Work

Work stinks. Many people say that, but I mean it. Literally.

This morning when I stepped out of my car I was hit with the awful stench of chicken manure. I’m guessing a local farmer spread it quite liberally last evening. I immediately had a gag reflex.

Since work is in a farming community occasionally there will be a similar smell walking into the building, but today is the first day the smell has permeated the building as well.

I’m almost ready to go home from the stench.

Like I said, work stinks.

There are no words. . .

It is Finished

As of 9:45 p.m. Sunday I have completed Pride and Prejudice. I have the six other novels in the book, but I'll probably read some other things before undertaking another Jane Austen novel.

Coincidentally, yesterday afternoon I watched Becoming Jane. Except for the difficulty of understanding some of the accent, it was really good. I think I enjoyed it too know I was finished Pride and Prejudice the same day.

Excellent movie I would recommend. The only objectionable element was the mother and minister's wife referring to her d _ _ _ potatoes. There were some quite humorouse lines as well.

I had to laugh at some of President Bush's comments at the White House Correspondents' Dinner that were shown this morning on why the three presidential candidates weren't there:

I see Sen. McCain isn't here, but I guess he's trying to distance himself from me. I should be used to it--Jenna's moving out too.

I guess Sen. Clinton couldn't come because of sniper fire and Sen. Obama is at church.

No one stays at a church because they were assimilated into a program, they stay because they’ve been velcroed into relationships.

I read this statement quoted on a blog and it made me think about my church situations. After leaving Illinois I never really got into a church even though I attended until I began at Grace in February of 2005. The first week there I met Nancy and Chris who invited me into their home for dessert one evening. They looked for me on Sundays and asked me to sit with their family at church. In May I met Shelly in Sunday School, and she almost immediately asked if I’d like to play handbells. Although handbells were over until the fall, I attended a handbell concert with several ladies in the group in June. In September I began ringing. The group of ringers was fun, and I looked forward to getting with them on Wednesdays to ring. The ringing was fun, but the camaraderie and laughter of the group was a bigger draw.

The statement above makes me wonder--had it just been handbells and not the group dynamics of handbells, would I have stayed at Grace?

Mmmmmm

On the menu for supper tonight: fresh asparagus from our garden. This is the first year we can pick the asparagus, and we are looking forward to tasting it for the first time.

What I Am Reading

I’m still trying to get through Pride and Prejudice. I suppose it speaks to how little time I spend reading. Since I’ve begun reading and posted earlier that my goal is to read more classics, two people have told me basically, “Well I didn’t want to say anything, but I found Pride and Prejudice to be unbearably boring.” I have about 75 pages to go. I’d like to finish it this weekend.


Other books I’m reading:
The Mary Kay Ash Autobiography—in my car to read when I find I have unexpected time to kill like waiting in line or waiting at Staples to have my MK placemats for skin care classes being laminated.










I Became a Christian and All I Got Was This Lousy T-shirt. It’s at my desk to read during lunch, but I seem to find other things to do during that time. It’s not that the book isn’t interesting as the first four chapters have been an easy read introducing the why of the book, and I get frustrated that I don’t get more read in it.









I will say that one thing I liked about Xanga was the What I'm Reading, Watching or Listening To where you could attach a picture of the book you were currently reading, video you were watching, or music you were listening to. Now it's finding the picture of the book on line and attaching it here.

Only in Michigan

On Monday night I was at a MK meeting learning how to sell skin care and color products so that one night I could wear a tiara and pink boa and sit on the pink pillow during our meeting. (Thankfully others work their business full-time so I won’t ever have to worry about “winning” this opportunity!)

On Tuesday night I rode on the trailer behind a John Deere yard tractor to the end of Renae’s road to pick up three loads of manure for the garden.

Lets just say that when I ran into Family Fare for milk on the way home, I didn’t give out any MK business cards.

Oh no, I found myself speaking Michigander this morning.

The neighbor was riding his bike down the street as I was finishing my walk/run this morning. Since it was about 6:45 a.m. I asked him, "Do you have to be to school early today?" All my life I would have said at school, but apparently I'm picking up the local dialect.

All I can say is pray for me!

Just a Milkshake, Please

I've been fighting either allergies or a sinus infection for a couple of days. My throat has been very scratchy, and I've done the warm liquid thing but this afternoon I wanted something cold--a chocolate milkshake. I went to McDonald's for a shake, but their chocolate was down. I drove across the street to Burger King and ordered my chocolate shake. Their shake machine was down. I was beginning to think that I needed to get the message that I wasn't supposed to get a milkshake for my scratchy throat.

For anyone with fast food service experience--do shake machines need weekly cleaning and Sunday afternoon is the slowest time for milkshakes?

Finally vindicated

This morning I was awakened at 5:40 EDT feeling as if my bed was being twirled very briefly. At that point in the morning I was pretty sure I wouldn't be going back to sleep so I turned on the tv to get the weather for the day. A few minutes later the anchorwoman said, "If you felt a tremor about 10 minutes ago, you are not crazy."

Finally I'm vindicated!

Most people here said it lasted 30-40 seconds but I felt only a few seconds at the very most. Typically I don't scare easily at night, but one of my first thoughts was "Who is in my house?" At that point I wasn't going back to sleep as it scared me enough to really wake me up.

Many people at work had no idea about it.

My neighbor died this morning. It's sad when anyone dies, but he was 90 and now he is in the presence of God.

His daughter was with him when he passed on, and the last words he heard on this earth were "Dad, take a couple more breaths and then heaven is waiting."

My mortal mind thinks the next words he heard were, "Welcome home, Child."

Jon and Kate Plus 8

Last night I was channel surfing for a few minutes before going to bed and came across Jon and Kate Plus 8. Based on the positive reviews of the show I’d read on a family blog I settled on it. While overall it was good, I think the reviewers should have warned a newbie to the show to only watch one or at the most two shows in succession. Last night there were several episodes on in a row. The first was cute with the parents taking each child on a special day—one of the twins was roller skating and then out to lunch with the parents.

I probably should have stopped there, but the next episode was the parents taking the other twin, Maddie ???, to get her ears pierced and out to Red Robin. That little girl could get on one’s nerves very quickly, but it was cute to see her enjoy lunch with just her parents.

By this time I was in bed and trying to go to sleep. The next episode was on the plane flying to Utah. It was a nightmare waiting to happen. No wonder I was awake during the night! I wish you loyal viewers would have warned me of how frayed my nerves would be after watching it!

I also think this should be mandatory watching for high schoolers to avoid teen pregnancy!

Anyway, I enjoyed it and will watch again in limited doses thanks to the recommendations from family.

The Masters

I love this weekend with the Masters golf tournament. I remember watching with Dad, Mark, and Mary probably in the late 70s watching Tom Watson. I don't remember if he won, but I always liked him after that.

In the mid-90s I babysat Lauren while Mark and Molly went to the tournament. She must have been not quite two that year.

In 1996 I at my foot propped on the top edge of the couch after surgery and watch Greg Norman choke on Sunday.

In 2004 it was watching with most of the family at a condo in Destin while it rained outside. We had all gathered there for Easter weekend and most importantly to celebrate Mom's birthday. I was glad Phil Mickelson finally won a major but laughed and laughed at his celebratory jump. It was also funny when he picked up his older daughter and said, "Can you believe it? Daddy won!!!"

Seeing the azaleas even just on tv is a great reminder that spring and then summer will come even here in Michigan!

An E-mail String

Here is a string of e-mails from a student in my last class:

3/12/08

My wife and I had the second ultra-sound done today. It looks as though the original diagnosis is correct. We had some genetic testing done today, to see if we carry this in our genetic makeup or just a lightning strike that we have a baby with it. So it looks as though our baby will not live long after birth. I ask you to pray for Gods strength to handle what may come. Thanks.

3.13/08

I will try to keep you up-to-date with the things that are going on. My wife is due June 24, however my first child was born at 30 weeks, and my second was born at 35 weeks, so we are assuming sometime in May. We are going to let nature take its course with this one, as long as my wife stays healthy. If things take a turn, the doctors tell us they will do a c-section (my wife as already had two) and take our baby. We want to have as much time with him in the womb as possible, to get to know him.

Thanks again

4/9/08

I just wanted to let you know we went back to Grand Rapids today for a third ultra-sound. My wife Sue had a good check-up, except that she has gestational diabetes now, so she has to watch her diet for the next few weeks. We also met with the Doctors who will deliver our baby, and the ones who will take care of him once he is born. It looks as though he will get a type of hospice care, and stay by us until he passes away.

Thanks for your prayers and thoughts

A week or so ago I told a story about my neighbor. I also mentioned that just before his 90th birthday, about six weeks ago, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

Last night his wife came over to tell me they are coming today to take Milt to hospice. Of course, that means he is going down very quickly and his time on earth is short.

As I crawled into bed last night I thought about Milt. He would go to bed knowing that it was the last night he would spend in his home of almost 30 years and the next day he would go to an unfamiliar place to live out the few remaining days of his life.

I was awake at 4:00 a.m. and prayed for him.

Customer Service

I've mentioned this guy's blog in previous posts and back on Xanga. His post for today (here) is really good. Why is customer service so hard for businesses?

Yesterday I went through the drive-thru at the bank to cash a check. Almost every time I go to this branch, or really any branch, the teller's call me Rhonda and I correct them. I've been called by this bank to do a survey on their customer service and I always mention that they don't get my name correct. Yesterday, the teller asked, "Is there was any particular way you want the money, Rhonda?" (The check was for $12.76--how many ways could there be???) My response, "No particular way, and it's Rhoda." Teller: "I'm sorry, Rhoda, I've been called on that before."

Wouldn't good customer service be that you start looking at names more closely?

My new response is going to be, "Well since you're adding letters to my name, why don't you just add a zero just before the decimal?" : )

An example of good customer service: The Lady Vols rewarded their faithful fans with another--the 8th--national championship!

This article about the eCoupled device was in Sunday’s Grand Rapids Press. Page 5 of the article talks briefly about Herman Miller’s application in the office setting. Earlier this year I was involved in data gathering for our research group for this project.

Ramblings

RAMBLING #1:
Last night I had a meeting from which I returned about 9:15. Before the meeting I made ghoulash and readily admit that I left the stove messy with grease splatter, tomato juice, etc. as well as dishes all over the kitchen.

When I got in the door I smelled something that didn’t smell like ghoulash, but I just assumed it must be a carry over from my dinner. I did a few things and then walked through the kitchen and saw half an onion on the counter. The smell wasn’t onion, but I thought that must have contributed to the smell.

Then I walked in the living room and saw a half-eaten bowl of popcorn. Hmmm, some Goldilocks must’ve been in my house. The living room floor (which my recruiter describes as Mary Kay threw up in my living room) was straightened up so that the MK clutter is at least neatly stacked and boxes in a row. I walked back through the kitchen to realize the stove was cleaned, the dishes were done, and later I found out that the cherry juice that had spilled in the refrigerator was cleaned up as well.

Renae was my Goldilocks and is a very good friend.

RAMBLING #2:
I love the Olympics, but I was disappointed that the IOC gave the Olympics to Beijing based on their human rights record. I’m glad to see that there are protestors in the cities where the Olympic torch is traveling through. As long as the protests are non-violent, I’m glad that they are shedding light on the fact that China has an abysmal human rights record. While some progress has been made, much more needs to occur in China.

RAMBLING #3:
My goal for quite awhile has been to run a 5K. I’ve started walking/running to “train” to do so several times, but often things like winter get in the way and I don’t complete it.

I have a new goal and thought that maybe if I put it out here and occasionally update on my progress I’d be more motivated to continue through.

My goal is to run the Mary Kay Ash Foundation 5K on October 11. It is a local event to raise money for the Foundation which supports cancer research and issues regarding domestic violence. Today was Day 4 of the training. The funny thing in this program which is designed for running 2 miles is that the first day is Rest. I can handle that.

The struggle for me is that if I don’t get up and do this in the morning than I get busy after work and don’t exercise. This means I have to get up a 6:00 to get in 30 minutes at least. Over the last few months I’ve realized how much better I operate when I sleep until 6:30 so I’m going to have to reset someway.

I Won, I Won, I Won!!!

After 14 years, I've finally won my women's basketball bracket!!! I was so excited last night. And even though I didn't see the end of the game, my Lady Vols won by 1 point on a put back with .7 seconds left!

I will post a picture of my prize T-shirt after I receive it. For years, I've faithfully paid my $3-5 to buy the t-shirt for the winners, and now it's mine. After all the years I so joyously gave the t-shirt to others and shared in their joy, I'd think all the previous winners would be happy for me. Such is apparently not the case.

At least Mary and Haley are happy for me.

Playing went ok today. I was awake at 4:20 a.m. and didn't go back to sleep until the alarm went off at 6:00 and I hit the snooze. Rehearsal at 8:00 is always interesting. The worship leader is a professional musician as in full-time violinist with the GR Symphony. He's a very nice guy and very encouraging, but I'm intimidated by his music abilities.

So, it's a bit embarrassing when he tells me I'm adding an extra beat on a measure. : )

I practiced a few runs in one piece, but I really thought I'd not get them in during the service. I actually played both of them!

And big news on the MK front: first facial and first sale!!! 29 more faces in the next 29 days and I get more bling.

Tomorrow morning I play the piano for the a.m. service. I'm feeling better about doing it, and thankfully the music doesn't seem to be as hard as the first few times I played. Worship choruses can have weird timings and chords!

However, tomorrow is challenging me because one song is in A flat and modulates to A. The next group of three songs start in b flat, modulates to C for the next song for two verses, modulates to D, then modulates to F for the final song. Another song is in G and the final song is in C. It is a lot of keys to keep straight of what key I'm playing in.

NCAA Brackets

This is Final Four weekend. Since I watch both men's and women's it will be long time until Tuesday night when the women's game is over, but there won't be as much basketball as the previous two weekends.

I'm in two men's brackets on espn.com. Should NC and UCLA make the championship game and NC win I will come in second in both of those brackets.

For the 14th year I've had a group of friends do the women's brackets. I have never won it. A friend's friend in AIA who goes to the Final Four gets a t-shirt every year for the winner. We didn't know if she'd do it this year since my friend isn't with AIA anymore. This is my year though so when I found out Steph could still get us a t-shirt I went out a limb and ordered my size. If TN or anyone besides UConn wins the women's championship I WIN!!! If UConn wins, then their fair-weather supporter, Jayne, wins. Too bad the t-shirt will be too big!

Cell Phones in the 21st century

Many of you know that I live in a condo association in which most of the owners are quite elderly.

No joke, the first order of business at the annual owner's meeting after prayer, Bible reading and eating is to read the list of owner's who have died during the previous year!

Of the 10 condos on my street 6 of them have owners that are over 85. There is a shared garage between every two units.

One day I was pulling in from work when my next door neighbor was in his half of the garage. I was on the cell phone when I got out of the car but hung up since he wanted to talk.

He asked me, “How far can you talk with that thing?”

Me: “Well you can talk anywhere you can with a regular phone.”

Neighbor: “My friend has one that he can all the way to his son in NC.”

Me, realizing he had no concept of cell phone technology and there was no point in trying to explain it, “Well, it must be a good one.”

Visiting

Four days before my next door neighbor’s 90th birthday party, he was diagnosed with advanced stages of pancreatic cancer. For his birthday I gave him two jars of homemade jam and told them to return the jars for more jam when they are finished. Tuesday afternoon the second clean jar was in my garage so I got a couple more jars to take over to him and his wife.

When his wife let me in the house, they wanted me to sit down and visit. However, she said, “You should sit down but you can stay for only a little bit because we have real company coming pretty soon.” I know how I rate.

When their granddaughter (the real company) pulled in the driveway, the wife said, “You can slip out through the garage door.”

OK, whatever.

Happy Birthday John Michael!!!

Eleven years ago John Michael was born. He’s an incredible kid and one of the three best nephews in the entire world! He’s all boy but is very loving as well. He plays baseball, football, and basketball. At Christmas Mary asked him what his favorite sport is. His reply: "Whatever is in season." He is also a good student that works hard to do well. I was impressed when I was visiting that he came home from school and began his homework before his ball practice.

This picture from Christmas isn’t the best of him, but is the latest that I have.











Some of my favorite stories about JM:

About 4 or 5 years ago he rode with me to Decatur. I had a plastic box of change beside me so I started to ask him questions and gave him .01 for each correct answer. The questions ranged from sports, to geography, to history, to math, to family, etc. What is the capital of Georgia?, What are the AL teams in baseball?, What is 5+4+2-6? One question was Grandma and K-Daddy have 19 members in their family, what are each of their names for .01 each. He quickly came up with his own family and then Mary’s, then me, then Ann, but he was missing the obvious Grandma and K-Daddy. He was thinking pretty hard about it and finally said, “Jesus.” Gulp, on my part. I told him that yes, Jesus is a part of the family, but I was meaning actual people. He said, “Well, Jesus should be #1. He is in our family.”

When he was about 5 I took him shopping with $10 for his birthday plus about $20 he had saved. He still talks about how he waited and waited since I took the two girls first and let’s just say they could spend a lot of time at Claire’s and the Icing at that time of their life. We went to Toys ‘R Us to get Lincoln Logs and a big water gun he had eyed for awhile. It was a pretty big chore to decide on which set of Lincoln Logs. Finally he decided after making sure he had enough money. Of course, as the aunt I thought if he was short I’d make up the difference, but he asked if he had enough. When I answered affirmatively, he said, “But what about tax? Do I have enough for tax?” Pretty impressive for 5! We took the two items to the checkout counter and he paid for both. I will never forget his expression when he looked at his billfold and saw no money in it! He had walked into the store with a wad of cash and had absolutely none left. “Aunt Rhoda, do you think I could return the water gun?” So we walked to the customer service counter and returned the water gun.

On the ride home we started talking about money. I said how he had the things he had because his parents had been wise with their money and K-Daddy and Grandma had been wise with their money, etc. After a pause from the back seat came this question, “Do you think I’m wise with my money?” Yes, John Michael. I think you made a wise decision to get only one toy today. You can save more money and get the water gun later.

Happy Birthday, John Michael. I love you. 11 Aunt Rhoda kisses on your birthday.