such small hands

The Life of Leisure (Sort Of)

Coming to you live from the land of the unemployed:

Actually, three other people from the creative group were laid off the same day I was. And today I found out that two of the account executives were laid off yesterday. Everyone else is just walking around in a funk, waiting for the worst.

I've been keeping busy at home, working around the house and the yard. Ken and I have been talking about my getting into free-lancing the same sort of writing I had been doing. I like the idea of working from home to save on gas, and the flexibility of setting my own schedule and being able to take time off when I want. I have a couple of prospects. We'll see. I feel in no rush to decide right this minute.

Played nine holes of golf on Saturday and Sunday. I did pretty well on Saturday, close to my best ever. Sunday was a complete meltdown, which I will chalk up to lack of sleep. A combination of layoff anxiety plus a neighbor's puppy barking its fool head off at 3 a.m.

Heading off to Lowe's for mulch and citronella candles.

Joining the Ranks of the Jobless

I think I am still in a state of shock.

I got the word today that I am to be laid off. My position is terminated. Whatever they want to call it, after July 25, I won't have a job to go to in the morning. The company has been having financial problems and there have been other layoffs. In fact, one of my good friends was also let go today. It's not a performance thing, because she and I are both top-notch at what we do. But we are also at or near the top of our pay scales, and that means it makes sense to save the big $$ first.

I'm going in tomorrow to pack up my stuff and say goodbye to people, and have lunch with a good friend. Officially, I am unemployed as of July 25.

So your prayers would be appreciated. For direction, as much as anything. I don't know what is happening, but I do know that God has provided, provides now and therefore will continue to provide.

But still, humanly speaking, this is just surreal.

I Knew Him When

Slate has a story about a new interview show on TCM hosted by film critic Elvis Mitchell. Mitchell has experience writing movie reviews for the New York Times, and he was a longtime fixture on NPR's Weekend Edition. His new show on TCM is called "Under the Influence" and it airs Monday nights.

I can honestly say that I knew Elvis before he was famous. He was a free-lance film critic for the midsize Detroit suburban daily paper where I and my then-husband worked. Now and then, the three of us would take in a movie together. For me, seeing a movie with Elvis was like the scene in "Sideways" where Miles and Jack tour California wineries. Miles harshly critiques one of the wines they are tasting in eloquent wine-speak and Jack just says, "I dunno, tastes pretty good to me."

Which tells you a lot about why I don't make my living as a movie critic and Elvis does.

The Rothbury Festival

Amy and four of her friends are spending the weekend at the Rothbury Music Festival in Muskegon, Michigan. It's been described as a little like Bonaroo and a little like Burning Man. For me, it's hard to imagine my little princess camping out for four days. You know, the one who used to take a whole Walgreen's worth of beauty supplies when we went on vacation.

LOLCats Not Always Funny

more cat pictures

Stalled

Well, this has been a wasted workday. I log on to the computer only to find that I can't access my H drive, where all of my working documents are stored. I called the Help Desk and the IT guy created a ticket for my problem and said someone would be getting back with me. Well after lunch, I still hadn't heard from anyone, so I called the Help Desk to check on the status of my ticket. Apparently, the problem is widespread and will take a little while longer to fix. I hope I'll be able to work on something tomorrow.

We've been getting rain almost every day. Good for the garden ... good for the weeds.

Amy is finishing up finals for her summer classes. Looks like she's got a B in the data analysis class that she hated. Thank you, Lord, for small favors. Graduation is looking like it might actually happen, Amy thinks, by December 2009.

And to start my day, I popped THE button on my pants. Only the clip on my ID badge stood between my dignity and overexposure.

Tiger Sits Out the Season

The news broke early this afternoon that Tiger Woods will miss the rest of the 2008 golf season to have another surgery on his knee and give time for the stress fractures on his tibia to heal. As much as I will miss watching the man play, I'm glad he's looking out for his long-term health and career. Not to mention keeping that knee in shape for bouncing his daughter, Sam. (I love the picture of him reaching for his daughter from his wife's arms after his win on Monday.)

Some of the articles and blogs I've read say this may well impact TV viewership and attendance at the other PGA events this year. That may be true to some extent, especially for the casual golf fans. But I can't imagine the die-hard golfers staying away just because Tiger won't be there. Golfers probably identify more with a guy like Rocco Mediate or Phil Mickelson, just because we love to see how they save themselves from errant shots. And as my husband Ken said when I told him the news, this gives lots of other guys the chance to win some big money this year.

I'm Jealous

Fellow blogger Mark Byron may be watching the 18-hole U.S. Open playoff between Tiger Woods and Rocco Mediate today. Like millions of other golf fans, I’ll be stuck in the office during the ESPN and NBC coverage of the event.

Maybe I should try the tactic of that guy in the one FedEx Cup commercial: “Um, my daughter is sick and I have to go pick her up” — from a guy dressed in full golf regalia, down to his glove and shoes.

Yeah, like that would work. Especially because everyone here knows that my only daughter is in college about 250 miles away.

 

And yes, I did play this weekend (18 on Saturday, 9 on Sunday). Thank you for asking.

The Face of Obsession

When I wasn't actually playing golf last week, I was reading about it. Ken took the picture. He blames himself for my obsession. Like the heroin addict who gets his friends hooked, Ken introduced me to hte game. Now I want to play as much or more than he does. It's also like an addiction in that you are always trying to recreate that one fantastic moment, that "high" --- the great tee shot or putt, the birdie hole.

So it is a sure thing that we will play, sometime, somewhere, this weekend. And try to squeeze in a little of the U.S. Open while we are at it.

Lessons from Golf

One of the main reasons Ken and I wanted to take this vacation was to play golf --- lots of golf. To play 18 holes every day, weather permitting. So far, weather has permitted and we have played four rounds.

The first  two days were downers for me. Something was wrong with my swing, but the course isn't the place to fix things. And the more I hacked away, the worse the negative thoughts became. It got so bad, I'd stand behind the ball almost paralyzed, terrified I'd hit yet another lousy shot.

It just wasn't any fun to play.

So I did a couple of things to fix my game mechanically and mentally. First, I hit the driving range to work on a couple of things to get the ball into the air more  consistently.

Then I put into practice two mental tricks to help me relax, focus on the present moment and have fun. The first sounds strange, but I picked it up from a David Leadbetter column in Golf Digest. He recommended opening your mouth at address and through your finish. This helps relax your neck and shoulders and reminds you to keep breathing. Odd, but it works.

The second is a "mantra" I picked up from Dr. Bob Rotella, a sports psychologist (again from a Golf Digest article). He said, "Play every shot until you run out of holes." It's sort of a golf variation on St. Paul: Putting aside what lies behind  and pressing on to what lies ahead. Play in the present. Forget about your last shot, your last hole, forget what your score is. Focus on doing your best with the shot you're about to hit.

The result yesterday was my best round ever. Now, I'm not even an average golfer, but still I was delighted with my 142. I made par on one par 3 hole and bogeyed a par 4. What's more important, I had a lot of fun.

What Happened to May?

I realize that I have been neglecting the blog this month. Actually, I was surprised to see that it had been almost a month since I last posted.

I'm fine ... it's just been a busy month. I have taken on a few more projects at work. And we've been busy on the home front.

Amy was home for a couple of weekends, making sure I wasn't forgotten on Mother's Day. Then, of course, there were the NBA Playoffs to watch. But, then, I don't really want to talk about that.

We started putting in the garden the weekend before Memorial Day. We have a few vegetables and herbs. Put in some flowers on the holiday weekend.

And we've played golf, at least par 3, every weekend. We played every day over the  holiday. We visited Red Oaks County Park's 9-hole course twice. Ken  calls it a par 3 1/2. There are four par-4 holes and five par-3s. Actually I did pretty well that weekend.

This week we are up at Lost Lake Woods Club, mostly playing golf, but also hanging out with Ken's brother and sister and their spouses. We've played 18 for the past 3 days and expect to play every day that it doesn't rain. I really struggled the first two days, but yesterday was better. We'll see how the rest of the week goes.

And I will try to be better about keeping you updated.

New York Proposes Rapid Organ Recovery Ambulance

Better post on this initiative in New York to expand opportunities for organ donations before all my friends start forwarding it to me in e-mails.

Also, please read the valuable Q&A sidebar that gives further detail on the RORA crew’s procedures. Sounds like many rules are in place to prevent even the appearance of a conflict of interest, so that no potential donor is rushed into the organ-preserving procedures before actually being declared dead.

Naturally, as an organ recipient and next-of-kin to two people who have expressed wishes to be organ donors, I think this is a good way to expand the donor opportunity to all those who wish to give their organs at death. It gives the families time ... so that if their loved one had always wanted to be a donor, their organs are preserved for transplantation. If not, then nothing is lost; the body is not "invaded." If it is true, as the article states, that a potential 22,000 donors could be considered under these guidelines, think what that would mean for the long transplant waiting lists.

Let’s look at what this does NOT mean:
• Paramedics will not be harvesting organs for transplant in the field (read the sidebar “Preserving the Right to Donate Organs” describing what procedures the RORA crew would do)
• The deceased will not become donors against the wishes of their families
• The next step is not the Soylent Green factory. Seriously, commenters should always remember to engage brain before typing!

Is It Trust or Foolishness?

Maybe I’ve been reading too many articles about the food riots last month in third-world countries. Maybe I read too much of Rod Dreher’s blog over at Beliefnet, where he often frets and fusses over the latest dark cloud on the horizon. In this post, he cites a Wall Street Journal article advising us all to stock our pantries with rice and wheat products. Sometimes Dreher reminds me of Chicken Little.

So, with all this percolating in my subconscious, I woke up at 2 a.m. one night last week with the crystalline thought that, from my perspective as a Christian at least, there’s something wrong with stockpiling 50-pound bags of rice and flour in my basement. I will not do it. I will just go on, planning the week’s meals and buying the groceries we need that week, as I always have.

In my day-to-day walk with God and in my reading and study of Jesus’ words, God has revealed Himself to me in real and personal ways as my Healer and Provider. To put it in the simplest terms, if God has provided a kidney transplant to sustain my life, is food too difficult for Him? If I have a storehouse of food in my basement, is my trust in God or in my stockpile?

This all put me in mind of Jesus’ parable about the foolish rich man in Luke 12:13-21. Jesus says, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” And He told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself: ‘What shall I do? I have not place to store my crops.’ Then he said: ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.”

Other Scriptures that seem to address this issue:
• Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth …but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do no destroy … for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
• Give us this day our daily bread.
• Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink … For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows you need them. But seek first His kingdom …

NBA Playoffs

So, the Lakers have moved to the next rung, as have the Magic. I see the Celtics and Wizards are all tied up too. But do I hear anyone saying the Celtics are coasting, or that they play down to the level of their opponents. What gives here?

The Return to Work

Really, I don’t know what I was so worried about.

Going back to work really hasn’t been bad at all. Actually, it’s been rather nice.

Maybe it was the big “Welcome Back, Lee Anne” sign that greeted me when I got off the elevator to my office. Maybe it’s been because everyone has been so doggone nice, telling me how glad they are that I am back, how much they missed me, and how great I look now that I am healthy.

I’ve worked with some of these people since 1996; others are more recent acquaintances. But all of them seem just as thrilled and amazed by the miracle of this transplant as Ken and I have been.

I’m certainly not bored — or idle. My first day back was spent mostly dealing with the 400+ e-mails that had accumulated in my inbox. But I’m also working on a few items for the Ford salesperson magazine, which is helping me get up-to-speed on the wonderful world of Ford.

It’s been like coming back home.