Jeff, Mike, and Martha enjoy our back porch. It’s clean for a change. Photo by: Suna

Debbie gave us a set of mugs promoting her new CD. Photo by: Suna

We had more company today than we usually have in a … well, ever. Jeff and Debbie came out and brought us mugs that promote her new CD: Suite Journey. Mike and Martha came out just to visit.

It was great having company. We talked. We hiked. We talked. We drank. We talked….

 

Dinner with Friends and Family

Beer in a Scarf

It has been one interesting week. I started off by delivering a workshop on writing assessment questions. Two days were devoted to learning the new LMS we’re implementing at work. iTunes ate my library, including all the apps on my iPhone when I synced to the rebuilt library. That meant I couldn’t get to my work email on the phone for a couple of day.

While all that was going on, I still had to keep up with doing most of my assessment analysis. I don’t have a good client database built for this, so I use Microsoft Excel, which is a real pain. This morning, XL (I like to call Excel XL because its files are always extra large.) quit opening. It just crashes on load. Uninstalling and reinstalling Office didn’t help, and the problem exists only with XL. I spent most of the day trying unsuccessfully to troubleshot this issue.

You can see I was mighty happy to see the end of the week arrive. I invited two of my work buddies, who were visiting from California, to dinner at Mesa Rosa with the family. Suna and I had a really nice time chatting and exchanging stories.

RB and CR both ordered Negro Modelo, which came dressed in these little scarves. Unfortunately, I failed to notice the side of the beer they wanted me to take a picture of was facing away from me. The front of the scarf, which you can’t see in the photo, is tied in a cute little scarfy knot.

Unfortunately, RB had to catch a 06:30 flight home, so we couldn’t hang too long. But we did have enough time to put the work week fully behind me. I hope we can do more next time either of them visits Austin or I’m in California.

Dad's Birthday a Day Late

Dad at his farm

Yesterday was Dad’s 86th birthday. I called to wish him the best, but I couldn’t get ahold of him because he was out looking at the full moon. I knew it was a full moon, and I knew he does that. So I had asked Sweetness to let him know Suna and I would make the trek to see him today. She had shipped him a bunch of candy and was going to keep calling until he answered.

This morning we headed out. We arrived to find him napping with his cows. We talked awhile, played him the CD of the church choir singing the Schubert Mass in G, then drove him into Victoria for a birthday bash at Texas Roadhouse. He ate almost all of his catfish.

After “supper” [dinner for most of us], we stopped in to visit some old friends from church who up and moved to Victoria last year. We all had a good time.

Back at the farm, we watch the moonrise. Then we talked until well past Dad’s bedtime.

Photos and copy editing to come later.

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5/10/2009 Update: Added picture and edited.

Hitched

Beccano, Me, Suna, and TubaBoy

Photo by: Parker

Suna and I got married in the presence of more than a hundred of our favorite people. Rather than talk about it too much, here are links to various photo collections:

• A collection of pre-wedding photos in a Facebook album
• Jon Montgomery’s pictures collected in one of my Facebook albums
• Suna’s Flickr wedding album
• Some of the photos Rick Hendricks posted on Facebook
• Captain Flatulence’s MSN photo album of the wedding
• Emily’s Facebook album
• John Phelps posted his collection at johnphelps photography (Added 5 December)
• Chemical Pink posted her view of the wedding on Flickr (Added 6 December)
• Rick also posted Michelle’s photos on a Facebook album. (Added 9 December)
• Suna’s friend Janet posted photos on her Picasa album.

Chez Art

I spent most of the last two days (when I wasn’t looking for work) doing a final revision of my novel and copying it into a standard template for manuscript submission. I did mow the lawn today.

Then this evening we had a nice dinner at Artz with one of Suna’s friends and her family. The friend’s daughter just graduated from Austin Culinary Academy, where she learned of her numerous food allergies. Art congratulated her on graduating and offered consolation on her eminent entry into the restaurant business.

We didn’t take a camera, but if we get pictures from anyone who did, I’ll post one later.

After dinner, most of the friends were going out to party some more. Suna and I went home to tend to Beccano. He has blistered feet. The dogs got out, and he heroically chased them down and brought them home without putting on any shoes. Since this is Texas in July, the sidewalks were hot enough to blister his bare feet within a couple of blocks. Suna bought him a big cheesecake as a reward.

Working for Fruit

Just because they’re pretty

This hearkens back to 17 March. I mentioned then that my former boss had recommended me to the local fruit company. Well, they called me and set up a telephone interview. I forgot to tell my friend.

So today I answer the phone right on schedule for the interview. The voice on the other end says, “Hi, this is [one of your best friends] calling on behalf of [fruit company hiring manager]. She asked me to cover the interview because something came up, and she couldn’t make it.”

The interview went well. The next step is to schedule a face-to-face interview with the hiring manager. Let’s hope that comes off well, too.

Grateful Monday

Once again, I am grateful for good, supportive friends.

Adios

The Director of Human Resources

Original art by: Rev. Jim Vandewalker

I had a bittersweet lunch today. I got to see some old friends from my old team and enjoyed visiting very much. The occasion was both uplifting and sad. My old Cthulu buddy has taken a job at the University of Wyoming, and we were gathered to bid him farewell. Seven years of restructuring and cutbacks had taken their toll, and he decided on a preemptive strike.

He said one thing that was very interesting. He told me that the further away from Austin he interviewed, the more his experience at ALE carried weight. Local employers treated him like damaged goods for having worked there so long. But people who weren’t intimately familiar with how the company works still respected the brand and the people who had helped build it. That may be something Suna and I should consider carefully.

The rest of the team is surviving on the block, although there were some noticeable absences. The team has been merged into an offshore management structure. My understanding is that this move has only bought them a little time. They are still not allowed to backfill any voluntary departures.

All-in-all, I am glad that I escaped when I did. I am glad Cthulu’s Bane is making his escape, too. For the others, I am hoping that the extra time buys them a chance to order their finances and escape on their own terms.

At the lunch I was asked if I would return to work at ALE. Not as an employee. There is no future there, only the illusion of one. I much prefer the clarity of contract work to the cynicism and disillusionment that kind of environment engenders.

At least the visiting off-shore manager I met there picked up the tab. He seemed really nice, too.

Friends and Gratitude

Just because I think it’s pretty.

I forgot to mention that I had lunch last Friday with two friends from work: The Crawfish and The Cosmopolitan. I worked with them both at ALE, but on two separate teams. Now they work together, and I am elsewhere. We went to the Juarez Bakery, and I bought some churros for the Aestre ritual we never got around to this weekend. (I think building the new bed and planting the new plants should suffice.)

Today, there was an invitation in my in box from Cosmo. Her hubby won 20 tickets to the Tuesday night performance at a local comedy club, and she was sharing the wealth. Suna and I decided to go.

Grateful Monday

Today I am grateful for friends who share. It is something I should try to do more of.

Burnin’ Sky

When the sky already has so many beautiful colors, why would you want to change it?

The sky is burnin’

I believe my soul’s on fire

You are,I’m learning,

The key to my desire

—Paul Rodgers

So I worked from home all day today and got everything done.

I had lunch with Eh?—one of my former managers at ALE. It was pleasant, and we caught up on the last couple of months over a nice Chinese buffet. Her sister is being sent to China for a couple of months, but that isn’t why we chose Chinese. She knows of an opening in the technical support side of the not-record-company where she works.

After work Suna, Beccano, and I went out to eat. TubaBoy was at a debate thing, so the rest of us could eat Chinese food without whining. Notice that is two Chinese meals in one day, showing how deprived I have been feeling. We ate at the China Wall, a favorite of mine for a long time. The tables and booths are comfortable. The atmosphere is quiet and respectful. But most important: the food is great.

One of tonight’s specials was Basil Chicken. Not only do I believe that basil is the perfect spice, I like chicken. Adding to the flavor, a couple of jalapeño peppers were sliced across the width to preserve the seeds. I could have eaten this dish until I popped. Suna had the Lemongrass Chicken, which is served with broiled onions—delicious. Beccano had Beef in Oyster Sauce, which is served on a hot plate and finished at the table.

Friday’s Feast

Appetizer: How many times per day do you usually laugh?

As much as possible. I don’t count. I love jokes (even if I have heard some variant of them already). Spontaneous quips are delightful. As the Reader’s Digest column says, “Laughter Is the Best Medicine.” Laughter is good for your respiration, circulation, and heart—not to mention your psychological health.

But I don’t care for so called humor that is based on somebody being proud of their stupidity. One liners on this premise when the person recovers and makes a good, intelligent joke later are OK. But so much of today’s humor is like the “Ow! My Balls” bit in Idiocrasy, predictable, intollerant, and plain stupid. Characteristics the entertainment industry seems to confuse with humor.

Soup: What do your sunglasses look like?

I don’t think I currently own a pair of sunglasses—other than the darkened visor of my helmet. I tend to lose them or break them. And I am too cheap to have a second pair of prescription glasses made¹, which would involve constantly changing between the two any way.

Salad: You win a free trip to anywhere on your continent, but you have to travel by train. Where do you go?

Nowhere. I have always wanted to take the AmTrack to San Diego and then up the west coast to Vancouver. From there I would like to take the TransCanada to the east coast where I could pick up AmTrack again. Take it down the east coast and across the south back to where I started. The whole trip would take about three weeks.

Main Course: Name one thing you consider a great quality about living in your town/city.

Tolerance—at least when compared to the rest of the country. I know that the Southwest is supposed to have that rugged frontier spirit of “Let ’em do what they want on their own property.” But there are very few Texans left, and those who remain have become woefully bigoted Republicans. Maybe they always were (even when Texas was a Democratic state), but we were spread out thin enough not to get in each other’s hair, except in the towns and cities.

Dessert: If the sky could be another color, what color do you think would look best?

I like blue. Not that I am sticking with the status quo; Blue is one of my favorite colors. Besides, I wouldn’t want to change the chemical structure of the atmosphere enough to change the color of the sky. We probably wouldn’t enjoy that very long.

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¹ Suna and others may point out that I do own more than one pair of prescription glasses, but neither of them is tinted. This situation came about because I lost my first pair. About three months after I had the second pair made (which was a while after I lost the first pair), I found the lost pair hanging in a redbud tree in the backyard. Since the last place anybody remembered me having them was in a different town, their arrival in the backyard remains a mystery.

Yule Party

I work my job all the way to the weekend

Call all my buddies, ask where you been

Let’s get together somewhere, seven o’clock

Wanna pop a top, pop a top

Wann go, wanna roll, wanna rock it

—Phil Vassar

Cosmopolitans are yummy.

Photo Source: Swank Martini Company

Today was the last working day before the Holiday Break at ALE. After work, Suna and I went to a non-ALE event at a former co-worker’s house. It turns out that she is a neighbor and only lives a few blocks away.

It was a really pleasant time, thanks in part to the fact that she makes really excellent Cosmopolitans. I never got her exact recipe, but she told me later that she doubled the alcohol in one of the standard recipes.

There were a lot of old friends whom I had not seen in a while. There were also a couple of people with whom I keep in contact, as much as The Hermit keeps in contact with anyone. And I met another German person whom I had only heard about before—actually I think she is authentic instead of descended like me.

The excitement of the party came when the firetrucks, ambulance, and police flew past. Something had happened several houses down, but we never did find out what. Suna was just relieved that it was next door to one of Beccano’s teachers, not there. When we cleared out (a little later than the party was scheduled to dissolve, only one fire truck remained.

Friday’s Feast

The official Friday’s Feast was off for the holidays, but Sam made up her own:

Appetizer: What is your first thought upon waking in the morning?

I don’t usually have a thought first think in the morning. After grumph, my initial inclination is to reach for Suna. Then I realize how badly I have to pee.

Salad: Of all of the “alternative” therapies available, which is the one you have most trouble believing actually works?

Hmmm…all of them? I don’t put much stock in mainstream therapies either. Good health comes from the balance of mind, body, and soul. Anything that fails to address all three is suspect in my book.

The current cover of my favorite mag.

Photo Source: Shop Notes

Main Course: Name something that you never told your childhood friends because, at the time, you were totally embarrassed about but now are not so afraid of.

I know this sounds like the W defense, but I really can’t think of anything. I find hiding things to be more trouble than it’s worth. I may not always volunteer information, but I have tried to live transparently. When I peed my pants, I didn’t tell everyone, but I didn’t do a Nixon either. If you want to know something about me, ask.

Dessert: If you could subscribe to one magazine and only one, what would it be? (It can be out of print if you need it to be.) And do you subscribe to it now?

The only magazine to which I currently subscribe is Science News, and it is a leftover I will renew because Suna likes it. I also like to read the subscriber-only articles on the web. I’m not a magazine person.

That said, the magazine I really want to subscribe to is Shop Notes.

The Cowboy Mambo

Flowers at Live Oak UU
Photo by Suna

We are flowers growin' in God’s garden

And that is why he spreads the shit around

—David Byrne

After choir rehearsal and prior to the start of the service, I was moved to go outside and admire the flower gardens that grace the front of Live Oak Church. These beautiful beds are designed and maintained mostly (if not totally) by a very talented German woman who attends the church. I stood outside admiring them for much longer than I usually would. When I first paused to admire them, I was strick by the thought that we would all miss her when she is gone.

Now I am not given to these forboding thoughts overmuch, but I do know that she is battling a serious illness right now. So the purpose of this post is to ask my readers, if any, to send gentle and healing thoughts her way.

We will all miss her when she’s gone. I just hope that’s a long, long time from now.

Natural Beauty

False Sierra Effect of Clouds on the Horizon

What a lucky man

to see the earth

before it touched his hand

—Niel Young

This post is much like one of Suna’s “Grateful Monday” posts. I had a really nice experience taking the kids to school this morning.

We had just turned onto the toll road when Football Fan, who is our primary source of information for all things football (from high school to pro), asked, “What’s that?”

In my serious, adult-like manner, I didn’t take my eyes off the road. “A mini-van.”

“Oh,” said Football Fan, not wanting to say that the adult in the car could be a real idiot. “I’ve never seen one like that before. It looks like mountains.”

It was then that I realized he was looking at the horizon. Young people do that, but we forget as we get older. The sunrise was peaking though a bank of low-lying clouds, creating what I false sierra because I don’t know the official meteorological term for this formation. The effect was stunning. There was one thunderhead that looked like a mesa protruding from the main bank, or maybe between us and it.

I have seen similar formations on the coast and in the desert, but I have never seen one so beauteous—probably because I need external motivation to be awake and outdoors at sunrise. Unfortunately, I did not have a camera with me, so the picture for this post is a composite.

Thank you, Football Fan, for reminding me to look up and look to the horizon, for reminding me that nature surrounds us with beauty every day if we just bother to look.

Dinner at the Ritz

Chris Gage
(I couldn’t find a pic of Michael Austin)
Photo Source: Albert & Gage
 

OK. It wasn’t the Ritz, but it ends with a Z. We went to Artz Rib House to have dinner and watch a couple of Suna’s friends perform. I had the South Austin Burger, and I have to say that it was the best hamburger I have ever eaten. It had a rich smoky flavor and was onion-licious.

Playing were Chris Gage and Michael Austin. They played a wonderful mix of old-fashioned bluesy jazz with Chris on piano and guitar, Michael on clarinet. I kept thinking that my dad would really enjoy the music, if not the vocals. He prefers more Andrews-sister arrangements for vocals. But I liked it all.

We are going back there soon to have dinner with an old high school chum. I am looking forward to the reunion and the food. I’m sure the music will be good, no matter who is playing. I will talk more about the atmosphere when I post about that dinner.

Adios

“I hope your aim is good.”
Image Source: Elfwood Art

ALE announced that it would RiF 8,000 people world-wide (roughly 10% of its employee base). Naturally, that happened on a day when I was tasked to the point of immobility and could not keep up with the news (or very much else)—and on a day I had not drawn cards to warn me.

ALE once had a reputation as a great place to work. It took pride in that reputation and its culture of entrepreneurship. We all thought that we were working toward something bigger than ourselves. We all felt like we were doing important work that was bigger than ourselves.

Well, a few years ago ALE management killed that culture. Yesterday’s announcement is only another nail in that cultural coffin. Today ALE is just another big company.

This all comes immediately after my department went through a re-org, and several team members (roughly 10%...hummm) were told to find other work. Lets hope that means my department has already RiFed its requirement. Either way, lets focus on kindness and civility in trouble times. Contrary to popular belief, these are not diametrically opposed to being at the top of your game.

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So later that same day (today), we had a meeting where Director Guy laid out the poop for us. The 10% number is real. They hope to accomplish “some portion” of it through natural attrition, but the people who have already left without being replaced do not count toward the 10% goal. The stock price is up, and morale is down. Imagine that!

It brings to mind the word decimate. While the term has come to mean to cause severe damage, decimation was originally a punishment heaped upon an unruly Roman legion. One in ten were summarily executed or crucified. The troops themselves had to choose which ones were to die.

Ink’s Lake Hike

The Aftermath

Because that’s the way my mind works, I’ll start at the end of the story. Here we are all (except for Lea, who took this picture) exhausted after a three-hour tour of Ink’s Lake State Park. Yes, another three-hour tour—actually closer to 3.5 hours, this time on foot. The younger folks were kind enough to slow down and wait for the old fart who took a lot of pictures as a good excuse to catch his breath. Suna did much better on the walking bit, in spite of getting a tad overheated.

Vista: It’s More Than a Buggy Operating System!

We frequently stopped to rest...er...take in the glorious panoramas of Central Texas in a rare hydrated Spring. All-in-all, we covered just over five miles in the mid-afternoon sun. Luckily, we carried plenty of water and sodas (we carried out all of our trash, thank you), and Greg fed us delicious close-out chocolate bars.

Cactus Flowers

The best thing about the hike was the flowers. Even the cacti got into the floral act.

There are more pictures than I can include here. Suna has posted and commented on more of them in her Flickr account.

Farewell to OldFriend’s Littlest Sister

Image Source: Moon Angel

Today we say farewell to OldFriend’s littlest sister, who was found dead in her bed by one of her children. She was several years younger than me, but she had lead a very hard life—mostly as a result of a series of bad decisions—bad decisions anyone could have made, and some did make but then reversed.

So, I took a day off from work to travel to the funeral, but I spread it over two days—half today and half tomorrow. Suna took me shopping for the right clothes to wear to the funeral. We picked out a tan silk jacket, a dark gray shirt (not for today. I wore a white one I bought from the Overpriced Outlets north of town), some dark brown slacks, and a tie to tie them together. We had a really nice lunch at Mother Fudd’s. Now I’m off into the wilds.

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The trip down was interesting. I took SH71 south, but it took forever to get to it. There was an accident or something, and US183 was stop-and-go most of the way across town. Then when I got to Houston, the Troll Road was a parking lot. Imagine paying good money to sit on a Troll Road. But I made it with about 10 minutes to spare—and conveniently less time to interact with X2B. This was supposed to be about OldFriend’s family, not my current situation.

The funeral was very Catholic, even though many of the siblings no longer are. I paid my respects to all the siblings and to OldFriend’s parents. They said that they appreciated me making the trip to show support for them.

Afterward, I visited shortly with RemainingBrother and drove home.

All-in-all, it was a long day—tiring and draining but, at the same time, rewarding.

The Name of the Rose

It’s too much expect, but it’s not too much to ask

—Mary Chapin Carpenter

Card for the Day

None. I seem to have misplaced my deck. Well, that’s something for tomorrow.

This is for yesterday. I have never blogged before, so this is kind of a test case. I want to see how much I can influence what is displayed.

I drove out to pick up a new puppy with CFE and had a long, rambling talk on the way. Coworker, who fosters pups for the ASPCA chapter in his community, had a new litter of pups up for adoption. (I couldn’t do that. I would have to keep them all, and where would I put them?)

Of course, Rose—Coworker named the litter after the characters of Lost—was the cutest, most special pup of the litter. Coworker might not agree since he kept a different one, but that’s his problem. Rose is acclimating well with Buddy, who is doing his best to ignore her. She has moved from the “Please don’t eat me” stage to the “I’ll cry if you don’t play” stage in only a few hours.