Scorching Summer

Ah...it's so good to be home!

Leo left Houston early Friday morning and was home in Port Lavaca before I even left for work. In the evening, by the time the Houston traffic had cleared out enough for me to head home as well, it was late before I made it in. Still, it was nice to arrive home and find the porch light on and Leo waiting up for me. Home sweet home! I guess I didn't realize how tired I was from the weeks before, but I spent more time "doing nothing" this weekend than I normally do. I think I needed it though, because I feel so much better now.

With the near-miss of Hurricane Dolly behind us, the weather has been scorching hot. Although we haven't hit triple digits here yet (>37.8C), other parts of the state have and I wouldn't be at all surprised to see it here in the next couple of weeks. Of course, the hot weather doesn't have quite the effect on me that it used to as most of my activities, work and play, occur indoors these days. But I can see it sapping Leo's strength as he still has to get out in it on a regular basis.

I continue to have a lot of work waiting for me but it seems to be coming at a slightly more manageable rate now, so I'm not feeling as overwhelmed. Still, I wish I had taken the time a year or so ago to train someone else to work with me. As it is right now, taking time out for training is just not possible. Although I'm hoping to expand the business a bit soon, this business of time-constraints is going to have to be dealt with first. I'm not quite ready for that just yet as there are other fish waiting to be fried including Leo finally getting his orders to show up in Nigeria, Jessie coming home from his travels, and my fulfilling of a handful of current commitments. [Sigh] Life goes on. But that's a good thing, now isn't it!

Short Weekend

Friday found me working at the URC campus on Buffalo Speedway. My part was secondary, or perhaps "tertiary" as there were three of us working, but still a contribution. However, the day had started off all wrong with my sister involved in a little freeway incident that threw us off our schedule. (She's fine, by the way, although the flat tire and minor damage to her car after hitting a large trailer ramp that was dropped on the freeway in front of her will put her car in the shop for a few days.) With all of that inconvenience to deal with, we were forced to meet again this morning to finish up. Hopefully, this little project is complete.

With not enough free time to make it worth a drive home this weekend, Leo and I enjoyed a movie together on Saturday morning. We saw the much raved about Batman flick, The Dark Knight. Gee I hate to go against the experts, but I was not that impressed. (SPOILER ALERT...DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE MOVIE!) When Batman runs from the police at the end of the movie, taking responsibility for a crime he did not commit so that the citizens of Gotham would not know that their latest fallen hero had been responsible, the audience erupted into applause. I guess I was the only one that had a problem with this. [Sigh.] Perhaps I'm just getting old. We also see Alfred burning the letter from Batman's love telling him that she loved someone else. I suppose Alfred was thinking that the truth no longer mattered by this point so burning the letter that she asked him to deliver was no big deal. Finally, I found I kept looking for the face of a man who could take his own life (Heath Ledger) behind the makeup of the movie's antagonist. I have to admit I was a bit depressed by the whole thing.

After the movie, Leo headed home to Port Lavaca for a few days while I hung out at the apartment for the afternoon. Up at 5am, and at work by 6:30, when we finished up our project at 9:30 I took a little side trip to the bookstore. I purchased three books to go with the two audiobooks and one Kindle book that I haven't read yet, so I'm pretty well set up for the next month or so. For those that don't remember, "Kindle" is the cool little electronic reading device that I carry around. It is where I hold everything from my Wall Street Journals, to novels, to business books, to my Bible, all in one convenient and purse-sized device. Can you tell? I really LOVE my Kindle.

Here are the books that are now on my reading list:

• The Winner, by David Baldacci (Kindle)
• Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card (Audible)
• Dune, by Frank Herbert (Audible)
• Project Management Professional Study Guide, by Joseph Phillips (book)
• Professional XML, by Evjen et al (book)
• Nigeria, Bradt Travel Guide, by Lizzie Williams (book)

Looks like I have a busy month ahead!

Running a Marathon as if it were a Dash

After listening to the sermon in our little country church this morning, I think I've figured out part of my problem. Bro. David told a story about running in a race that he had not trained for. When the last lap of the mile long race came, he noticed the other runners really pouring on the speed, so he did too. Curious to see how things were going, he turned his head to look behind. One of his slower teammates, realizing he didn't know how much this action was slowing him down, yelled from behind "don't look back...don't look back!"

The point that Bro. David was really making tied in to the sermon (guess you should have joined us!), but the story made me realize why I am so tired, why I haven't had much time for friends and family, and why I keep feeling like I'm losing the race. For me, the problem is that I keep running this project race as if it is a 50 yard dash instead of the marathon that it really is. When running a short project dash, I have the luxury of pushing everything out of view except for the finish line, and dedicating all of my efforts toward the one task, running at full speed, to the exclusion of all else. In the marathon [yes...I get the irony of using this analogy when the mental image of a woman my size running a marathon is, well, unbelievable...but stay with me on this one, okay?]. Now where was I? Oh yes...in the marathon, if I adopted the same strategy, I'd be out on the side of the road waiting for the pick up car in no time at all.

I'm currently involved in a project that is much more complex (from a data standpoint anyway) than anything I've done in the last couple of years. This week, we really put a ton of work into getting the tool ready to demonstrate to management. We did a good job...they like what they see, but part of our strategy involved putting pieces of the data into place without verification, without clean-up, and without checks and balances. We have a long way to go on this, and if I do not proceed with more caution, then I am at risk of finding myself reworking the data over and over to solve problems that were already solved, but not recorded or shared across the project.

Also, I have been putting off things like answering emails, taking care of other clients, spending quality time with my husband (who will soon be gone for a while!), paying bills, going home for the weekend, and more in order to dedicate all my time, and I mean ALL of it, to the project. So...I've decided the best strategy now is to PACE MYSELF. There is no doubt that 40 hours each week will still go toward this one task, but from here forward, there will also be time spent on other important things.

My first task? Tonight I am going to focus on replying to emails that have gone unanswered. Tomorrow, between my dentist appointment and visiting with our financial adviser, I am going to take my sweetie out to the movies. And when I get back in town on Tuesday, I'll definitely be ready to put 10 hours per day to work on systematically proceeding through my project making sure to document and organize the work as I go.

Gee...the more I think about it now, the more I realize that within 4 weeks, I'm going to get to the end of a very successful project without sacrificing my friendships, my health, my family, or my professional ethics. I'm running a marathon here, and by following a fast-paced but well thought out strategy, I am absolutely going to win this race without sacrificing the important things in my life as I go!

Happy Independence Day!

Our drive home yesterday was relatively uneventful. The corn fields on the way out of town have been harvested, although the ones on our road are still standing. Our yard is still a mess, overgrown beds and construction litter (scaffolding, lumber, etc.) reminding me that I have a "to-do" list a mile long, even before walking in the front door. But walking through that door gave me the same sense of pleasure, relief, and joy as it always does. After several weeks of absence, I am home.

Leo and I decided to go to the movies last night. "Hancock" started off a bit slow and unimpressive, but once the twist was tossed in, it turned out to be not bad at all. "Wanted" in next on our list, but we'll have to drive to Victoria for that one.

This past week had me working on four different projects at work. We finished up the training (a total 78 people attended the four sessions) on the ProSteward database, although I have a very long list of changes, upgrades, and fixes to tackle. I had to rebuild a broken Preventive Maintenance database at URC, after one of the forms failed then refused to allow me to delete it. I continue to struggle with slow but steady progress through the BAR Data Warehouse project which has an important deadline approaching this week. I have one month in which to squeeze in a rebuild of an old OIMS Assessment database, a project that utilizes an intricate merging of multiple databases into a final Word document report. A separate important but time-consuming and detailed Project Management tool is sitting in the wings, waiting for me to have a chance to dedicate some time and effort to it since it is little more than the spark of an idea at the moment. So...I am DEFINITELY not lacking for work these days.

I woke up this morning to the sound of Leo on the lawn tractor, but less than 30 minutes later, we are getting a much needed downpour. I need to put in 8 hours of work today, so the rain is not disrupting my plans at all. Still, I hope to see it rain much of the day, then clear out by evening so the families can have their fun with firecrackers at the boat ramp, and we can watch the show for free.

Fireworks were always a big part of our holidays, growing up, but I abandoned the practice years ago, when the girls were teenagers, after accidentally setting one of my daughter's hair on fire. It's a story oft repeated at family get-togethers amid much laughter and joking, but it is also the reason I stopped participating in such activities (bad luck, and all that).

I've had the good fortune to be in contact with several friends this week, via email. It's a bit odd for me as, with my lifestyle, I can often go for weeks without any personal interaction outside of Leo, my sister, and my daughters. It's a nice thought that I will need to dedicate a couple of hours this evening to updating friends on my recent goings-on and find out more about what's going on in their lives.

Leo's preparations for Nigeria continue to be the primary "diversion" in our lives at the moment. This week he got all his shots, three in each arm and one in that other typical spot. He's just getting over the soreness now. We have purchased all the clothing and work shoes he will need, made sure he is equipped with a laptop and printer, and have practiced all kinds of things to ensure we will be able to keep in touch and that he will be able to carry out all of the technological tasks that I generally handle (file manipulations, document creation, faxing, scanning, photo manipulation, electronic drawings, texting, and more) while he's gone. We are both excited (not nervous) about the work, but both continue to downplay the fact that we would 1000x rather be together for this than apart. That's just something we're going to have to live with for the moment.

Yikes! It appears I have gone ON AND ON once again. My apologies! I'll try to write more frequently and less lengthily in the future!

Touching Base With Toby

Back in '92-'93 la familia was living in Deer Park, TX. We decided it would be cool to have a foreign exchange student come and live with us. Our guy? Tobias Schlenker from Reutlingen Germany. It was a wonderful year. I had never had a "son" before, and Toby fit the bill. The girls learned what it was like to have an older brother, even if only for a time, and we all were introduced to a new culture.

I still have wonderful memories of our year with Toby and have thought of him often over the years. You see, that was the year that Leo changed jobs and moved to Port Lavaca. It was way too close to the end of the school year for Toby to change schools, so instead, he finished out the last two months with another family, neighbors of ours, in Deer Park. That was also the year that things changed for us significantly in a number of ways. And the year that we lost touch with Toby.

In a period of insomnia last night, I decided once again to google "Tobias Schlenker" and look through some of the links for hints of our friend. Several pages in, I found a link to a year-old publication (in German) that mentioned just such a person. When I opened the publication and saw a very tiny photo of Tobias, I just knew it was him!

I took a moment to email the company and ask them to forward my message to him. Several hours later, I got a reply! The reply began with, "Yes, it's Me!" Yippee! We made our first contact and I am looking forward to following up on it this weekend. I can't wait to find out more about our long lost son and his adventures. I am so happy I had trouble falling sleep last night!

Trip to Ugborodo Approaches

Ugborodo is the name of the area where Leo will be headed in less than 30 days. Although the oil companies call the area "Escravos", there are many who wish to remove the name, a word which means "slaves" in Portuguese, from Nigerian geographical expressions. But it is not about political debates that I want to focus, but rather about the fact that my husband is heading there soon leaving me behind to wait.

If you are curious which emotion is most prominent in my mind now, I can assure you that it is NOT fear. However, there are a range of others that fight for my attention. Pride, jealousy, admiration, excitement, sadness...those are only a few. And I am not the only one in our inner circle to experience these.

I am proud that my sweetheart has the desire to go, do something exciting, and make a difference. I am also quite proud that he has the expertise, experience, and skills that make him a desirable candidate for the job. And anyone that knows Leo knows he is an EXCELLENT instructor.

I am jealous that I am not getting the same opportunity to go, but should add, as Leo always does, "not yet". There is a position that I am being looked at for, although it is not yet ready to be filled. We would prefer that we were both there, together, working at the same time.

I admire him for coming out of retirement, something he does not have to do, something he should not have had to do, in order to get back into the game for two more years. He is hoping to make some money for us to finish the house with, so that I won't have to work so hard and so long. For that, I adore him.

I am so very excited for him. What a wonderful adventure! We've been to some wonderful places in the world and had some great times doing it. We are not demanding in our travels, preferring the simple lives we encounter and simple pleasures of laid-back adventures to the extravagance of other, more demanding travelers.

I am also excited that we might be able to finish the house in the next two years, something that has seemed impossible for so very long. Finishing the house would mean so much to us, allowing family to come and visit, allowing us to entertain friends, and allowing us to "kick back" on occasion and enjoy our lovely home.

But I'm also a bit sad. While our careers have kept us apart a significant part of our lives, it has never been for so long...30 days at a time! We both know we will survive it, but are hoping it will be worth the sacrifice. Truth is...I love him dearly and love being with him. This will be difficult on us both. But a difficulty that I am proud about, jealous of, full of admiration for, that is exciting and even a little sad. Yup...that Leo...what a guy!

WorkSpeak

Okay. I know that my postings are sketchy and often random, but I try not to post details of my work here. However, at the moment I'm a little frustrated, so am going to break my rule and clue you in.

I know some of you know that I "design databases" for a living, but you might wonder how it is a grandmother would be the "expert" for such a job. There are several reasons, not the least of which is that my client uses a database that has been unavailable for YEARS now. It's called "Access 97". People graduating from college now have typically never even seen it because it is so old. If you wanted to buy a copy and learn it, you would be hard pressed to do so, even on eBay. And installing it on a machine that has other, newer Microsoft products causes trouble too. So, like me, Access 97 is a bit of a dinosaur.

Oh, I know I complain about it a lot. On my own machine at home I prefer the much newer, cleaner, and cooler Access 2007. The things that Access 2007 will do automatically, with the click of a button, are typically the things I spend time coding into the back end. For me, this is a lot like a complex jigsaw puzzle with one major difference that really makes the analogy inappropriate--I never know the way the picture is going to turn out in the end. As a matter of fact, I ALWAYS find myself going back and making adjustments to change that picture to something slightly different in the end.

And in case you're wondering...this is work that I absolutely love to do.

Note: picture at right is from another project. The project I'm working on now is the most difficult one I have encountered, and it has me a little down. I have a reputation for getting in, working the data, developing a workable solution, and getting out, ready to move on. However, the dataset I am working with now is so convoluted, comes from so many different sources, and has no real linkages. I am having to devise some spider-web-like tentative strands of linkages as I go. And every time I think I have it right, a check with my customer shows me an exception, an anomaly, or in one case, a total failure to understand the desired outcome. This project is an exception and I'm worried that the client is unhappy with my progress. So, I've put in some long, difficult, crazy hours, worked sometimes without charging for my time, and neglected other clients, family, friends, and even my own body which occasionally, like when I got home this morning, screams out to me "STOP IT...YOU ARE KILLING ME".

Still...I have hope. I am focusing on this project to the exclusion of all other things, and am determined to make significant progress (i.e. deliver a workable mock-up for the client to "play with") by the end of the week. Failing in this, I am facing something I have never faced before in my database development career. Never. Failing in this, I am facing defeat.

"How Doth the Little Busy Bee"

'So, you think you're changed, do you?'

'I'm afraid I am, sir,' said Alice; 'I can't remember things as I used--and I don't keep the same size for ten minutes together!'

'Can't remember WHAT things?' said the Caterpillar.

'Well, I've tried to say "HOW DOTH THE LITTLE BUSY BEE," but it all came out different!" Alice replied in a very melancholy voice.'

I won't even bother with an apology about not getting a posting up this weekend. Instead, before I lay down for the 2-hour nap that will allow me to work through the night, I thought I'd share the list of things that MUST be done by 8am.

1. Email dashboard report for upper management. (Done)
2. Email copy of "Elephant in the Conference Room" to sis. (Done)
3. Look at the financials for the business start up in Hardin, then place the updates inside the business plan. Check for accuracy, then submit. (Done)
4. Prepare spreadsheet for Leo's 8am meeting with our accountant. (Done)
5. Complete the 30-page book on operation of the ProSteward database and be ready to print and compile 70 color copies by 8am.
6. Review all items to be covered in tomorrow afternoon's training program.
7. Complete Visa request, scan and fax copies of all documents to RTES. (Done)
8. Complete back-end macro for merging international and US BAR data.
9. Order ticket for Leo's weekend flight to the valley. (Cancelled)
10. Cancel hair and nail appointment (no time)! (Done)

'Oh my ears and whiskers, how late it's getting!'

An Actual Weekend

Even though I neglected to put a post up last weekend, I did want to let you all know I had a wonderful, and very restful, weekend. I was home by 5:30 on Friday and was very happy to see my dear hubby after a week apart. Although I was dead tired by the time I got home (remember, I only took of half a day over the previous two weeks) I suppose I was too tired to go to sleep. When I did, however, I slept for 10 hours straight and woke up feeling refreshed.

I'd like to report that I got all kinds of things accomplished while at home, but it's just not the truth. I did absolutely nothing all weekend long. :-)

On Sunday we had the 2-year anniversary of our little country church. A typical Sunday morning has around 20 people attending church, but this Sunday we set a record with an attendance of 54. Wow! Randy Bush and his family came in from Danbury and provided the music for the service, and we followed up the sermon with BBQ and "dinner on the grounds". We had an absolutely wonderful time visiting with friends, old and new, catching up on all the news, and relaxing in the shade. I'm thinking we should start celebrating more frequently than annually!

I apologize for a hurried and relatively poor [not a lot of content] posting. Promise I'll do better next time. I just didn't want to wait any longer to send a shout out to all my friends.

Back at Work

Although I did get to spend one night at home, I am back in Houston now and packing up to head to work. I tried...I really did. But the work I am doing now, a big chunk of which is due on Monday morning at 9am, requires a lot of manual work. I have to map the data out on paper (large pages hung on the wall works best), make a lot of notes on a whiteboard, link everything together with post-its and colored markers, then translate all of that brain fodder into my computer. I realized this morning that as things are now, that entire process is just not possible from home.

I broached the topic carefully with Leo this morning thinking I would have to work around to letting him know that I needed to come back to town, but I shouldn't have worried. No grumbling, no complaining, he just helped me pack up and load up, then drove me back to Houston. He didn't stay long as he has a whole lot of things he needs to be doing back home. Although I miss him immensely when he's not around, I totally appreciate the fact that he understands how I need time, and room, to work out really difficult problems and he is always willing to give that to me. Leo is definitely THE BEST!

While I'm waiting for my cell phone to charge just a bit more, I guess I can share some of the Nigeria discussion that went on Friday.

Things seem to be on target for July 1 for Leo to start, but could be delayed a bit as other activities take place and the other players get into place. We learned that the travel arrangements will be made for him and that a typical trip will involve a flight from Houston to Amsterdam, then on to Lagos, Nigeria. From there, Leo will be picked up by the security folks and escorted to his hotel for the night. The next morning, he will be packed off to Escravos in a small plane along with the others who are making "shift change" at the same time as him.

Once in the compound, we think he will be staying in a hotel-type room and we are hoping he will have internet access from there so we can chat when he gets off in the evenings. Things like laundry and food will be taken care of for him, and he should have some free time for reading, studying, and relaxing. After his 28 days of work, the process will be reversed and I will be eagerly waiting for him to come back to me in Houston. If the process really does come off as planned, we both think this will be a relatively easy job for him over the next couple of years.

Leo is still holding out hope that I will be going with him sometime this year, but then, he always is the more optimistic one. It seems that although my resume and list of accomplishments are impressive enough to get notice, it is the fact of my femaleness that seems to be causing the hesitation. There are no other females on the team. [Sigh]. That's not such a big deal for me as it would definitely NOT be the first time for me to be in that situation. As a matter of fact, it has been the situation I've found myself in most often for many of my roles over the past 30 years. But, until the powers-that-be get a warm fuzzy feeling about it, it looks like I will be biding my time waiting here at home.

I'm guessing my cell phone should be charged up enough to serve me for a bit, so I'm going to pack up now and head downtown. If you see my husband, tell him I said "hey" and send my love, will you? Thanks so much!

A Wonderful Weekend

Tomorrow morning I have a visit to the dentist, then will pack up and head back off to Houston. But today, well today was a perfectly wonderful end to a perfectly wonderful weekend.

The morning started off with gunshots as I was taking my time getting out of bed. Pardon my lack of sensitivity, but the gunshots made me smile as I realized we will soon have fresh meat, wild hog, in the freezer. When I ventured out, I found Leo under Bro. David's careful tutelage, working away at his tasks under the "hanging tree". Again, for those of you who did not grow up in the country, I'll spare what could be considered the "gory details". They tackled the largest hog first, a big black sow who turned out to yield a good bit of meat. When they got toward the end of this first animal, I was dispatched to run to town for some ice.

The sky was a bit overcast and there was rain in the distance. As I drove back from town, the dark sky rising above the golden tops of the corn stalks provided a sight that was absolutely beautiful. At the last dogleg in the road before reaching home I saw a beautiful rainbow in the sky. "This is the life," I realized.

The guys were soon ready to take a trip back near the deer stands to drop off some of the unwanted remnants of the butchering. I had never been on that side of the road and took them up on the offer to go for a ride. As we were backing in the the dumping spot I said, "wasn't there a bucket on the back when we started out?" Sure enough, we had to retrace our drive and find the bucket of entrails that had slipped off the back, pick up the spillage (I only watched) then head out again for a second attempt.

As the men worked on the next animals, Judy and I sat in the shade of the trees and watched, donated the occasional comments, and enjoyed each other's company. I worried a bit that Leo would take issue with me lazing about while he worked so hard, but that was not the case. Butchering four hogs was long and difficult work for the men, but Leo enjoyed it immensely. He even seemed pleased that Judy and I were nearby, even though we were of little help during the operation.

It was nearly noon by the time the last hog was iced down and Leo headed for a shower. After that, we went to town for a quick stop at Dairy Queen, and a few more bags of ice. Leo was sore and tired, but definitely proud of the morning's achievements. Later in the afternoon as we sat on the back porch swing and enjoyed the view, we again talked about his upcoming work in Nigeria.

As I shared with Judy, Leo and I are a bit tired of people expressing their concern over his upcoming work. I honestly think we are at a greater risk of all sorts of mishaps in our travels and stay in Houston each week. Still, I wish I was the one going, for lots of reasons. Leo is much more social than I am. Not only does he crave the interaction with people that I usually shy away from, he is also much more comfortable around people than I am. I, on the other hand, could probably lead a perfectly content existence as a hermit, something that would not suit him at all. Also, Leo is, in some ways, the heart of our neighborhood here at Six Mile. I guess I'm finally realizing how much of a hardship it is for him to come to Houston with me during the week...he is so much more comfortable here at home. And finally, I'm the one with wonderlust, the one with a desire to see the world and visit exotic places. Although Leo doesn't mind going to Nigeria, I realize now that he could easily do without it too. But, the situation is that I am obviously not in a position to take his place. It is his experience and expertise that is called for on this job. I am the one to be left behind.

So, we are both resigned to make the best of it. I will do everything I can to make sure he is prepared for the first 4 weeks without me, and he is doing all he can to prepare for excelling in the tasks that await him. We both are going to try what we can to demonstrate to the company that they will be getting a bargain if they decide to take me as well. Although our skills and experience are very different, together we cover quite a lot of territory. Hopefully, the company will see this and I'll get a chance to go along before year's end.

But for now, I am learning to back off a bit, relax a bit, and enjoy time together with my husband even without all the manic insanity that has been pushing my every move for the last few years. This was one of those weekends where I acted like a normal, laid back country girl, and just enjoyed spending the weekend hanging out with friends and family, and enjoying the good times. It was truly a wonderful weekend.

Home Again, Home Again

Yes...believe it or not I am actually home in Port Lavaca tonight. The hogs are busy at the feeder out front, and there is a strong sea breeze tonight. We had thought about going to the movies tonight, but have decided to try for the matinee tomorrow instead.

I have to admit that things are a bit "strained" right now with me working long hours on projects with no promise of work tomorrow while Leo prepares to go overseas without me, something I never expected to happen. It does not seem fair to me that he got an offer as I am left behind even though I have worked so very hard to make myself "attractive" to an overseas operation. Still, Leo is perfectly prepared and perfectly willing to go, so I'll just have to bide my time waiting for something to come up that will satisfy my desire for travel.

It seems everyone has expressed worry or concern over Leo's new job. I have to admit I am surprised by that. When we discuss it, we both agree that living and making our way around Houston is far more dangerous than living on a protect compound in a coastal region in Africa. I am actually quite jealous of Leo's upcoming adventure. I have promised him, however, that unless he wants to see me show up at the gates of the compound, he will have to contact me daily and assure me that things are going well. I, for one, think the 28 on and 24 off schedule is absolutely perfect. I hope I'm right about that.

Anyway, I know this is not much of a posting, but I've been incredibly busy and my mind is in kind of a "funk" (from work...not worry), so I thought I should attempt to post SOMETHING to get me back in the swing of making regular posts. We are happy, healthy, busy, doing fine, and looking forward to the next big adventure.

Grades are In

As expected, I had a bit of a disappointing semester. The truth is, however, I was so very busy with work projects it is perhaps surprising that I survived the semester at all. For my four classes this semester I made two A's, one B+, and one B. That gives me a semester average of 3.58 and a final GPA for my masters degree of 3.72. Again, on the one hand I am pleased to have even survived the program, but on the other, I realize that grades are important, even to an old fogie like me, especially considering my attempts to get into a PhD program. I could have done better, I should have done better, but I am satisfied and pleased with myself anyway.

I will take what I got and be happy with it. 3.72. Yippee! It's all over now!

Leo's Interview

UPDATE: There is a lot that can happen in three months, of course, but the word we received late last evening was that Leo will be headed to Nigeria in July.

Although we can't say much about it yet, Leo did interview for a job in Nigeria today. The good news is that he has a lot of experience, and expertise, in the position that is open. The bad new is there are quite a few candidates vying for the job. Still, we have hope. Because our work backgrounds, up to a point, are largely similar, we are both hoping that one of us getting a position there will open the door for the other to follow. But even if just one of us gets the opportunity, we both are excited about the impact it could have and are definitely willing to consider that option.

According to the interviewer, the best guess for the timing on the position would be sometime late in July. That works perfectly for us. So...wish us the best, and you can count on being kept "in the loop" on progress!

I'm DONE!

After a long couple of days of preparation, I just finished my last exam this afternoon. As soon as I completed it, I opened my email and submitted it to my instructor. In my inbox was a note from Leo. Curious, I opened it up to find this story.

There once was a bunch of tiny frogs who arranged a climbing competition. The goal was to reach the top of a very high tower.

A big crowd had gathered around the tower to see the race and cheer on the contestants. The race began. No one in the crowd really believed the tiny frogs would reach the top of the tower.

Heard throughout the race were statements such as, “Oh, way too difficult,” “They will never make it to the top,” “Not a chance they will succeed,” and “The tower is too high.”

The tiny frogs began collapsing, one by one—except for those who, in a fresh tempo, were climbing higher and higher. The crowd continued to yell, “It is too difficult! No one will make it!”

More tiny frogs got tired and gave up. But ONE continued to climb higher and higher. This one refused to give up!

At the end of the race, all had given up climbing the tower except for the one tiny frog who, after a big effort, was the only one who reached the top!

All of the other tiny frogs wanted to know how this one frog managed to do it. They asked him how he had found the strength to succeed and reach the goal.

It turned out that the winning frog was DEAF!!!!

It was not until I closed the note that I noticed the subject line of the email. "Guera...I'm just glad you're DEAF" was what it said. (Now do you see why I'm stuck on him?!)

Ten Things

I think I should start posting my list of Ten Things to do before graduation, and Ten Things to do after. If I don't post them now, graduation will come and go! Still, I've only been fleshing out a few ideas in my mind, so I'm thinking the list won't be complete after one sitting...no way at all.

UPDATE: Added a new list that is specific to my computing and completed all three lists. Still, now that I've started, I seem to be on a roll with my listing. I keep thinking of things to add. So, again, don't be surprised if you notice the list change over the next day or two.

10 Things to Do Before Graduation

1. Pick up my class ring in Austin--DONE!
2. Finish Rhonda's OIMS audit project
3. Finish Javier's PM database project
4. Make sure I have contact info for all my classmates--DONE!
5. Post ice skating pix of my nephew and sis
6. Buy 2 pairs of new shoes--DONE!
7. Buy 2 new business wear outfits (if you know me, then you know I'm a jeans girl so this is a REALLY big item!)
8. Buy nails (since I can't seem to grow them)--DONE!
9. Cut and color so I'll look presentable
10. Visit each of my daughters

10 Things to Do After Graduation

1. Spend one whole day cleaning my apartment
2. Movie marathon with my sweetie
3. Take the grandkids fishing
4. Visit my mom
5. Start writing my book (nothing exciting...a book on Excel)
6. Read 10 mysteries, spy novels, or even sappy romances...ANYTHING but business books!
1. Hornet Flight by Ken Follett (excellent diversion!)
2. St. Peter's Fair by Ellis Peters (16th century crime solving monk stories)
3. Hooked by Matt Richtel (wickedly addictive thriller...wow!)
4. The Company by Robert Littell (long, detailed novel of the CIA...really good)
5. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield (complex mystery involving recluses, twins, and ghosts)
6. No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith (unusual, insightful story of a Botswana woman determined to follow her dream of running the first female-owned detective agency in the country)
7. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini(profound story of friendship, secrets, and betrayal, a story almost too sad to listen to, but one that also cannot be ignored; I'll have to switch to something lighthearted for my next book!)
7. Create 3 paneled 24"x48" images to hang near my entry at the P.L. house
8. Lose 50 pounds (could stand to lose 100, but know that 50 is doable)
9. Complete my application process to Texas Tech (PhD program)
10. Put together a team to discuss software creation business plan

Ten Things to Do With My Computer After Graduation

1. Clean out my email inbox
2. Finish my Creative Suite (Photoshop) training series
3. Build a custom iGoogle theme
4. Transfer one of my databases (Training Tracker?) to a VB application
5. Watch 50 of my favorite podcasts (TWIT, Mr. Excel, Dog & Pony, etc.)
6. Get active in Pownce
7. Start working on my [inactive] Wordpress blog
8. Design a new webpage
9. Document all my database designs and details
10. Design a webpage to support my new [Excel] book
11. [Oops!] Buy a DivX Connected device and set up my home system to use it

P.S. Don't be surprised if you see the lists change as I think of more important items that move up to the Top Ten ranking.

Homework Lags while Granddaughter Shines

For one more night, Zoe has Mom and Dad all to herself.

After making some progress on my homework and final exams, I knew there would be no way for me to go to the hospital for another visit. So...I lined Leo up with all kinds of instructions and kept working while he got ready to go. As he was headed out the door, I realized that some things were just too important. So, I ditched my homework, grabbed my camera, and headed to the hospital.

 

Dress rehearsal for the little princess.

We stopped by to pick up Michelle so she could play aunt for the evening and drove to Baytown once again. The news is that Zoe seems to be healthy, happy, and ready to go home. The family should be leaving for home by 10m tomorrow. We tried on the new dress that the princess will wear for her exit photos tomorrow. Thankfully, it fit just fine, and more importantly, Mom and Dad seemed to like it. It was a wonderful visit and it felt good for grandma and grandpa to get to hold the baby a while longer. Now the evening is over and it's back to the grindstone for us, but just for the evening I got to get away from it all and bask in the joy of having one more little one around to shower with love.

Grandpa takes a turn with the little sweetie.

Welcome Zoe!

This is my granddaughter Zoe and her proud daddy Lee. She was born at 10:44 this morning among a great deal of hoopla that undoubtedly has not affected her one bit. Her mother, Rachael, went to work as usual this morning. She talked to her sister on the phone and mentioned she was not feeling up to par. She was on the phone with another friend when the contractions started, about 8:45. She has had contractions off and on for a few weeks now, so she didn't think much of it at first. Her friend encouraged her to go to the hospital and Rachael agreed, but not until she took care of a few last minute items.

Somewhere around 9:00 she called her dad and asked if he would drive her to the hospital. He agreed, but said he wanted to take a shower first. Rachael put her foot down on this one (thankfully!) and said if he did, she would drive herself. He gave in and away they went, heading from Liberty to her hospital in Baytown.

She called her husband to tell him she was on the way and said she would let him know when she arrived since he works about a 10 minute drive from there. I was about an hour into one of my final exams (a take-home exam) when she called me. I told her that Leo and I would head that way. (I figured if it was a "false alarm" we could just eat lunch somewhere and come back.) I asked her to let me know when she arrived at the hospital if she could so we would know if they were going to keep her.

Leo and I stopped for gas, and I sent a text message saying we hadn't heard from Rachael yet. As I was finishing it up, I received a text message with just two words from her. The message was "she's coming". Of course, I thought that was my notification that the hospital verified Rachael was in labor. I had no idea that it meant "SHE'S COMING!" Within ten minutes I had another call saying the baby was here. I couldn't believe it. Here's what went on during our drive...

Rae said her dad was trying to make conversation during the whole drive, and that all she could think was, "I'm busy here...could we just ride in silence?" When they got to the hospital, she reports that her dad said, "do you want me to find a parking spot, or do you just want me to drop you off at the front door?" Rachael said that she was able to resist hitting him at that point and had him drop her off. He wanted to get her a wheelchair, but she said she was fine and at 10:34 she walked in the door and headed for the elevators. Somehow during all this she got a phone call off to her husband that she had arrived and thought he should hurry.

When she got to the nurse's station upstairs, they took one look and sent her straight to the labor room. The nurses called her doctor as Rachael laid down on the bed. As the nurse was about to examine her, her water broke. Rachael said the nurse took one look and began scurrying around, calling for "backup" and getting things ready. Rachael asked her a couple of times how dilated she was and when the nurse finally heard her she said, "honey...you are at ten! Do me a favor and DON'T PUSH." Rae called Lee and said (in his re-telling, he exclaims it was more of a scream) "You better get here quick!" The doctor on call walked into the room and repeated the request, "DON'T PUSH". Rachael said, "I can't push. My husband isn't here yet."

Zoe had other plans, however. Within minutes, with her dad standing out in the hall and her husband, mother, and stepdad on the way, ten minutes after arriving at the hospital, Rae delivered a beautiful 8 lbs 3 oz baby girl. Lee was just pulling into the hospital parking when he got the message and Leo and I were just crossing the bridge into Baytown. Two hours after Rachael went into labor, it was all over with.

Leo and I arrived at the hospital about 15 minutes later. When I got a look at Rachael, I thought I must have been mistaken. She was sitting up in bed and said, "Hey Mom" looking as good as she had when I last saw her. Then I saw Lee with a little pink bundle and realized that it was definitely all over with. Zoe was all bundled up and sucking sweetly on her right fist. Leo took the baby first while I went to check on Rachael. Both were absolutely fine, and neither looked like they had been through much of an ordeal at all. Zoe is absolutely beautiful, and Leo and I fell in love with her at first glance. Lee was all smiles and definitely the proud papa. "Have we decided on a final name yet?" I asked. Rae looked at Lee and said, "Have we?" Lee answered, "Her name is Zoe Danielle Rives."

We oohed and ahhed over the baby for an hour or so, then Rachael asked for her laptop and cell phone. While Lee and Leo rocked the baby, Rae looked up a phone number on the web and made a phone call. "I'm sorry I didn't get back with you earlier, but I had a bit of an emergency this morning," she said. She then proceeded to arrange to reschedule a court appearance that her employer was going to have to miss. In other words, an hour and a half after the baby arrived, the girl was working again!!!

As soon as business was taken care of, everyone had taken a turn with the baby, and we had gotten a few pictures taken (with a cell phone...I forgot my camera and Rae didn't have time to get hers!!), she was ready to spend a few minutes with the baby. Leo and I went down to the cafeteria while Rachael fed Zoe. We stayed at the hospital for several hours, then decided to let Rachael get some rest (although, admittedly, she didn't look like she needed it).

What a wonderful day. Although my schedule was blown and I didn't get to finish my exam, it was definitely worth the loss to get to spend some time with my family. So...I'll try again in the morning and see if I can get through it. Perhaps I'll be ready to go back to work on Thursday. :-)

Grandbaby on the Way?

Rachael just called to say she's on her way to the hospital. Leo and I will be heading that way soon. I will be posting updates on twitter, so be sure to check out http://twitter.com/beaamaya if you want to watch the progress. Bye now!

School Lunch

I'm on a 15 minute class break here and the online chatters are talking about FOOD. So I thought I'd show off and let you know the kinds of things that Honey fixes for me when I'm in class. This lovely salad has fresh cooked bacon, avacado, bell peppers, l&t of course, cheese, ham, and turkey, and a very hot and spicy dressing that I love. It is absolutely yummy!