I had to laugh at work today

again not that Manderly quote but again I'm not an author ........

With the holidays upon us, our VP of Admin sent out a memo stating what days the offices would be closed, what days the offices would be closed early, and what times of the early closings.

We're closed Thanksgiving and the day after, Christmas Day and New Years Day. We close early (at noon) on Monday Christmas Eve and Monday New Years Eve.

This poses a rather challenging aspect to my particular position as 1) I'll have to do a 2 day job in 1 day (because of time constraints --- banks are closed on Christmas and New Years) but now 2) I'll have to do a 2 day job in about a 1/2 day 3) Christmas Eve is the last payroll of 2007 (payrolls are figured by paydate so of course Dec 31 would be paid in 2008) and as such has a lot of last minute adjustments.

My CFO (my boss) was less than sympathetic until I reminded him that it affected him as well.

Misery - it do love company :)

the photo above was taken this summer (2007) of Jake - a cat that we're currently fostering for a friend. He tends to have that look quite often -- as if he's silently judging the world

Art Sunday

For today's Art Sunday I thought I'd highlight 4 of Norman Rockwell's prints - The Freedom Series. All were originally story illustrations in The Saturday Evening Post in 1943. The first is Freedom from Fear which was from the March 13, 1943 Edition.

All of these can be seen at The Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts

Freedom of Speech originally an illustration from The Saturday Evening Post February 20, 1943. In 2004 this series was part of an exhibition called Norman Rockwell’s Four Freedoms: Paintings That Inspired a Nation and was displayed at The Corcoran Museum in Washington DC.

This painting is titled Freedom from Want and was originally a story illustration from The Saturday Evening Post March 16, 1943.

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from http://www.corcoran.org/

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During the height of World War II, Norman Rockwell painted four of the most powerful and enduring images in American history. Like many artists and writers, he supported the war effort by creating work inspired by President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s January 1941 State of the Union address outlining his four basic human liberties: freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. Unlike his peers, however, Rockwell did not receive a government commission to interpret Roosevelt’s words. Instead, the Saturday Evening Post paid the Vermont artist to create the paintings for reproduction in that enormously popular weekly magazine. The four commanding images achieved the instant and widespread recognition government officials could only hope for: in four weeks during the spring of 1943 they reached millions of American living rooms through the pages of the Post.

Freedom to Worship originally a story illustration from The Saturday Evening Post February 27, 1943.

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For today's Art Sunday I say we honor our freedoms and the persons who lost their lives so that we may have them.

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"Freedom is a possession of inestimable value. " ~~ Cicero

To be Anti-social

Today I had such a pang of longing for the old Yahoo 360. Of course that didn't last as I tried to check my Yahoo mail and found the system was down.

*sigh*

The things they mess up.

I do miss my online community though.

Anyway I might eventually have to cave and wander back to Multiply. This entire change came at the absolutely worst time for me -- I had just closed my page down to a very few people and BAM on multiply I had dozens of requests perday --- of people I didn't know and people I did know and people who had changed their names so I knew them but didn't think I did ... too much too fast. When I needed to circle the wagons I had chaos.

Thanks - 's all the same I had chaos at home. I didn't want more.

I still don't. Not yet.

For now I think I'll embrace my anti-sociality ... until things calm down in my personal life for a while.

the picture above is of Essie - a cat we're fostering for a friend of mine. It was taken summer 2007

What happened to Autumn?

We have went from near summer weather a couple of weeks ago to snow in Erie PA this week. That might have something to do with the sense of imbalence many are feeling but I blame the Christmas music that showed up the week of Halloween.

Yes the last week in October one of my radio stations started playing Christmas Carols. This week my HR director started playing Christmas music on her XM radio.

Call me a Scrooge - you're entitled - but I refuse to turn on Christmas music until the week or so before Christmas.

Now we're seeing all the buy-me buy-me buy-me commercials. The one that (currently) sits my teeth on edge though is the one where they're all going to Grandma's house and the mother just wants to go home and open her new Best Buy package so they drive up, honk at the old woman waiting patiently on the porch, then roar away laughing.

What lesson does that teach?

I prefer one of my favorite Christmas commercials from my youth. I do apologize for the quality of the video but I bet it is enough to jog your memory:




the picture above is from Christmas 2006

Adjustments

Isn't it amazing what a month can bring? It's been near to a month since the diagnosis. Since then I've learned more about Parkinson's than I ever wanted and still know basically nothing.

• I now know that you cannot get life insurance with a diagnosis of Parkinsons.


• I now know that you cannot get long term care insurance with that diagnosis (ok I predicted that one).


• I now know that protein levels are important. Protein often makes the medications wear off too soon. Therefore we juggle when proteins are consumed.


• I now know that this illness (whether the illness itself or more likely the medications) *can* affect the immune system. However the neurologist seems unconcerned over the fact that there is also history of asthma.


• I now know that even though many strides are being made, not all treatments work for all patients and most things only work for a short time (in the grand scheme of long term maintenance medication).

Plans - more plans, fewer plans, what to choose to do and what not to choose.

• I am picking up my health insurance at work just in case because then preexisting conditions don't come into play.


• I am trying to estimate what we should invest in the house figuring that we will probably have to move to single level in 5-7 years. I hope it's not sooner. I am really hoping for more like 10 years.


• I am researching bus routes and mass transit - again just in case.


• I am a frequent visitor to michaeljfox.org because sometimes I have to take a break from the multitude of information out there. Small doses.


• I am not sleeping. I plan even in my dreams. Plans that change, alter, rearrange in hopes of finding the best possible solution.

However - I *am* coping.

Yes the *I* word is all over this blog. He has his own blog he can blog about what he wants to blog about. This one is mine.

the picture above is just a rainy photo from out my front door taken sometime in 2006

On this date

On this date last year I was still numb from the call 2 days before telling me my best friend Deb (who was also my cousin) had unexpectedly died.

On this date last year I was still emotionally rocked from discovering 2 days before that my father had died in April and no one thought to inform me.

On this date last year I apologized to my son Robert because his birthday was wrecked again by deaths in the family. It happens frequently. He was still pretty upset over Dad and Debbie.

On this date last year we were informed that Jon's mother was not long for this earth. She passed six days later.

---I send a fervent prayer that this November is kinder. I doubt I could take another one like last year. October this year was nearly bad enough to send me to a shrink begging any drugs to make it all just go away.

the photo above was taken at Calvert Cliffs summer 2007

The Daily Zen

from http://www.dailyzen.com/

When this mind is clear and bright
And is not covered over,
Then you are not very different
From the sages.
If you allow no wavering
From this clarity, and do not
Let it change,
And do not cling to it,
And do not neglect it:
This is learning.
Just protect it all the time


- Luo Hongxian (1504-1564)

Yet another one I like. I've started in the last few weeks to resume reading The Daily Zen. Sometimes it's something to share and other times it's not but it always seems to touch me on some level.

The absolute clarity of thought: do not neglect it and do not cling to it just protect it.

I like that.

the photo above was taken on Cape Cod winter 2006