162 - What a day...

Things are really getting interesting around here!

Sorry about the formatting... I did do a 'return' after my paragraphs but for some reason this program has only chosen to recognize some of them....

First off, let me (once again) say thank you to Ian for my Blog of the Year award. It actually made me giddy, and once I get around to explaining the first part of my day you'll understand what a nice surprise it was.

I literally almost ran around the office screaming "I won! I won!" but then they would have known I was reading my email instead of working... (it's okay to take a break every once in a while though, right?...) Anyway, I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I have a (relatively) small group of followers, but I feel extremely lucky to have a group that actually interacts with me -- and, I'm sure you all know the feeling -- each comment I get brightens my day. Ian is one of my earliest 'followers' as well as one of the first people to leave comments for me. As far as comments go, it's a lot like the old adage 'you have to spend money to make money', because if you don't have any comments, other people are less likely to leave them... crowd mentality or something like that. So thank you for always having something to say, thank you for making me aware of some of the great blogs I now follow (and I'm still checking more out), and thank you again for putting me out there for other people to find!

So the first part of my workday... in a word... stressful. Not as stressful for me as for other people, but I'm overly sensitive to other people's suffering, so I take it on whether it's mine or not. Today was the first round of layoffs at our company... sorry, I mean workforce reduction... What is it about calling a spade a spade? People are so afraid of telling the damn truth that everything has to be tweaked to make it sound less offensive, less threatening. Anyway, it was actually another group that was being downsized (like what I did there with the terminology?), but the way the union is set up, technicians can bump into another department if they a) have greater seniority and b) hold the same classification. Therefore, two of our technicians (one who has already had a particularly crappy year, and the other who recently had a baby) are potentially out the door. The new techs have 5 days to decide if they want to bump or take the layoff (all techs involved are paid during this time), and if they bump, they have 10 days to prove that they can do the job. What a way to start the new year. I guess they at least waited until after Christmas, which is more than I can say for other companies I've worked for, and to be fair, it's not my company's fault, it's a funding issue. It just sucks and I'm grousing.

Other than that things are great. We had a guest speaker at work today. I didn't go to see him live, but I watched him on the internal television network we have: Captain Sullenberger, the US Airways pilot who landed in the Hudson. Pretty exciting! He seems like a nice guy. He spoke about discipline and integrity and teamwork. He brought up an interesting point... we have only been flying for a little over a hundred years now... wow... we've come a long way from those first flights to the shuttles that go up on a regular basis. And he's flown for about 42 years of it, so he's seen a lot.

Speaking of launches, I'm making actual plans to go see a launch in May. I don't know if I'll get the passes to sit on the causeway since I'm not a Fed, but I have a friend who says she's just as close, so that might be an even better option. And, as is usually the case, I've turned my small trip into a much bigger deal... I invited a friend, and my cousin invited a friend, so it started with me thinking that I didn't want one hotel room for the four of us. So I started looking for beach houses. Then the words 'beach house' triggered an idea... A group of us girls rent a beach house once a year and just hang out and have fun, eat yummy food, and cut loose... all without boys (oh... we have pillowfights in our underwear, too... lol, not). This year it didn't happen because Ike pretty much devastated the beach and left us wondering where and when to do it. Since most of us work for NASA, since Florida has beaches, and since one of us now lives in Florida, I thought... 'why not have Beach House Weekend in Florida... in May... and watch the launch?' So I'm hoping the others will buy into it, because I'm really excited at the prospect!

Also, we must be on the map now or something... Extreme Makeover Home Edition is in town this week to work on a local family's house. Isn't that exciting??? I love that show because it always makes me feel good to know that good people are getting help they desperately need. Anyway, it fits right in with my New Year's resolutions, so I signed up to volunteer for the build. I don't know if they'll use me or not... I'm not skilled... I do things here and there... build fences... tear down small buildings (fun!)... paint... I figure it's more of a schlepping role, but I think it would be neat to be involved in something that big, and a nice jump start into Habitat for Humanity. And what better way to start the year? I realize that I'm incredibly lucky to have a nice home, to have a good job... not everyone has that... Oh -- a friend of mine posted it on her Facebook page and this dumbass former cheerleader at my high school said, and I quote, "Ty will be in town?... Gotta see if I can by there!"... I think she meant "swing by there" but the poor dear's vocabulary must not be very big... anyway, all I could think was 'could she BE any shallower???'

So that's pretty much been my day, mostly good, but also stressful. Now I'm going to settle down with my book, because Master Your Metabolism was waiting for me on the doorstep when I got home! Hope everyone has a great evening, talk to you tomorrow!

Oh, and a funny parting thought... that Slap Chop commercial? I always crack up when he says, '... and you're gonna LOVE my nuts!' Oh dear.