I'm not surprised!

I received a comment below from someone who works at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom to let me know that the HELLEVATOR drops 15 stories, not seven or eight.  That actually sounds more like it.  All I know is two things: one--I had to tilt my head way back to see the top of it, and two--I'll never ride it.  According to the web site for Kentucky Kingdom it descends at 54 mph!!! 

The Career Saga Update

Well, I don't know what happened Friday, but they didn't let "M" go, and I'm glad.  She was there today.  I think maybe she got a verbal warning; meaning she'll have 30 days to bring her production up, but I'm just guessing. 

Debbie was back from jury duty.  They convicted a guy on seven counts that had to do with a meth lab in the county where she lives.  She said he definitely was guilty, and now they've set the precedence for that kind of crime in their county.

Another one of the girls, "S", had an interview today with the company Tommie went to.  She'll probably get the job, and then we'll be down three people on our side.  We have three new temps coming tomorrow, so I'll have that orientation to do.  I'm pretty sure that the smart thing to do right now is to sit tight and wait until they get these two new groups of billing and enrollment started up, because with all these Medicare D claims coming they are going to be hiring more people.  That's why the other two large insurance companies are hiring so many right now; Medicare D. 

Well, not much more to talk about.  I've just about got caught up on the journals that I read, and I'm almost caught up with my Journal Jar.  I managed to comment in a few journals, and will leave more comments in the next few days.  Hopefully I'll have something interesting to write about next time. 

And Where Was Thomas?

And where was Thomas while we were battling the heat?  Well, amusement parks aren't really his thing, but he said he'd go next time.  Actually he was home, re-doing some bathroom plumbing fixtures.  We are completely re-doing our bathroom, and he needed to change pipes and fixtures (it's a thirty year-old house) before we can do the walls.  So he was plenty busy (and cool!).

I Escaped Heat Stroke

Barely!

I took the kids to Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom yesterday afternoon.  The temperature was just short of 100* and the heat index was 104*.  But we had fun.  We didn't go to the water park, but we rode the Mile High Falls, which is a water ride, and we got drenched, so that was just as good.

I do NOT do rides usually, but Eler Beth's friend who went with us wanted to ride something called the Enterprise and needed someone to ride with her, so I did.  MISTAKE!  It went upside down.  I do not DO upside down!  Well, I did yesterday.  I felt like my brain was banging around in my head when I got off.  During the whole ride Eler Beth's friends kept up a steady flow of chatter, and I kept my eyes closed!

THEN she and Eler Beth wanted to ride the Rainbow, which does not go upside down, so I went on it with them.  MISTAKE!  It may not go upside down, but it goes very high and very fast.  It takes you on a nice ride in one direction, three times around, then slows down, reverses, and takes you on that same "wonderful" ride in the opposite direction.  Honestly if it had not changed directions it wouldn't have been so bad.  When I got off I told the girls I HAD to sit and cool down and get my head together, so I got some water and sat in a shady spot while they drove the Tin Lizzie.  At least there was a breeze blowing all afternoon.

The Tin Lizzies are little Model A- (or is it Model T) looking cars that the kids actually drive on this path that has a metal strip in the center to keep the kids from going too far left or too far right.  After a while I had steadied my head, stomach and nerves enough to let Eler Beth drive me around in it.  That was fun!  I would have enjoyed just doing that all day, but no.

After that we played some games.  The very first game that Eler Beth played was one that no one had won all day.  I watched a couple of kids and really didn't believe that she could win, even though it seemed simple enough.  It was just tossing a ball into a bucket, but everyone I watched had their ball bounce right out.  She bought one try, tossed her ball, it rolled around the inside and stayed in!  She won a BIG purple and white unicorn (which she named Eunice and which I carried around for most of the rest of the day)!

We caught up with Andrew and his friends, and I told them that the heat was getting to mea and that I had to find a quiet place to rest.  Andrew said that they'd take the girls to ride some smaller riders, so I took a seat in the amphitheater.  I was just in time for the show!  A group of young singers and dancers put on a show that was called, I think, Hot Stuff.  It was really good!  They were worth the price of admission by themselves!  When the show was over the kids came back and got me, and we went to ride the Mile High Falls.  Now that type of roller coaster I can handle.  Short and sweet and fun and wet!  But on the way there (it was all the way across the park from where we were) I apparently began to overheat.  (Maybe it had something to do with the fact that I was carrying a big stuffed unicorn, a stuffed cat, two half-full souvenir cups and a bottle of water.)  I suddenly started to feel a little clammy, a little dizzy and very shaky, so I told my sone I'd better sit.  He took one look at me and agreed.  He sat me down in some shade and got me an orange Poweraid.  In about 20 minutes I was okay.

I relaly enjoyed that ride and getting wet was nice.  When you get off you have to walk over this bridge and if you aren't fast enough you'll bet splashed by a big wall of water when the second car comes down.  Well I wasn't fast enough.  I realized it, turned my back to the water, shut and eyes and let it hit me!  We rode that one more than once!

Andrew really wanted me to ride the Twisted Twins (the wooden roller coaster).  I told him I would ride it first the next time we came, but that there was no way I could handle it today.  It doesn't go upside down, and I would kind of like to try it one time, at least.  He said I could hang onto him when we rode it.  (He'll promise anything to get me to ride a big roller coaster!)  Thankfully he doesn't like the ones that loop either.

And Eler Beth's friend, who is eight years old, rode something called the Helevator that goes up about five or six storeies high and then drops really, really fast like an elevator, slowing down when it gets only just a few feet from the ground!  She rode it more than once.  I was in awe.  There is no way I could do that.

I thnk we did other stuff, but those are the highlights.  About twenty minutes before we left I started getting a headache, and by the time we got home it was a full-blown heat headache with accompanying nausea.  As soon as I got home I changed clothes, got a cold cloth on my head and lay down.  Then Thomas massaged my head and shoulders and finally the nausea and headache subsided.  I'm really surprised I hadn't gotten a headache earlier.  All in all it was a fun afternoon.  We'll probably go again in September, but at least I lived up to my promise to take them before school started.

Tags: Kentucky Kingdom

Things are Changing at Work

I have had a nice lazy day today.  I needed it.  I've been working the past few Saturdays, but I'm taking the kids to Kentucky Kingdom tomorrow afternoon, so I turned down overtime for today.  I think that's the first time I've ever turned down Saturday overtime.  But I have an idea we're going to be offered overtime for several more weeks to come.  We are going to be very shorthanded.

Yesterday was Tommie's last day at our company.  Debbie had planned on giving her a party but she had jury duty all week.  Carolyn got her a cake, but I decided I'd do a little more.  I've gotten to know Tommie pretty well this year and she has become a good friend.  I'm really going to miss her, so I made yesterday "Tommie Tabor Day".  I fixed up little gift baskets for every member of our team, and I made buttons that said "Tommie Tabor Day" for everyone to wear.  Then I had little gifts for Tommie that I gave her throughout the day.  And I made her a little book with best wishes from everyone.  She was surprised, and we had a lot of fun.

This coming Friday is C's last day.  She is going to the same company Tommie's going to.  So then we'll be down two people.  I think, but I'm not sure, that they let "M" go yesterday.  It looked like it, and I think she's been struggling to keep up since she came to our department.  If that is the case, then we'll be down three people on the EM side of OCR.  And I expect a lot of people to be transferring out to other departments as the months go by.  One good piece of news though is that Debbie was offerred the manager's position with EDI, and as far as I know she took it, so at least she will still be at "W/A". 

There is an administrative assistant job posting on our website in another department of our company that I just might apply for.  I haven't decided yet.  I would qualify, but I'm just not sure if I want to leave our department before I have to.  I really like what I do.  On the other hand, it is a lot more money.  Decisions, decisions.

I am slowly, but surely, catching up on my journal alerts.  And I finally updated my other journal, Book Talk.  Here is a link to today's entry if anyone is interested: http://journals.aol.com/helmswondermom/DustyPagesBookTalk/entries/242

I gave my presentation yesterday in our staff meeting.  It was a presentation on "Presentation Skills"!  I was so much more nervous than I thought I'd be, but everyone told me that they couldn't tell.  I got a lot of compliments on it, and everyone seemed to enjoy it.  I'm glad to get it behind me, though.

Catching Up

Wow, it has been so long since I've written.  I've been very busy and have barely spent any time on this computer.  But today I'll try to catch up on my alerts, commenting and writing in my own journal.  It is very hot here in the Ohio River Valley;  heat indexes have been over 100, with temperatures in the nineties.  Pollutants and allergens have been high, and everyone has been rather sluggish.  I just want to stay inside in the air conditioning.  I'll come back later today and try to write something interesting.  Right now I'm going to go visit some of my favorite journals.

Introducing Susan

Eler Beth has outgrown her bike, so we took her to get a new one a few days ago.  It should last her a couple of years.  Last year we got her one with one handle brake; this one has both handle brakes and a coaster brake.  She also got a new helmet and elbow and knee pads.  I hadn't realized how much she had outgrown her other helmet!

Her old bike was named Lulu, and I was wondering what she would name her new one.  It is to be called "Susan".  I  don't know where she comes up with the names for her possessions, but she always comes up with good ones."Susan" is purplish-blue with some red-violet thrown in, a very pretty, snazzy, cushiony seat, purple and red-violet streamers on the handles and moon-shaped decorations on the spokes, all different colors.  She is very proud of it.  Thomas just noticed this evening that the price tag was still on it!  I said we should call it "Minnie Pearl", but Eler Beth said, "No, it's name is Susan."

All Through The Night..........

Thomas has been working in his sleep. This isn't too unusual.  He often is welding in his sleep (makes since because he's a welder.), and he'll mutter things about the size of the welding rod he needs (usually a 20/18) or he'll mumble that something wasn't fit right or that he needs some angle iron, etc.  He usually dreams about welding when he's been working a lot of overtime.

But Wednesday night he wasn't welding.  When I finally got to bed he was already asleep.  I had just got settled when he reached over and pulled me over to him, and I thought "hmmmmm".  He said in a sweet, lazy voice "I need to measure this,"  and he pulled my leg over and settled it between his legs.  I raised my head, looked at him in the semi-dark and said, "What?!"  He smiled and said, "I need to get a measurement.  It ought to fit right here.  See, it's a square."  I said, realizing he was asleep, but trying to get as much enjoyment out of it as I could, "A square?  That's my leg, you know."  He said, "Well, it's two sides of a square."  I said, "Which two sides?  Perpendicular or parallel?"  He didn't answer, so I gave up and turned over to try to get settled again.  He grabbed me and said, "No, turn back one notch." 

Well, I was really tired and didn't want to play anymore, so I moved a little, hoping that I'd turned back "one notch", but apparently not.  He turned me back over and said, "No, turn back another notch.  I need to get an accurate measurement."  I gave up, snuggled up to him and went to sleep.  If he measured any more I didn't know about it.  The next morning when I told him about it he said no wonder he was so tired!

But the next night I got up to take something for heartburn and when I came back to bed he reached for me again, and, really believing him to be awake I said, "You aren't going to measure me again, are you?"  He said, "No."  I thought all was well, and then he  added, "I'm in yoursawdust." 

"What?" I ask.  "I'm in your sawdust."  "What are you doing in my sawdust?"  "It's for the danallen," he said.  "What's a danallen?"  I ask, although it vaguely sounds familiar.  "You know, the mayor's son that used to copy off me in school."  "Oh!" I said, "the Dan Allen! Why is the sawdust for the Dan Allen?"  No answer.  Sometimes when he's talking in his sleep if you ask him something that requires any reasoning or an explanation it's like you've just hit the "off" switch.  I couldn't get any more out of him.  The next morning when he got up I asked if he was extra tired.  "Yeah, why?  Was I measuring again last night?"  "No, you were playing in my sawdust that was for Dan Allen.  You never told me why." 

He said, "I don't even want to know." 

The Gang is Breaking Up

Well, this has been an okay week I suppose.  Some stress, of course, at work.  Debbie and Carolyn have made it fun all week with lots of little games and competitions and prizes.  But yesterday T let us know that she had been offered a position with another company (one of our chief rivals) and the 22nd would be her last day.  And it hit me suddenly, that the group I've gotten to know well and learned how to work well with is going to be changing.  I'm one of the ones who is not planning on even interviewing until after the first of the year.  I'm determined to stay where I am doing what I'm doing until my Bonus is secured Jan. 1.  But if it stops being fun?  What if it stops feeling rewarding?  What if the things I do are no longer fullfilling?

Well, anyway when T let us know that I thought, wow, I'm really going to miss her!  She's a bright part of our team!  And I realized that I may have to periodically have this feeling as different "W/A" associates decide they are going to move on, either within our company or outside of it.  So that was my really down day.

But I had my mid-year one-on-one today with Debbie and Carolyn and got a really good review.  And Debbie asked me if I would help her plan something for Tuesday, the day we are all supposed to "find out" if any of us are going to be offered a position with the new document management department.  We are all fairly certain that we won't be.  The new department won't be doing anything that we do.  So I helped her come up with a sort of "celebration of us"; not meant to be insensitive to anyone who takes their news hard, but meant to be a celebration of finally getting to this point where we can leave the uncertainty behind us and move on.  And we are a great group, so we should celebrate us.  I put out feelers and got good feedback from everyone -- really we have the best group there, such a good attitude!  Debbie told Carolyn that aside from S and L, I am her right hand!  That was so sweet.  She told Carolyn that I will be her "go to" person and the one she can depend on to set the tone for the group.  That really made me feel good.  And Carolyn said, watching us planning the Tuesday thing, making it up as we went along, that she could see we worked really well together and she imagined that we were always bouncing ideas off each other.  I told her that Debbie is always bouncing ideas off everything!  She's a regular "light show" of ideas bouncing around!  And it's true.  I have learned more from her about managing people than I have from anyone else, any class or any experience I've ever had.  I will truly miss her.

I'll miss T too.  She had an interview for a position with our company also, but she turned it down.  The other job pays about $4,000 more a year, so she's probably making the right decision.  We're having a party for her on the 22nd, and I suggested that we make it (her name) Day in OCR and do little special things for her all day.  She's the one in charge of the special present we're putting together for Debbie also.  But she assured us she'd have it done before she left.

Well, enough gloom and glum.  I work tomorrow, so I really should get some rest now.  I'll try to come up with something better to talk about next time.

Relaxed and Happy!

What a really wonderful three-day weekend I have had.  None of us really wanted to go anywhere or do anything, and what do you know, we didn't!  We had been invited to some friends' for a cookout yesterday, but then they had to cancel because an emergency came up.  I am sorry for them, but I was glad to just stay home.  You just don't know how absolutely worn out I have been lately!

The stress at work, working overtime, the frustration of not being able to accomplish little things here at home that I was really wanting to accomplish, it was all getting to me.  It seemed like there was constant chatter in my head and no time to "download", if you know what I mean.  And every weekend there was something that had to be done that I didn't really want to do, and no time to do the little "relaxing" things I did want to do. (Other than read my journals and write a little.)

So this weekend I have puttered.  We did install a new air system, which we really needed, and it is wonderful!  I rearranged furniture in my room, went through books and decided to send some to Goodwill, sorted through old clothes and tossed as much "junk" as I could.  I have done a total of.......are you ready for this?.........12, yes, t.w.e.l.v.e. loads of laundry!!!  No, I wasn't that far behind!  I did regular laundry and then I washed up fresh clothes to go to Goodwill and to Once Upon A Child.  (I love that place!)  I de-cluttered and cleaned my computer desk, which was way overdue, and I baked a cake last night!  I am almost caught up with Promiseluv on the Journal Jar questions, but not quite.  The kids have played with friends and each other and just been really, really good!  Thomas has puttered, thrown out junk, done some maintenance on the house and rested.  He was in need of a good rest, too.  So in short, we have had a GREAT long weekend.  I hope this relaxed and rested feeling I have lasts for awhile.  If I can get to bed on time all this week, it just may last until this weekend. 

Well, hope everyone out there has had as nice a weekend as I've had.

Crunch Update

I forgot to let anyone interested know that from June 1 to June 30, by walking more or doing at least 50 crunches a night I did manage to carve almost one inch off my waist.  It was just under one inch.  And weight-wise, I lost three pounds.  :(  I was hoping I'd lost more than that.  But I will try to keep those three pounds off and lose some more this month. 

I am continuing to crunch, and I'm upping my water intake.  Today is the fourth, and I am going to make myself drink at least 32 oz. of plain or lemon water.....a big deal for me, and not really that much water, just four cups.  Then tomorrow I'm going to try to increase it by a little.

My husband is buying an Ab Lounge!  Not just for me, but for him, too.   He is very muscular and well-built; the type of work he does keeps him in pretty good shape, but for the past year or so he's had a little bit of a gut on him, which he absolutely loathes!!!  He just turned 45, so it's not strange that he should be having a little trouble keeping that waist trim, but for him it is a very big deal.  So the two of us will be using the Ab Lounge.  He's wanted one ever since they came out.  I still think walking is the best thing you can do, but I'll use it, too.

Well, just thought I'd update everyone!  I'll let you know how I do.  My daughter and I plan on taking a walk this evening if the humidity stays down.  Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

What's In A Name?

A fellow journaler asked if Eler Beth is my daughter.  She is.  She was named after both of her grandmothers.  I realize that "Eler" is an unusual name.  It's my mother's name.  She was named "Eler Frances" after both of her grandmothers.  About three years ago I met a lady in her sixties who said that her best friend in elementary school was named "Eler".  And aside from "Aunt Eller" in the musical OKLAHOMA, those are the only people I know of with that name.

Thomas' mother's name was Elizabeth Louise, and she went by "Louise".  For some reason she never liked "Elizabeth".  As soon as we were married I had decided that if we ever had a daughter I wanted her to be named "Eler Elizabeth" and call her "Eler Beth".  Our first child was a boy, and we named him after Thomas (Thomas Andrew Helms II).  Six years later we had our Eler Beth.  I like that she is named after both her grandmothers and her grandmother Eler was named after both her grandmothers.  I hope it will be a tradition that is carried on. 

My middle name is Frances, after my mother, so Eler Beth shares her first name with one of my Mom's grandmothers and I share my middle name with my Mom's other grandmother.   When I was little my father's mother used to call me "Franki", and my sisters did too.  I found out when I was older that it was because my grandmother had known my great-grandmother Frances, and knew that she had been called "Franki" by family and friends.  I like knowing that I had shared a nickname with that great-grandmother that I never knew.

"Eler Beth" is hard for some people to pronounce or understand when she is first introduced to them or when they see it in print.  It is pronounced "el' - uhr", just how it's spelled; short e sound, and "er" as in "her".  She likes her name, especially since she is very close to my Mom. 

Well, my washer just stopped, so bye for now, and more later!

 

WOO HOO!!! THREE DAY WEEKEND

Well, after that wonderful Monday, the rest of the week wasn't quite so bad.  Tuesday was pretty uneventful.  Wednesday we had our second monthly staff meeting, and I presented my part of the Safety Committee presentation.  The one really bad thing was that they had to fire "J".  She had missed so much work because of her child's illness, and Debbie had worked with her every way she could so that she could make up her time.  She had used all of her PTO time, and all of the occurrences she could have.  I'd known she'd had a verbal warning, and I guess she must have had a written warning as well, because apparently Debbie couldn't work with her any more without getting into trouble herself.  After that meeting on Monday "J" left, and I'd thought she'd gone to lunch, but we noticed she didn't come back.  I thought maybe there was some emergency and she'd left for the day or that she had an appointment or something.  She was there Tuesday.  Apparently she  hadn't had any reason for leaving Monday, or at least, she didn't give Debbie or Susan any reason because Debbie told me privately that she'd had no explanation given her and so she had no choice.  So Wednesday morning that news met everyone, and that was a further stress and reason for depression.

I liked "J" and she'd been with the company for four years, but Debbie gave her as much leeway as she could.  She hadn't done any more for her than she would have done for any of us, and she hadn't done any less, either.  Well we all missed her that day.  Our Potluck Luncheon was that day, and our staff meeting.  "J" is one of the Kelly Associate Sponsors, along with "D".  "D" asked me if I'd take her place, so I got to do the orientation of the new temporaries today.  We ended up only having two.  The class started with six, two quit right away, one called in this morning to say she couldn't take the job, and one just didn't show up.  I'll never understand that --going through two weeks of training and then quitting.  But the two we ended up with seem to fit in very well, and their quality is at a very good level.  They moved from the training rooms to our area today and we got them settled in.  They are very nice.

We also had unveiled our Team Building competition for July, but I'lltalk about that later.

I am really ready for this long weekend.  I would love to just stay home and rest, read, work in the yard, and clean my house.  But we'll probably end up having to go somewhere.  I'm such a stick-in-the-mud sometimes!  No, it's just that I'm away from home so much, that I really like my weekends for home and family.  Oh well, can't be totally selfish!

We bought a new air conditioning unit.  A big one!  It was time we replaced the old one.  And boy have we needed it.  The heat index has been over 100 all week except possibly today.  I've had to make sure that Andrew has been doubly careful about checking the dogs' water every day because they've needed more than usual. 

Hope everyone out there has a great weekend!

Debbie and Her Shadow........Sort of.........

I really need to do some catching up.  I got online last night and read journals, but I got sleepy and went on to bed before I did any writing in my own.

Monday started out to be a pretty good day, and then it got stressfull.  Debbie called a meeting about 10:30.  As soon as we walked into the conference room we saw a lady there whom we'd never seen before, and I guess all of us had a sense of forboding.  Debbie got right down to business to let us know of the latest development in the "transition" business, but she started crying as she was talking.  I think the fact that she was breaking down bothered us all more than the actual news.

In a nutshell, it's this.  When they first let us know about all of document mangement being outsourced to another company, and what that means for all of us now through Spring of 2006, it was our understanding that there would be a "temporary" manager, hired through Kelly Services, who would shadow Debbie until next Spring or until Debbie transfers to another position within "W/A" or takes a position with some other company.  Okay.  That made sense.   We would need a manager if Debbie left before we did.

Change of plans.  Debbie also manages the EDI department upstairs.  She likes us better!  EDI is staying with "W/A" document management, but that is no guarantee that Debbie would be their manager.  Her management of them was supposed to be temporary until a permanant manager was hired.  But that was before this outsourcing thing happened.  Anyway, Debbie doesn't know if she'd want EDI even if they did offer it to her.  Well, guess what?  The lady that was there was introduced to us as "C", who, within the next four to six weeks, would be our manager (short-term, full-time through Kelly Services) until the Spring of 2006.  And at that time Debbie would no longer be our manager, but just EDI's manager.

Now we really love Debbie.  She is great! The best manager we've ever had, and we are a really tight-knit group.  We've gotten into a rhythm as a department that is awesome!  And it's mainly because of Debbie.  She feels the same way about us, so the thought of leaving us and managing EDI, whom she says are not close like us, and who have a lot of petty complaints, really choked her up.  She's very emotional anyway.  We were all in shock. 

As for "C", she is very nice, and her husband is going through what we're going through with his own company.  In a year his position will be obsolete.  So she can empathize.  She was really thrown into a bad position, so I really tried to be nice to her on Monday to make her feel welcome.  Also, she had been under the impression that she would just be shadowing Debbie, and then stepping in if Debbie left the department before 2006.  I have to say, that with everything I like about this company (and there are a lot of positive things and reasons to want to stay with them), that the handling of this particular situation was very tacky and non-professional.  Debbie was told on Friday, by voicemail, that she had an 8:00 am manager's meeting with our Director Monday morning and not told what it would be about.  Then during that meeting, with "C" and the other doc. management managers sitting there, she found out what was going to be happening.  She didn't find out until later that "C" was just as surprised as she was.  The other two managers (there are more than three doc. management managers, but only three at our building) will have "shadow" managers also, but they may actually just shadow.  We don't know yet.

So, anyway, it was really hard to concentrate and stay focused all day Monday.  I caught myself making stupid mistakes that I don't usually make; and I wonder how many I made that I didn't catch!  So that was my Monday.  Stressfull!