kings concert Saturday night, alone. It was a good concert. Not the best of the GK concerts I've seen (they didn't perform my favorite Triste Pena, and Tonino only sang on about half the songs), but their ( Read more... ) -
Must Haves for Gustav (apologies to Tom Lehrer)
Time to make sure I have Survival Gear for Hurricane Gustav.
Let's see...
Coffee Cake? ...Check!
Coffee? ...Check!
Spinach Dip? ...Check!
Hamburger Fixins? ...Check!
Candy? ...Check!
Ice Cream? ...Check!
Dog and Kitty treats? ...Check!
OK, I'm good ! :-)
p.s. Yes, I'm back on livejournal... (I don't know if anyone is actually ( Read more... )