The New Water Cooler
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Wow! NE has a lot of snow. If we don't get warmer temps, it will be there for awhile. How do they plow through all that? Huge plows! Snow globe day here again. Temps in the teens with single digit windchill. Not too bad by my MN standards but cold for here.
I made reservations at a nice restaurant in Traverse City for next Monday 1/22, Russ' 65th birthday. Hopefully the weather cooperates. I haven't heard from the artist that I contacted about painting a small 5x7 portrait of Maggie and Charlie. I plan to give it to Russ for his birthday or shortly after, hopefully. I won't tell him about it until I have it in my hands. He doesn't expect a gift. I plan to bake him a cake and we will go out for dinner.
Halen's poncho is evolving. I am finally using the right size needle and it is going to be nice.
Off to volunteer this afternoon. I'm starting to feel like I should quarantine before knee surgery. Four weeks from today!0 -
sounds like you have a really nice plan for Russ' birthday.
Drive safe on your way to volunteer. Can't believe how fast your new knee if coming up!
I just can't get over this crazy snow. The roads weren't too bad from our house to work. I was really anxious and made Bernie drive me, but I could have done it. Though there are plenty of people not dug out yet. And whenever it starts to melt, oy, that's a whole nother disaster coming.
Here we go, another week. Only two weeks until Michele is gone. I talked with Amber (in our team) a bit this morning. She started applying for other jobs Friday. Pretty much all of us in this work for Michele - (i.e. we don't really care about working for Behlen, we do what we do for her). And it's really hard to to think about not. We all know that whoever we get moved to will be awful. Bleh.
Somebody in a smaller loader went kind of "crazy" yesterday in Lincoln pushing cars around and picking them up and dropping them. There is a video online (wouldn't be surprised if it didn't go viral) of when it attacked a police car. Wow!0 -
I just feel like I can't seriously look - partly because I don't know where I would want to try (what I do now doesn't exactly translate to most posted jobs) - with Zach not working yet and my uncertainty with Bernie keeping a job I don't want to be at the bottom of a totem pole again either. Meh, mostly, I'm just scared.0
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And, I'm feeling low that the pounds I put on over the holiday haven't come back off. I was trying to fool myself that one good week they would fall back off. Nope. It's good and stuck. Why does everything have to be so hard!0
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Sounds like South Dakota is sending crews to help plow the roads. That would be good. The crews have to be exhausted. And another 2-3 inches coming Thursday. Normally not a big deal but with such poor conditions it feels like a big deal. Gas stations are empty, grocery stores are bare. The storm just keeps giving.0
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So more people than Michele are looking elsewhere? That does put you in a spot with Z and Bernie and their employment. I hope it all works out for you in the long term.
You sure are getting hit with the weather. Blowing here and roads are snow covered and slick. I went to the Y for class and then spent quite a bit of time at the nursing home with my friend and her husband. The OT came to get Sarah while I was there. I could have watched her therapy but stayed in her room to talk to John. I asked him what he knows about her progress, going home, etc. Prognosis is not good for recovery and an MRI showed damage from something previous. She had brain cancer many years ago and that could be part of the damage. They have told him that progress isn't happening and to possibly expect decline in skills. He doesn't think she will be able to come home and will probably live in supportive care the rest of her life. My Mom was in that same building for 4 years. Sarah's memory is poor and she wasn't making a lot of sense today. He hasn't told her what he knows because he wants her to remain positive and work in therapies. They are now paying for her nursing care out of pocket and therapies will end when they no longer can document progress. At that point she would move into the supportive care building. It makes me so sad. I told him I would not tell people but I've told you and Russ since that is safe. He wants to respect her privacy and she is not aware of the prognosis. She thinks she will go home as of now.
I decided to pick up the dog painting on Thursday since roads were precarious today. I'm hoping they will improve. Thursday is suppose to be a little warmer and no snow falling, low winds...
My weight is going no where too. Maybe I just need to keep exercising, eat as healthy as I can when I can and accept my extra pounds. The scale is so depressing.
I now have to knit the back piece of Halen's poncho. I will start that tonight. Friday I will buy some different yarn for Ellis' poncho.
Have a nice evening.0 -
Freaking more snow coming - I am going to have to take my life into my own hands and try to go to the store today to get a few fresh things. Or attempt it. And snacks.
Have you had your sourdough class yet?
I'm sorry your friend may not get appreciably better. Probably for now it is best to do what is necessary to keep her spirits high and working hard on her therapy. Tough times though. Tough times.
Have a safe day.0 -
I had to drive to Traverse City this morning for PT. The roads were snow covered and icy. I am definitely becoming an old fart that doesn't like driving on bad roads. Maybe it has something to do with my own mortality staring me in the face when I think of what could happen.
PT went fine. I had a different PT this morning because mine was out sick. She encouraged me to hit the equipment at the Y for weight training/strengthening and ride the recumbent bikes for adding strength. I guess water classes aren't enough or as effective. I will try to go on Friday before water yoga if roads are ok.
I am working on the back of Halen's poncho and am not understanding the directions for the button holes on the sides. The pattern instructions are weak so I am going to need to watch videos on youtube. Russ is teaching himself to crochet!!!! I never thought I would see this but he is determined to tackle something new. Good for him!
I bought my cake ingredients for Russ' bday cake today. I think I will make it tonight since it has to sit in the fridge for 3 days prior to eating.
As I was driving to PT I was thinking of my friend Sarah (who had the stroke) and how long we have known each other. When I was 7 and she was 6, we had summer cottages up here down the shore from each other. My mother walked me down to Sarah's family cottage and so I could meet her. It was evident our mothers had planned this meeting. We played together the rest of the summer with exception of our first argument on day 2 over her doll house. I wanted to play with her cool wooden dollhouse that someone made for her, and she wanted to play with the junky metal dollhouse that was at our cottage that I never played with. We resolved it and became friends. We wrote letters to each other over the 9 months of the school year ( I lived in Indiana and she lived in Grand Rapids, MI) for at least two years, played together over two summers, and then both of our families moved up here to northern MI. We lived about 30-40 minutes from each other and got together many weekends per month to play. We ended up in rival school districts during middle and high school. As I was remembering our history and what is happening to her now, I just started to cry. She is only 62 and the rest of her life looks bleak. From what I have read, she may only live another 5-7 years. This just shows how important it is to have healthy habits and do the best we can to take care of ourselves. Sarah did not do that and her health history, genetics and bad habits have caught up with her.
Well I better figure out the button hole directions! Don't get buried in a drift...0 -
I didn’t realize your Sarah is so young. I’m so sorry. I wish you hugs. Our health is so precious and fragile sometimes. We must keep trying.0
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frick-a-frack - it's snowing again. Hard. Sigh
Oh, and I feel like I am getting sick. My head hurts, sinus pressure, stuffed up nose, and my throat has that swollen sore feeling. Double frick-a-frack.
Sigh.
Forty-five minutes and I get to try to drive home in this new mess on top of the old mess.0 -
So snow squalls hit various places around here yesterday and caused all sorts of problems and pile ups. Just another terrible day in a stretch of many. Ther was a fifty car pile up not far from here due to the squalls. I almost got creamed pulling across the highway yesterday because of the low visibility and so many driving without lights.
I felt worse as the night wore on and popped a fever so I am staying home today. Taking advantage of one of the few days left of Michele still there (she is the only one who has the programs I run). No one has talked to our team about who will be our leader next or what’s the plan for our team.0 -
I think I may have a sinus infection. It doesn’t really feel like my other Covid times. I have some antibiotics left over from my uti thing that plagued me for so many months a few years ago. I might just start taking them to see what happens
Hope you are warm and cozy
I think it’s so cool that Russ is crocheting. I can do a very basic chain stitch and that’s as far as I got. I think knitting is so neat0 -
Sorry you aren't feeling well. A combo of stress and germs probably brought it on. I'm glad you were able to stay home. How many days does Michele have left? Do you know where she is going next?
Your roads sound horrible. Be careful out there. I am tired of driving on snow covered, icy roads. People here are either too old to be driving or young enough they go too fast for conditions. I don't like to be behind a creeper but I am probably considered one of those when the weather is bad. I've had to drive in it too much this week and it is stressful.
I went to my bread making class. It was fun. We learned how to feed a starter and put the dough together to make a loaf of sourdough. She gave us written instructions and walked us through it all doing it ourselves. The weather and roads were not good, of course. I drove out to her farm when it was still light out and drove home in the dark. Google maps took me through the middle of the county from my house to hers and roads were snow covered and difficult to see the lanes. Also the most hilly and curvy route. I knew there had to be an easier way to get home so I asked and took the main routes. In the dark I couldn't see the lanes on the road and the snow was flying right at my windshield. Not my favorite! And on top of that, two cars behind me. The truck passed me (idiot) and I pulled over in a small village so the other could drive on by me. Yesterday I chose not to drive to the Y for yoga. I didn't want to deal with it. Russ drove to Traverse City in his truck in the morning and said visibility was poor on the lake road.
Yesterday I experimented with making sourdough bread. I used David's starter to make sourdough walnut banana bread (very good) and I baked the loaf we made at class Thursday eve. It turned out perfect! I also fed David's starter, put it in a new jar, and measured it accurately following her instructions for feeding starter. I have two starters now. If my sisters ask for some to make their own, I will have enough to get them started. I don't see Lynn doing it, but Becky may want to try it. I'll post pictures on Messenger so you can see my loaves.
Windy, snowy winter wonderland outside today. I made the button holes for the poncho and screwed them up. I figured I could fix later and kept knitting. Something got messed up along the way and I had to pull out my knitting again on the back side of the poncho. I will start that piece again today and go slow. I am going to practice button holes with different yarn for a bit before I put them on the poncho.
Kara, director of the literacy non-profit I volunteer for, asked me to be her rep at the county Parenting Communities meeting on Monday. I guess I am her new rep for quarterly meetings. She is so busy that she couldn't attend. I said yes since I need more structure and will meet people.
Russ' cake is in the fridge from Thursday night when I made it. Still doing its magic! We will cut and try tomorrow night. His birthday is Monday. I had him drive me to pick up the painting but didn't tell him what I was doing nor did I let him see it. He doesn't know what was in the bag. He was nosey at first but I told him I just needed a driver due to the roads and not to ask questions. We went out for a mid day dinner afterward. The painting of the dogs is so cute and she captured their faces perfectly. I will take a photo when he isn't around so you can see it, or after I give it to him on Monday so I can place it in good light.
Watch for my bread photos on Messenger. Have a goo day!0 -
Mother Nature still pissed at us. It’s another miserable day of 20- below. Sounds like we might get above freezing next week.
Still feeling horrible. I sure hope this passes quickly. I don’t think I can afford to give the appearance of missing work often with all that’s going on. And Bernie came home the other day and announced like five engineers got laid off. Perfect. This bs is happening again.0 -
I mean it wasn’t him , yet, but you know it could be coming once they start that0
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I hope Bernie doesn't get laid off. Wow, you have had a stressful year that keeps on giving. I hope you feel better soon. Is it the two month crud that people have gotten? Hope not.
I took my sisters Chili, bread and a piece of Russ' bday cake today. Then I went and visited my friend Sarah who had the stroke. She tried to get from her wheel chair to her bed last night on her own rather than pushing the call button. She fell and was found on the floor when they did the bed check. They left her husband a message she had fallen but was ok. He didn't sleep a wink and is worried sick about her. He left at 2pm to grocery shop and go home so I stayed on until 3:15 and visited with her. She is so confused and says some strange things. I think she is declining rather than making progress. She told us she was in the nursing home because she hurt her ankle when she fell last night. John told her no, it was because she had a stroke. After he left, she told me she had been there 3 weeks. I said it was almost 3 months. No sense of time, memory is not good and is affecting her daily progress in therapy. I don't think she will go home but she mentioned twice today she was ready to get home. She doesn't get it.
Tomorrow I am going to that meeting to represent Power Book Bags. It is a parent/county program that supports young children and families. It will be interesting to see who is there and what it is like.
Have a good day at work and stay warm.0 -
Feeling a bit better today. So I am hoping that the worst is over.
I’m sorry your friend seems to be declining. It may be a mercy if she doesn’t realize the lengths of time. But hard on her family for sure.
Last night was better for sleep. The other nights the sinus pain kept me up and kept me from resting much. Hopefully I have a good night tonight. I’ll need it to get through the day.
Glad you are still doing Power books. Great organization.
Night0 -
Made it through work today. Hopefully a good night sleep and feeling even better tomorrow0
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Russ and I went to Traverse City today to look for new sleeping pillows, check out an Italian deli and go out to dinner for his birthday. We found pillows, browsed but did not buy at the deli, and had a wonderful dinner. I am stuffed! Tomorrow I may live on tea and water and have one meal. I am definitely going to Aquafit tomorrow.
All our pretty snow will be ruined by the weekend with warmer temps and possible rain. Oh well, the roads will be clear.
I am glad you are feeling better. I hope your sinus' clear and you feel so much better soon.
I am going to relax, finish laundry and read.0 -
Feeling another bit better today. Thinking if I should try just a few minutes on my machine today or wait till tomorrow.
Sounds like a super successful birthday celebration. And delicious too!
Only three days left for Michele and still not a single conversation with the team by anyone in leadership about our future. All the actual work people are going crazy trying to get a million last minute questions answered. This is going to be such a disaster0 -
Is Michele the manager of your dept and there has been no word about her replacement or what is going to change?
I went to Aquafit today. It felt good to move, I've been too sedentary knitting and reading. I haven't been eating healthy either. I don't feel good. Lots of fatigue due to too many carbs and inconsistent exercise.
It was 30 today and felt so warm. The snow is falling and melting at the same time.
PT tomorrow. I haven't been consistent with exercises since I've been so lazy. Bad me!
I hope your job isn't too miserable.0 -
Yes. Michele is (was) the Manufacturing Manager of Manufacturing Systems. There are eight of us in this team. We are 'centralized' in that the work we do supports all business units (Behlen Country, Behlen Buildings, Behlen Ag, Custom Fab). And no one from leadership has said a word to anyone in this team about our future. There hasn't been a job posting for her job (and even if there had been, that process will take weeks/months). I have no back up in two days and the business critical programs and processes I run will soon only reside on my computer. With no one else to run them.
Glad you got your Aquafit on.
It's finally about 30 here too and feels like a heat wave. It's still miserable driving since the snow melts a bit and then a fun (not) new ice layer forms.
So much for 2024 being a better year.0 -
Do the higher ups know that your computer will be the only one with that program? Who do you talk to about that? What do they do if you are out sick or taking PTO which is your right to do.
I had PT this morning and then came home. Three weeks until surgery. I'm dreading it but hope all goes well.
I was going to take a walk today but a friend from MN called and we talked too long. It was dark when we got off the phone and dinner was ready. I will go to class in the morning and then I may either swim some laps or go up to the studio and do the bike, etc.
Winter is tough with the melting, snowing, freezing, etc. I hope it is mild the rest of the winter but I know it won't happen that way.
Have you talked to Michele? Was today her last day?
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Leadership has shown zero interest in supporting the team. They will only care after things start to fall apart. Michele finally started an IT call ticket to get all the programs loaded on another team members system But sigh the reality of me having to train someone is daunting. My knowledge of the logic going on in the programming and exactly what is happening in the system is bare compared to Michele. And it will also take time to build competency. So the added pressure of knowing it’s all on me for certain things. Not that I miss a lot but I was just sick (it happens) and I have five vacation days I have to use by march 1. There is no grace period anymore
Sigh
Michele’s last day is Friday/saturday. She committed to working through the end of the period. I have no idea who will be doing all her month end work. Again no communication. Such nonsense
Hope you get a good workout tomorrow
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Well a whopper just happened here. I don't know if I ever told you that my brother Bruce who was 2 years older than me left home at the age of 26, in Dec of 1985. He had mental health problems, had survived the navy for 4 years, was a substance abuser, and had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. He lived with my Mom, couldn't hold down a job, heard voices in his head, could be violent and was difficult to be around. I was newly married and had moved to Mpls just before he left home. Our last pictures of him were at my June 1985 wedding to my first husband. He told my Mom she would never see him again and walked out the door. He left behind his ID. We never saw or heard from him again. My Mom hired a private detective two different occasions, pleaded with the state police to keep a record of his disappearance, etc. The police couldn't help because he left on his own and was a legal adult. The private detective could not find any leads to tell what had become of him. My Mom lived with so much worry and I'm sure that is what contributed to her dx of breast cancer and then Alzheimers.
In 2010-2011, my sister Lynn and I got a lead on how to hopefully find him from an article in People Magazine that she read. It lead us to Namus.gov and the doenetwork.org for missing and unidentified persons. We saw a John Doe that we thought could be Bruce so I contacted the detective for that cold case file. It did not turn out to be Bruce but the detective, who was in CO Springs, helped us get Bruce's DNA and info on Namus.gov and into the national crime database (CODIS), in case we would get a hit for a John Doe, victim of a crime, or being incarcerated. We did it all with his help but the years went by and we figured we would never have closure or know what happened to him. Tonight two state troopers came to Lynn's door and told her Bruce is dead and she needs to call a detective in Santa Monica, CA tomorrow for details. They verified he had been incarcerated in 1990. They could only have found the MI connection through our info in Nameus.gov and that the MI State Police had a cold case file on him. We were finally able to get his info recorded by the state police 12-13 years ago. Lynn was listed as family contact person in that file, which is why they came to her door when they got the call from CA. We don't know if he recently died, if his remains were found, or whether they are working old cold cases from their storeroom, and he was one of them. I will go to her house tomorrow afternoon and be with her when she makes the call. Wow!!!!!! I was just thinking of him yesterday and disappointed we would probably never have closure. Now we know and will know more tomorrow, hopefully. I'm sure that what we hear won't be good and that bad things happened to him.
Well it sounds like more work stress and an increased load may be happening for you for a bit of time. Hang in there.0 -
Wow!!! That is something about your brother and getting information now. Take care. I’m sure a lot of emotions will come out. Hopefully eventually it will be a sense of peace0
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Our pizza dinner with Laurie and Chris was nice last night. Chris was impressed with the pizza oven and wants one. Laurie brought a gluten free apple crisp that was delicious. We baked it here so it was warm and fresh for dessert.
My sisters are struggling with all of this. I'm sad about the life he led and his ending but am amazed he lived until the age of 63, potentially living as a transient all those years. I imagined a lot worse of an ending so I get some peace from that. I just feel relief that we did get closure. Now I can begin to process what we know and stop wondering if he is dead or alive and where he is. I thought he had probably died 25 to 30 years ago and we would never know. It's a long story with many unsuccessful attempts to find out what happened to him. Bruce and I were close in age but not close as siblings. Lots of ups and downs and he was mentally ill with a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia in his early 20's. Very erratic behavior in high school, violent, paranoid, and scary. I lived at home with him and my Mom. It was amazing he got into the Navy and 4 years on an aircraft carrier. This is prior to his diagnosis. I believe he l0 -
I will finish the story another time...MFP acting up.0
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I believe he left home so he wouldn't hurt my Mom or anyone else. He had urges to hurt and kill us but thankfully never acted on them. He was pretty threatening and my Mom lived alone with him while I was in college. It had to have been difficult. Now to get his remains cremated and buried with my parents.
How was Michele's last day? Was their a send off party? How are you holding up?
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Someone brought in pizza and the team and a few others sat in one of the conference rooms and had a few jokes and the meal. I tried to act like the others being joking and light. But I am still not ok. Actually less so. I found out the other day she already has another job. ???!!!??? Her text to me a few weeks ago was that she couldn’t do it anymore and was just too broken. I mean she just made it sound like she couldn’t handle behlen and the way she said it made it seem like she was taking time to rest and then decide what’s next. But having her next position is something that takes time. She has been working on job hunting for awhile. AND DIDNT SHARE ANYTHING ABOUT IT WITH ME. For example she gave me a really complicated new task for the first time Friday. One time showing me something that I really needed weeks of training on. She could have been working on this with me for months. Let alone the whole sister thing. I just feel so destroyed. She stopped being my sister and is setting me up for failure giving me critical tasks without enough time to learn her process. And there is literally no one to help me.
I’m glad you are feeling ok about what you learned about your brother
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