crazy things that happen on a Monday

Ah yes, Monday - again. I'm not entirely sure why, but there is no other day like a Monday. They almost always seem, well, out of whack.

I was woke from a pleasant sleep 5 minutes prior to the alarm going off by a rumble and the old house shacking. An earth quake, a very large truck getting stuck in my yard... perhaps the 'secret, not so secret' forces guys were practicing again.

As it turned out, it was thunder. Yep last week was -15 at night, this week we have a thunder storm. Stupid weather. It gets stranger though. I was sitting at my computer, which resides with my multi function fax/printer/scanner, a halogen lamp (responsible for melting the corner of my flat screen monitor) numerous piles of paper, a water bottle and my 'D-Link' broadband router. I'm sorting papers when there is a 'electrical snap', I look up to see the flash jump from my multi function and I feel a burn in my finger. It was one of those 'wtf' moments.

A the very same time as all this happens, my broadband connection goes dead. Shit I think... we've been hit. (by lightening, it happens once a year) I start by checking all pieces of equipment, everything seems to be working, even though there is a faint smell of melting plastic.

Well, as it turns out, the only victim of the lightening strike was my 'D-link' router. I haven't done anything about it. Seems these days I am the only one in the house that needs an Internet connection and I can run direct. I'll get to replacing the hardware, one of these days.

Daughter.... she picks Monday nights as the time she comes home to do laundry. Last Monday she had agreed to clean up the room she has occupied and called her own for many years..... (I believe there are critters living in there) Well, that is not happening. She did bring home a backpack full of dirty clothes to take care of though. I have to say, I do sort of admire that she can go an entire week with a backpack of clothes... that wouldn't last me three days.

She also is complaining about being tiered... its hard to work from 4pm to 8pm and still feel fresh. Yeah, I did say 4pm. Hubby says it is 'a good learning experience for her', I wonder what she is learning - btw, there are laundry services where she is living - why dirty clothes come home I just don't understand. (yeah, so what's your point..... we all brought laundry home... but I at least stayed and ate for the weekend.)

I guess I'll get past the 'I'm going to ignore you' attitude - and yes, the laundry too. i just wish she had a bit more personality or at least be a gracious enough guest to sit down and say hello when she walks in and raids the refrigerator.

I've decided I hate Mondays for other reasons too. Monday are my fat days. It sucks. I guess if I didn't manage to over due the weekend as much, then I wouldn't be facing 'my ass looks like the back end of my truck' realization when I look into the Monday morning mirror.

Mondays are also the worst day for meetings. I had one pulled off my agenda that had been scheduled for a week - changed over to Tuesday. The fellow I was meeting with had to go see about some x-rays. Reasonable excuse.

My second appointment of the day was a no show. I sat for almost an hour sipping on a cup of exotic tea at a cute little shop down in the Byward Market. My appointment used the excuse that she was waiting for me at a Japanese Noodle shop in the same building. Well, not really, first it was in the same building, then it was in another building - apparently the one that I was in housed a Chinese noodle house. Yep, another 'wtf'. Especially seeing as we were not to meet in a noodle house at all, instead a 'tea shop'. Noodles - tea...... pretty hard to get mixed up wouldn' t you say.

I think really what happened is that she forgot and then made up the excuse. I would have been much happier had she just said... 'hey, listen, I forgot, I screwed up, you weren't that important'. I am her career coach - hummmm.... should I take this as a sign?

So I'm looking forward to a much better Tuesday. I have two meetings, one for lunch. Both with senior professionals who I am sure put me in their agenda's last week. As for 'daughter'... I get to drive her back into the city. Oh lucky me. I'll let you know how that goes.

Have a wonderful Hot Cherry Day - I'll try to keep my cool today and root up some more interesting stories.

Weddings and Funerals.... no kidding

So is it true, what they say about Weddings and Funerals? That you only see relatives and long lost acquaintances at them? What does that say about us as a society - other than, we just don't give our relationships their due respect?

I'm wondering, why don't people take pictures at funerals? I know it is a very sad time, but it is also an occasion. A time when people get together. I know that at my funeral I will be pretty ticked off if people are mourning the loss instead of celebrating my life. So why wouldn't you take pictures. Wouldn't Aunt Nelly like to see the people who attend the service and all of the nice flowers as she wasn't able to be there in person?

Why don't people do the same things they do at weddings? There is a receiving line, a visiting time, a reflection time, there is a get-to-gether for family following the event and there is food and drink - all the same as there is at a wedding. Yet, we don't video our funerals or take pictures.

Am I just being morbid? Is that what is wrong with my thoughts on this one? We can't talk about death and departing? Why don't we celebrate a person's life? Why can't we record their last public appearance? Why can't we put the event in a form that can be shared by many? Record the funeral so that it is never forgotten?

I also want to know why we make such a huge fuss out of capturing our wedding days. Heck over 50% of all marriages end in divorce. Couples spend massive amounts of ching, making sure that they can 'look back on the special day' - or burn the evidence which ever way it works out. No one would question taking a video at a wedding that had less than a 50% chance of not ending in hurt, pain and hardship - yet tell them that I want my funeral filmed and they gasp with disbelief.

Seriously.... I want to hear your thoughts on this one. What if in 100 years from now, one of my ancestors looks up their lineage and finds a web archive of my funeral - I'd like that. What about you?

Yet another original thought by yours truly from the Hot Cherry Review group.
Take a moment and write to us... tell us your thoughts about capturing of a funeral. Until I hear from you again - have a wonderful Hot Cherry Day!

yet another Monday

Ah yes, yet another Monday.

One could only hope that not all weeks start off in such a lack-luster way - occasionally though, they do. I'm going to call this Monday - 'flat day' and get on with it. Ahhh, I know you, dying to know all the yummy gossip, all the goings on, the inside track.... 'kay, here we go.

Let me first tell you about my day. I'm finishing up a 3 month contract that ended up being 4 months for the nonprofit I mentioned in earlier entries. At one time, I thought it was going to suck the life right out of me. More recently though, it actually allowed me to regenerate some desire to conquer the business world. (within reason of course)

Through the contract I met some amazing people. Bright, talented, scopey.... unfortunately not many were with the group I was contracted to - ah well. I think if you stay in a situation that takes everything out of you just to get out of bed, sooner or later, you'll be swept under. It sucks but it's true. Run - run very fast!

So, energized and ready to do battle I am out looking for my next place to land. I've spent the last year doing and learning, focusing on all of these 'little projects' that I have. It's been great. I miss being a part of the bigger mission though. I seriously like interaction with others. It gets me up in the morning. Besides, until 'we' figure out all that 'we' need to on other fronts, I'm going to still have to work to fund the 'project'. Yep, I'm job hunting.

I am looking for a place where I can make a difference, contribute to the overall goal, do some good. I'm looking at all kinds of companies. Big, small, start up and established. I've met some nice folks already, have some interviews, some more meetings in the works. It goes well. Until this morning.

I had a phone interview set up with a local company who designs and delivers HR functional software. (I won't name the culprit yet) The women doing the interview, from HR didn't want to meet in person, so, on the phone it was. She couldn't facilitate this last week as she was 'too busy', so we opted in for today. I arranged my schedule to accommodate her..... the time came when she was to call, the time went, with no call. I checked my messages... everywhere.... I checked my email.... all accounts... Nothing. I emailed her. Nothing. I am not impressed.

Companies wonder why it is so hard to make good hires, engage their employees, retain their people. Well, need we even discuss it any further. With the likes of this women in HR, is there any question. I'm going to give her until tomorrow, after I call her in the morning... or maybe not. Fact of the matter is, if HR can't be bothered to keep an appointment, it is not the kind of company I want to be associated with. Tomorrowis another interview... in person... with a company I really like. Will see how that works out.

On the home front... daughter just came home. She is moving to the city. Sort of. All of her mess, dirty clothes and assorted mess still lives with us... and so does she apparently, when she needs to do laundry.

Long story short is this; last Sunday morning at 2am, I get a call... half sobbing she says - 'it took me two hours to get here, my car kept over heating, I don't know if it is going to run in the morning'. Did I mention 2am? Just what am I going to do about it at 2am when she is safe at 'the boy's' place? Sure enough... her car didn't start. Sure enough, had she had it looked at and had she changed the thermostat three months ago... the poor little abused car would still be alive today. Oh no, couldn't do that though - head gasket, machine the head etc. over $1400 - $1400 that she doesn't have.

So she is walking (or busing). We would have helped her get a new set of wheels but it would have meant that she would be still living at home and she would need to get a second job. After much consideration she elected to not fix the car and to move into the big city. Keep the one low paying job until somehow she manages to get employed in her trade again..... I hear the washing machine... I feel so used.

Did I ever tell you about our good friend Stu who used to do his laundry in our other good friend's pool? Not a word of a lie. He'd come over, strip down to his gitch (when there were women around) and proceed to launder his clothing in the pool. No soap, no softner... just pool water. I miss Stu, he moved home and we haven't seen him since.

So that's my day. Yours? Oh did I mentioned a stressed out hubby? Yep.... seems he had too much on the go today... he confessed though - 'I don't handle stress well, when there are too many things to do, I freak out'... yeah. He called more than a few times... stressing about labels that wouldn't print, too many things to do, and a cursed printer, all things that I could do nothing about.

On that note... I'm outta here. I'll keep you posted on the interview process, hopefully without many more stories like today. Feel free to share yours too - we are all ears. In the meantime, have a Hot Cherry Day!