Fairy Lights and Staying on the Path

It is an archetypal scene. The protagonist is on a quest or journey and must cross or go through a swamp. In some cases (the Lord of the Rings) the hero is lead by a guide in others the hero is on his/her own. In almost every case the hero is warned to stay on the path. Don't be drawn down false trails by swamp lights or fairy lights...they will lead you away from the path until you are lost or drown. In most stories there is a point in this journey through the dangerous swamp where the hero or protagonist, despite the warnings, becomes enthralled with the fairy lights and wanders away to a near death experience. (In Frodo's case in Lord of the Rings, he almost drowns before his stalwart friend Samwise pulls him free).
These scenes speak to real life. We are all the protagonists in our own lives. There are times when we know we have to stay a course or walk a certain path and even with this knowledge the fairy lights beckon.
I find "fairy lights" can be a good indicator that you are on the right path. I feel pretty firm with the path I tread right now and today I had a "fairy light" moment. I received a call from a corporation offering consulting positions for training professionals. On the surface it seems like the perfect job for me (bright and shiny objects distract easily). After a few moments of building excitement something told me to take a closer look. As I spoke with the representative from this company I began to see the truth behind the shiny light. This was far from the perfect job. It was a great way to spend a lot of money to get access to resources I could access other ways to be one of 6.000 people on a list that companies could call to consult for them. No guarantees, no regular checks, lots of start up cost. In other words the rep talked a great game but in the end, much like fairly lights, it was all a bunch of hot gas that could have easily lead me down the wrong path and gotten me stuck in the mud or drowning.
This experience reminded me I need to stay clear on my vision and path.

Phoenix Rises from the Ashes Again

We have continued to make custom jewelry and have relaunched our website.
We can custom design and make jewelry for anyone at very affordable rates.
Check us out and contact us if you are interested
Phoenix Rising Productions Jewelry

Back to school -- online

Today I am officially the newest graduate student at Hope International University Online. I am now working toward a Masters in Education. Classes start in a couple weeks. For now I'm all excited...I'm sure in a few weeks after diving in my enthusiasm will dampen a bit but I am really looking forward to learning again.

Workman's Comp Displays of Wisdom

Tara hurt her back at work unloading the delivery truck a few weeks ago. It hurt when she originally strained it but didn't seem life altering. Last week it really started to hurt to the point that she willingly went to the doctor.
Since the original injury is work related she contacted workman's comp. After the usual run around, poor attitude from the rep, disbelieving snide comments, etc. they set Tara up to go to their doctor today. Gave her an address in our town to get checked out.
This morning she goes to the address and finds..."For Pet's Sake Animal Hospital" The doctor they were trying to send her to moved offices two years ago. His old building is now a pet hospital....some times you just have to laugh...

Samwise the Defiant

Most commonly heard phrase in the house right now? "SAAAAAAMMMM....NO!"
He has turned into quite the little spitfire and has already established himself as the alpha cat.
He loves all the cat toys, attacking anything from plastic bottle caps to balls to shadows to the other cats to my feet to the phone charger to the lamp shade to oh just about anything.
And he is still well named because he shows no fear...he is immune to water spray and will stop doing what he shouldn't be doing for as long as it takes you to say "NO" before blithely continuing on.
My favorite bad Sam routine right now is his attempts to get on the kitchen counter. The house has an open floor plan so the space between the back of the couch and the edge of the counter is very small. If I am in the kitchen washing dishes or preparing dinner he will climb up on the back of the couch to watch and then ever so slowly try to inch up on to the counter. When the inevitable, "Saaaammmm...NO!" is uttered he quickly backs up the the back of the couch before resuming his efforts.
We have had to resort to shutting the bedroom door at night. I hate to do it but he does not sleep as much as most cats and spends most of the night attacking anything that shifts under the covers or trying to attack the lamp or phone charger on the night stand next to my head. So for now all three cats spend their nights in the rest of the house. as he calms a bit (hopefully) we'll try to let them back in.
He is really persistent..attacks lamp on night stand- gets picked up told NO and placed on floor...immediately hops up and attacks lamp again...repeat 12 times...he's like one of the moles from the Whack - A - Mole game... just keeps popping up again.
Samwise the brave, defiant, energetic and smart is truly a one-of-a-kind addition to our household.

Famous Losses

Ed McMahon passing was sad but not that shocking....
Farrah Fawcett was another loss that is sad but in light of her 3 year battle with cancer, not that suprising.
Michael Jackson is definately a shock.
May they all rest in peace...

Meet the New Addition

It's a funny thing. You realize when you lose a pet that you can never, ever replace them in your heart but oddly enough your heart can grow and have room to love a new one. Meet Samwise or Sammy our latest addition. He was one of 6 kittens that a local woman was trying to find a home for. He isn't all black, there is a white spot high on his neck under his chin and white hair in his ears.

We named him Samwise after Samwise Gamgee in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. J.R.R. Tolkien described Samwise as the bravest character in the series and "stout of heart" and very loyal. Our little Samwise is very brave and virtually fearless and is already taking over the house. He has displaced Curious George from the top of the cat tree and Callie from the back of the love seat, attacks anything, never backs down and is very cuddly when he chooses to be.

Callie at first treated him like a day old kitten and George attempted to ignore him. Now they all play Thundering Herd of Elephants and seem to be getting along fine. Samwise initially was flea infested. The poor things first experience in our home was a Dawn soap bath in the bathroom sink and tweezers. He is flea free and fiesty now. The woman said they were 8 weeks old but judging from his size I would say he was closer to 6 weeks. He is litter trained and loves dry and wet cat food. He and George share the wet food in the morning.

Samwise is quite a delight to have around.

Max Cat Food Recall

We went to buy cat food on Friday and the shelves in PetSmart where the Max Cat formula dry food usually is were bare. We went and asked and associate and she explained that there was a voluntary recall on almost all Max Cat food due to potentially high levels of zinc and potassium in the food.
This hit us like a sledge hammer. We switched to Max Cat last year and last winter switched to the indoor weight loss formula (one of the types recalled). And a few months later Charles was starting to lose some weight. Then the week between Christmas and New Years when we had a house full he got kind of run down and a couple days later was jaundice and one day later we had to send him over the rainbow bridge. The vet stated there were a few potential causes for his condition and one at the top of her list? Zinc poisoning.
If you have any Max Cat food take it back to PetSmart immediately! They will refund your money, exchange it for a different brand or give you store credit.
We are now in the process of getting all our information in order before contacting the makers of Max Cat and processing through a lot of what ifs (like what if we hadn't switched food?). Charles was barely 6 years old. We can't change what happened but it brought the loss of Charles right back to the front. The paperwork we have on the recall states that to their knowledge no cats have died but I think it is more likely that more cats were like Charles...hard to figure out without expensive testing that wasn't going to save him anyway.
The Facts:
Nutro Dry Cat Food Recall began May 21, 2009. Contact Nutro customer service at 1-800-833-5330 or visit www.nutroproducts.com. You can contact PetSmart at 1-888-839-9638 or on Twitter at @PetSmartTLC.
This recall includes just about every brand of Nutro Max Cat and Nutro Naturals brand cat food.

Wheel of Time Controversy

I am a big fan of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series. There were 11 books plus a prequel written as of the time of the author's death in 2007. He was working on the final volume, tentatively titled A Memory of Light when he died leaving some extensive notes and sections of the book written.
Brandon Sanderson, an author and fan, was chosen by Jordan's widow to finish the book. Originally, the hope was to have the book published this year and have all the little loose ends tied up.
If you know anything about the series, Jordan wrote about many main characters and more than numerous smaller characters. There are almost too many plots and sub plots to count. In the past, every time a new book came out I would spend the months leading up to the release rereading the previous volumes. Sanderson began researching, rereading the original 11 books, reviewing Jordan's notes and preparing to write and realized the enormity of this project. He had two choices as an author:
1. Cram everything into one book, leaving many of the smaller loose ends unresolved and not giving proper due to some of the main characters and basically all of the smaller characters and plots.
2. Write it as truly as he could.
Sanderson chose to tell the complete end to the story, tie up all the loose ends, and try to stay true to Jordan's vision. He admits he can never really fill Jordan's shoes but he wants to do justice to the work. So now the whole think is looking to go upwards of 800,000 words.
The decision was made to split the final novel into three books for a few reasons.
1. Its been 4 years since the last book: we fans want to read something.
2. It is now too big to publish as one volume anyway.
3. The whole thing still isn't written though Sanderson is working his tail off and if we wait for him to finish writing it all and for it to be edited, etc, it could be 2 or 3 more years. He's written over 400,000 words to date and if you know anything about writing that is impressive.

I'm pretty happy with the decisions made all around. I commend Sanderson for being true to the work despite the enormity of the task. I'm happy they are splitting it. I want to read something soon.
It will be an epic end to an epic series instead of a cheap flimsy wrap up.

The Memory of Light is now coming out in three pieces. Part one: The Gathering Storm, will be out November of 2009 and I can't wait.
To Brandon Sanderson I say thank you for keeping the characters and world of the Wheel of Time alive to the best of your ability. And thank you for pouring your heart and soul into doing it right.
You can keep track of Sanderson's progress and get more info on his website: http://www.brandonsanderson.com

Continued Signs of Spring

My Black Pearl Slate colored Escape is currently a lovely shade of yellowish green. Spring has officially arrived with the OVER abundant production and release of tree pollen that has begun to coat everything.
At least the bare patches of my yard look like something is growing there since they too are covered in bright yellowish green pollen...

Sure Signs of Spring

The sure signs of spring I've encountered or experienced over the past two weeks:

1. Illness - the upper respiratory infections are rampant right now. Most of my coworkers and friends and finally me have all gone through what I like to call 'The Crud."

2. Lots of stuff is blooming and starting to turn green. We have a lot of trees that start with white flowers. Very pretty and uplifting to see.

3. Birds, lots of them. I've got finches, robins, sand pipers and I don't know what else keeping the cats glued to the windows.

4. Carnival stuff. I had a bunch of carnival food booths go past me on I95 the other day. You could see the advertisements for Italian Sausage! Elephant Ears! Blooming Onion! It just made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

5. Potholes. Potholes are not nearly the issue in NC as they are in PA but they appear nonetheless.

6. Construction. The surest sign that spring is really here is a flashing sign that says "ROAD WORK NEXT 5 MILES" and a lot of orange and white barrels.

Star Trek TNG Reuniting

Okay, I'll admit it....this made my inner geek squeal like a 10 year old girl...


http://io9.com/5160294/st-tng-cast-reunite-in-cartoon-form

The entire main cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation including Denise Crosby and Wil Wheaton will be voicing themselves on a March 29 episode of Family Guy. I admit it...I'm a Star Trek fan and a Family Guy fan so I'll be setting the DVR for this one.

Bookish

Buddy the Bearded Dragon is now tucked in under the new bookshelves.

When we moved to this house in September we made the decision to upgrade the bookshelves. What we had wasn't enough so we sold off the old ones in a yard sale and planned for new shelves.
For the past few months the books -- all 500 or so -- have been stacked floor to ceiling in a small closet in the office. Reading became more than just an intellectual adventure. There was also the very real chance of being buried in books when you attempted to get one out.

Two weekends ago we were debating on dinner and a movie and instead went to Lowes. Four 12 foot planks, a few l brackets, some sheet rock screws, a stud finder and our circular saw and sander with a little time and effort turned into 63 glorious feet of bookshelves.Getting all of the books out of the closet and vaguely organized was a challenge but we've got shelves!!!! The books fill all 63 feet but they aren't double stacked and by my count there is some room left to add another shelf on one wall if I need to later.

The wrap around shelves have all fictional books.
This wall is all non-fiction with the exception of the entire Left Behind series in with the religion section and the Sweet Pickles books on the top shelf. The little closet to the left now has shelves built in as well and is being used to store office supplies.

Dental Wizardry

I was sitting at work reading through training material when I felt something odd in my mouth. I spit out one of my fillings a moment later. Not a 15 year old silver filling but a composite filling that is less than two years old and done by a dentist I DID NOT like. Back lower right side right between two molars -- small filling on each. Instead of taking his time and doing two fillings he had done one that connected the teeth together and that is what popped out.
New state, new town, new dentist. I must say this guy was Fabulous. Very light touch with the gigantic nerve block needle, took his time and did it right all with a sense of humor. They did all the work to get rid of the old composite material and drill out getting ready for the new stuff. Went one tooth at a time. Oh and I got to watch TV inbetween while waiting for the nerve block to set, etc. My choice of channels on the flat screen computer monitor attached to the chair -- TV is video streamed in.
First tooth he filled in, buffed, polished, sanded whatever and told me to bite down to test and the composite went CRUNCH. Apparently, it didn't work. I was proving to be a bit of a challenge. The second attempt he turned into a master craftsman slowly polishing and grinding to get the composite to fit perfectly. The whole process took almost 2 hours between the failed first filling and finishing the other two but they are as close to perfect as you can get. Not cold/hot sensitive, fit nicely when I bite down, feel good. So here's to a nice smile and a good dentist I'll actually be willing to go back to.

Taking your Bat'leth Practice Too Far...

I'm a fan of the Star Trek series but this is boldly going too far with fantasy weapons....

Man boldly robs Colo. store with Star Trek sword (AP)

What amazes me is the weapon the guy used is very large, rather hard to conceal and yet...he got away.

It's a Six Pack

What a great game. Heart stopping moments, record breaking 100 yard interception return for a touchdown, beautiful catch by Holmes with 35 seconds left. Congratulations to the Pittsburgh Steelers for an awesome Superbowl XLIII win.

Today is the parade in Pittsburgh...how I wish I could be there.

Superbowl Nightmare

If you are not aware…I am a HUGE Pittsburgh Steelers fan so I am beside myself with happiness that they are in the Superbowl this year. In the lead up to the big game on Sunday my office is slowly getting covered with more black and gold, the excitement is building and I can’t wait for the game.

Apparently, I’m already subconsciously thinking about the game. Last night I dreamt Arizona was winning the game 27 to 24 and the Steelers did an odd pass play that results in what looks like a touchdown. Which would mean the Steelers would win 31 to 27.

BUT WAIT

The referee won’t call it a touchdown. Instead he states the booth is reviewing the play. There is only one second on the clock.

And then I woke up.

Tonight I better dream about the Steelers winning handily.

Here we go Steelers Here we go!!!

Snowy Video

http://www.wral.com/news/local/video/4364350/

http://www.wral.com/news/local/video/4365720/

 

Here is some links to the local television station. They have aerial video via their helicopter from after the snow storm yesterday evening. We ended up with 7 inches at my house and over 5 near work. This is the most snow this area of North Carolina has seen since 2004. We had some ice this morning and will have the same problem tomorrow morning but the temperature is on the way up so all the snow will be gone by the end of Friday.

 

 

Let it Snow

We are having a fairly rare event here in the Raleigh, NC area...snow and lots of it. It is snowing hard enough to remind me of all my years in Erie, PA. Lots of snow -- up to 6 inches -- that will be completely gone by lunchtime Thursday.
A few notes to my friends in the area from an experienced snow driver:
1. TURN YOUR LIGHTS ON!!! I followed a white pickup truck in heavy snow going 21 mph in a 55mph zone with no lights on. He was very difficult to see.
2. DON'T TAILGATE! Give yourself room to watch what the special person in front of you is doing so you can react to it and not slam on your brakes and either rear end them or slide off the road.
3. CLEAN YOUR WINDOWS! I know snowbrushes aren't common down here but take some effort to clean your windows off so you can see.
4. DRIVE AT A STEADY RATE! If you can't bring yourself to drive above idle speed -- get off the road. You are a bigger hazard than the snow.
I drive 53 miles to work 30 of which is interstate and the rest is 2 lane highway. The interstate wasn't bad. I saw some accidents but things kept moving. The two lane roads tried ever bit of patience I have. I expect 2+ hours to get home tonight as well and possibly some issues tomorrow morning but then we are back to warmer temperatures reminding me of why I moved here. Hopefully everyone will stay safe today and the people that do get into accidents won't be injured.

SUPERBOWL 43

Here we go Steelers...here we go...PITTSBURGH'S GOING TO THE SUPERBOWL!!!!!
Steelers are off to face the Arizona Cardinals in Tampa Bay for the 43rd Superbowl!
I am beyond excited right now!!!!

Cable Saga Continues

Is it a good thing or a bad thing that I have the wireless numbers for a cable technician and his boss?

Of course the cable was working this morning when Harry the technician showed up. I was smart though and DVRed the image I was getting the night before. Once again the lines were checked, plates pulled off walls, wiring tested, box tested and this time he went outside and redid all those connections.

He also activated the line for the closest bedroom. The next time I have this issue I’m supposed to call one of them so they can track the issue real time. I can also run a line from the other cable hookup in the bedroom to see if it will work from there.

In a nutshell, nothing is fixed but they believe me when I say there is an issue. The theory right now is, “an intermittent issue with the main line.”

Time will tell…

As long as things are working for the Steelers vs. Ravens game I will be patient.

The Gremlin in the House

Since the day we had the cable hooked up we’ve had issues.
First the cable box would reboot 7-8 times per day. Rebooting takes up to 10 minutes and can be especially irritating when you are on the last 10 minutes of your show. So we got a new box. That didn’t’ work. Picture would freeze up and pixilated and shows would not record on the DVR.

Next we got new caps on the ends of the coaxial cable and another new box.

A little better for a while and then back to the same issues. So out comes the senior technician. He calls us, “THAT house,” and replaces some connectors outside.

Last night in the middle of Family Guy I lost all my channels except TV Guide. Same issue. Pixilated, black screen, issues. So I can watch the TV Guide channel and get a list of what shows I can’t watch.

Called tech support and spent 20 minutes on hold waiting to get someone live. After explaining the multiple issues we’ve had she decides resetting the box will fix everything. I explain that I have already done a reboot. She says her master reset is different and should resolve the issue. So she reboots the box remotely and as it is starting to count down to diminishing the reboot she attempts to get off the phone with me.

Rep, “Is there anything else I can do for you today?”

Me, “Yes, stay on the line until the box is finished booting and I test to see whether my cable works or not.”

Rep, ‘Wellllll, I can stay on the line for a few more moments.”

Me, “I understand you have time considerations on the call however, I spent 20 minutes on hold to get to you. What happens if you disconnect and my cable still isn’t working? I’ll have to call and wait another 20 minutes. Look the countdown is already at 6 now 4.”

Rep, ‘I understand Ma’am and it isn’t time it’s the number of calls.”

Me, “So what is the next step if this doesn’t work?” (I had a pretty good idea that it wouldn’t)

Rep, “We’ll have to schedule a technician to visit your house.”

Me, “It’s done booting lets take a look…oh goodie…all I have is the TV Guide channel and….nothing else.”

 

So a technician is coming to the house tomorrow morning. The crazy thing? Internet works fine. I’m going to ask the technician to pretend the cable has NEVER been hooked up to this house and start from scratch.

 

 

25 Random Things About Me

A friend tagged me to do this in Facebook so I thought I would share here as well.
1. I'm originally from Raccoon Township Beaver County...go ahead...laugh. We had a state park and were next door to one of the oldest nuclear power plants. We didn't need night lights we glowed on our own.
2. I was raised Roman Catholic, went to 2 Catholic elementary schools and a Catholic university.
3. I have two cats named Callie and Curious George and a bearded dragon named Buddy as pets.
4. I've lived in William sport PA known for the Little League World series. That's all that happens there. It is four hours from civilization in any direction.
5. I went to Lilith Fair the first year it happened at the Starlake Amphitheater in Pittsburgh.
6. I actually performed CPR on someone. Unfortunately he had a massive heart attack and my efforts and the efforts of the paramedics and doctors were unsuccessful.
7. I'm now a very active member of St. John's Metropolitan Community Church in Raleigh, NC.
8. I can sing first soprano.
9. I smoked from 12 years and quit 6 months ago at the same time as my other half with a lot of help from Quitnet.com and a smoke cessation study at Duke University. I like to think Tara and I are skewing their research data in a positive manner.
10. I'm a training manager and have been involved in training and training development for almost 9 years as a professional
.11. I don't have kids. I do have 5 beautiful nieces.
12. I love to canoe and camp out rugged style. It is a lot of fun and very relaxing.
13. I am a book addict. I am always reading something. It is almost a physical need for me to read a least a little a day. I'll typically take a book over the TV and will sometimes take a book over people.
14. I'm a Trekkie. Yes I admit it. Voyager was my favorite but I'd watch all of them. Despite being a fan I went to one convention with some friends years ago and the people there scared me.
15. I like scifi while I'm at it. Old 50's giant animal (attack of the giant bunny, spiders, ants, 50ft woman, Gila monster, etc) are fun to watch. I also love movies like Blade runner.
16. I'm allergic to walnuts and penicillin. I love walnuts but they cause things like hives and anaphalactic shock so I can't have them. You'd be amazed what contains walnuts. Penicillin allergy is so bad that I worked with the mold in a microbiology lab in college and ended up in the ER.
17. I have a degree in Science with a minor in English from Gannon University.
18. I used to play the flute and still own my flute. I would like to pick it back up again some time in the near future.
19. I can paint ala Bob Ross...happy little trees and happy little mountains. I'm far, far from an artist but at least you can tell what it is.
20. I have a dream to create training material and work as a freelance training developer and speaker/trainer. Who would have thought the painfully shy little kid would turn out to be someone who loves to get in front of a group and train them on something new?
21. I volunteered and worked at The Zoo, Gulf Breeze Florida part time. I used to drive the train through the 30 acre wildlife preserve and accidentally let Gabriel the Giant Eland out one time. They got him back in safely.
22. I've acted in a few plays or musicals for high school and then community theater. Can be a lot of fun but I have more fun with the behind the scenes stuff. If I could choose any part to play I would be the stage manager in The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told.
23. I worked for USAir as a Special Assistance Rep. assisting special needs passengers such as unaccompanied children, elderly, disabled, etc. I worked 2 summers and a Christmas season in the Pittsburgh, PA airport doing this. I used to drive the golf cart around and had Little Richard hop a ride one day.
24. I love the smell of coffee but don't like coffee. I don't like tradional pizza at all. Something about red sauce on bread is just...ick...I will eat an alfredo or chicken ranch pizza though.
25. I am a HUGE Steelers and Penguins fan...that is American Football and Hockey the Pittsburgh teams.

New Look

This blog has been up and running for quite awhile now and really needed a face lift. This year is the Year of Possibilities and despite starting so roughly with Charlie Bear crossing the Rainbow Bridge I need to have a brighter outlook. I though a brighter look to the blog might help.

I miss Charlie more than I can describe with words but while he always enjoyed lounging he couldn’t stand when someone was upset. I wouldn’t want him to be mad at me…

I’m going to keep remembering the good stuff while looking ahead to a brighter year.  

 

Charles Baron 2002-2009

Our wonderful Alpha cat Charles Baron aka Charlie Bear crossed the rainbow bridge peacefully at 4:50pm est today. Charles had been sick the past week and took a turn for the worst today. The vet believes he had an autoimmune disease and there was nothing they could really do for him. He was only just barely 6 years old and the best to have around when you were feeling ill. I feel like someone just ripped a piece of my heart out. He would climb right on top of you and purrr for hours. He purred right up to the end.

I hope there are plenty of pop caps to chase and cat trees to lay in over the bridge.

We love you Charlie Bear.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to all!
It is the Year of Possibilities for me and my friends...
despite the woes in the economy the possibilities are endless in a lot of other areas.
I hope you had a wonderful start to the year.