TGIF!!!!

Finally! I didn't think it would EVER get here! What a week it was. Work has been somewhat of a whirlwind, but I think that quite a few companies are like that now. The work doesn't decrease just because of downsizing. I love the term redistribution of work, don't you? I love how management approaches you when they want to give you more assignments.

Management: Hey Moogs, will you come into my office for a minute? I have something to discuss with you.

Moogie: Sure thing.

(At this point I'm thinking, man...I really don't have time for this. And then I get to thinking that maybe they are going to tell me that I've screwed up big time or they are going to lay me off. But the time I reach the manager's office that is maybe 200 feet away, I've worked up a sweat, and my blood pressure is soaring. A swallowing marathon is going on to keep the contents of my stomach at bay. I'm wracking my brain to try to figure out what I did wrong.) Mom, is this what you meant by backing the hearse up to the door? VRRRrooooommm!

Management: Thanks for coming (I look out of the corner of my eye and notice my supervisor is there as well - Uh oh). We have a new contract coming up (the bells start wringing in my head) and we are trying to decide who we want to take it over as the analyst (I felt he blood rushing to my temples and my head starts to pound...I can see the writing on the wall) Your name keeps coming up.

Moogie: Oh? (man, what a brilliant response Moogs).

Managment: Well, we've been tracking your development and you are one of the more senior folks around (now, does that mean I'm old as dirt or been at the company for a while?) You've really come a long way. This is a really good opportunity for you as it's a three year development contract that could lead to something more.


Moogie: Ahh! (I really need to think about a career in public speaking).

Now, while I'm sure that their compliments are sincere, and it does make me feel good, I also know there is an ulterior motive. Why is it that management cannot just come right out and tell you they have a new contract and have decided they want you to be the analyst? Granted, either way I would have jumped at the opportunity as it will be handled in a completely different manner than what I'm used to. We'll be integrating cost AND schedule which is new to me, and after I've been on board for a while, I'll be one of the few analysts around who know how to do that. That said, it is a great opportunity for me, but I've been around so long and have had that speech given to me so many times. I just wish they would be straight with me and ask. It's not like I've ever said no. The good news is that since this is considered a full time contract, they will take the majority of my work away and give it to someone else. The contract won't start until October at the earliest, so I still have time to fret about my ability to do the job. VRRRroooom!

Nuf said....
BIRTHDAY PARTIES

Joy of joys. Tomorrow we are going to a birthday party for a two-year-old that lives in our neighborhood. The mother just had a baby a few months ago, and sometimes my eldest goes over and entertains the two year old so that the mom can get some work done, or just rest. The party is going to be at Chuck E Cheese (Lord help me) so I would imagine I'll need a lobotomy when it is all through. I really don't mind all that much as the girls are terribly excited about going and they LOVE Chuck E Cheese. My youngest has been agitating to have her fifth birthday party there. We've been trying to talk her out of that, but with no luck. We are going to check out the prices to see if it's anything approaching reasonable.

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GAS PRICES

I don't know about the rest of the country, but in California, the gas prices are going sky high. Most of our gas stations (at least in our area) are charging a bit over $2.00 a gallon for unleaded! I've been reading about the political unrest in Venezuela. In one article they stated that because of that, the oil production of Venezuela was at 60% production. I'd wager to guess this, along with all of the happenings of Iraq are driving the prices up.

Any thoughts?

FEEDBACK

I received this response from Ward in regards to my post on Iraq. For once, we seem to be in agreement.

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War in Iraq

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The Big Thing about the coming war in Iraq is Saddam Hussein. Hussein is a Hitler-wannabe. MUCH better to deal with him now, before he has nukes.

I wish it were otherwise.

War is ALWAYS expensive. It costs lives. It costs treasure. It costs friends who become adversaries, or enemies.

Ultimately, Iraq is the big loser here - all the young men Hussein has cost them in the wars from the 1980's onward will not be available to help rebuild the country. The same thing has chewed up France and Germany - their best young men were killed off in WW1 and WW2, and they've been 2nd-class countries since 1945. Stalin killed off Russia's best young men, starting in the 1930's, and Russia is now a 2nd-class power.

Very sad.

Just my thoughts.

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Thanks for your thoughts. I agree, it is sad. But unless Hussein does an about face, I don't see any other way around it

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Here are some more cubicle sayings! Thanks Ward. I'd forgotten some of these.

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It's hard to soar with eagles when you're surrounded by turkeys.

Patience my ass! Let's go out and kill something!

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. (Management NEVER follows this. Never. But, you knew that!)

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Thanks for reminding me. Yes, I remember that well. I wonder if some times they lay awake a night thinking of ways to change things. Don't they have anything better to do?

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HUMOR

Thanks to my folks for sending this. It's really cute!

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DEAR ANN LANDERS:


I loved the letters you printed about misinterpreting the Lord's Prayer. When my twin daughters were young, I taught them to say this prayer before going to bed. As I listened outside their door, I could hear them say, "Give us this steak and daily bread, and forgive us our mattresses." My husband and I always had a good laugh over this. That was over 50 years ago, and the memory still remains in my heart.

From San Francisco: When I was a child, I learned this prayer as "Our Father, who are in Heaven, Howard be thy name." I always thought that was God's real name.

Groton, Mass: My mother spent her early childhood saying, "Hail Mary, full of grapes."

Missoula, Mont: My son, who is in nursery school, said, "Our Father, who art in Heaven, how didja know my name?"

Uniontown, Ohio: I remember thinking this prayer was "Give us this day our jelly bread."

Covina, Calif: I recall reading something years ago about the Pledge of Allegiance. Some child thought it began, "I led the pigeons to the flag."

Cleveland, Ohio: When I was little, I often wondered who Richard Stands was. You know: "I pledge allegiance to the flag . ..
and to the republic for Richard Stands."

Schenectady, NY: I once knew a child whose favorite Sunday school song was "Gladly, the Cross-Eyed Bear."

Tampa, Fla: When my husband was 6 years old, he thought a certain prayer was "He suffered under a bunch of violets." The real words were "under Pontius Pilate," but at that age, he didn't know better. To this day, we still snicker in church whenever that prayer is read.

Lake Forest Park, Wash: When I was a little girl, we sang a song in Sunday school about Noah. Part of the chorus was "And the rains came down, and the floods came up." We lived next door to a couple of charming little girls who always sang this song while playing in their garden. Their words were, "And the rains came down, and the spuds came up."

Oak Harbor, Wash: When my older brother was very young, he always walked up to the church altar with my mother when she took communion. On one occasion, he tugged at her arm and asked, "What does the priest say when he gives you the bread?" Mom whispered something in his ear. Imagine his shock many years later when he learned that the priest doesn't say, "Be quiet until you get to your seat."

Grand Junction, Colo: When I was younger, I believed the line was "Lead a snot into temptation." I thought I was praying for my little sister to get into trouble

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That's about it for now. Feel free to drop me a line with your thoughts or anything you find humorous. I'd love to hear from you!!! Ciao4now!!!!

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