Category Archives: Brain Matter

Jan 01 0 comments
Brain Matter

Resolutions for the New Year

Another year is here, pounds still need to be shed, projects still need to be completed, budgets still need to be made and love still needs to be found.

I won’t kid anybody… I’m not going to list any of my resolutions for 2003 on this site… ;-)
Actually, the only resolution that I will admit to is that I plan to blog at least one entry a day… Oh, sure, it might just be a lame entry (like THIS one), but I’ll at least do SOMETHING.

It’s the close of the first day of the New Year. I’m still trying to figure out where LAST year went. (Jees, I must be getting old - and I am since I’ll be hitting the big 4-0 later this year. No, it’s NOT bothering me, why do you ask?!?)

This holiday in the middle-of-the-week thing bites. Tomorrow is just another work day. Actually, it’s the second to the last day of the Fiscal Year at work - which wouldn’t be such a big thing except that since the company got sold, this represents a shift from our former FY schedule (May to April) to a new “calendar-year” schedule. Yep, that’s right… change. I’m still in the process of updating all of my reports to accurately report the CY data. For a company that’s followed this pattern for 20+ years, this is actually a big thing. Should be a hoot to watch senior management try to recalculate the monthly trends and the seasonality of our business - and come up with excuses for why our sales have tanked. Should be an interesting year… that’s all I can say.

***

I signed up for two free courses through Barnes and Noble. I haven’t taken a course in ages, so signing up for TWO courses may be a bit more than I’ll be able to keep up with. I figure that I’ll start out strong, then fade once the novelty wears off…. Just like college.

Classes start January 13th and 15th. I’m sure that I’ll have comments to make about each of them… Stay tuned.

Dec 15 0 comments
Brain Matter

A Winter Classic

Growing up in Minnesota mandated that every kid have a sled to while away the winter afternoons.

My first sled was a red steel saucer.

steelsaucer.jpg

All I remember of that saucer is how incredibly frustrating it was to go down the hill backwards (or sideways) or how heavy the sled got as I trudged up the long incline of the “big hill” (also known as the 10th Hole) at Theodore Wirth Park - and, oh, that it left nasty dings on my shins….

ameaglesled.jpg

I won my American Eagle from the Red Owl grocery store in Robbinsdale. The store is long gone, but the sled is still in the rafters of our garage - a nostalgic reminder of the innocence of childhood.

My memory of soaring down the slopes, prostrate and prone on that maple sled, blissfully convinced that I could steer my way around any obstacle (be it a tree or a snowsuit swaddled toddler) is as crisp as a January morning in Minnesota. The sound of the steel blade runners slicing their way through the crusty top layer of the snow still echoes in my ears. The exhilarating sting and crisp chill of the snow and ice particles lashing wildly against the skin on my face (the ONLY exposed area of my body), a glorious reminder of being alive.

Ah, the blissful ignorance of kids.

It’s truly a testament to the magic of mittens or gloves (or perhaps divine intervention) that more Baby Boomers aren’t running around with mangled or missing fingers. Steel runners?!? What were our parents thinking?!?! (Actually, I’m amazed that some politically correct - but tragically misguided - group hasn’t taken up the anti-steel runner blade cause….)

While the GrowNUp in me is pleased with the brown winter that we’re currently enjoying, I hope for the sake of little kids everywhere, who will soon be visited by a Jolly Old Man bearing sleds, that snow begins to fall….

Nov 29 0 comments
Brain Matter

Thanksgiving

I dread the holiday season. It becomes just a grand old pity party for me personally. At a time when families gather to celebrate, I am painfully reminded that my family has dwindled to just my brother and me. (Actually, there are still a couple of Aunts, an Uncle and a couple handfuls of cousins still out there, but that’s ANOTHER story…)

I was doing lunch the other day with one of my coworkers, Karen. She was telling me about her plans for this holiday weekend. She mentioned that another coworker, Val, was heading to Milwaukee to spend the holiday with her husband’s family - and how thankful they were that they were dragging along her mother-in-law. The MIL, I learned, is a devout Jehovah’s Witness who doesn’t believe in holidays, birthdays or any type of personal occasions (she had to be blackmailed into attending their wedding). I blurted out, “Oh my God, I’m a Jehovah’s Witness!!” (Oh, I “believe” in holidays, birthdays, weddings - but I don’t actively “participate” in them.)

Our Thanksgiving dinner tonight consisted of homemade vegetable soup and rolls (a far cry from the turkey dinners of days gone by). Ironically, a turkey, graciously supplied by the management of my-dead-end-job™, sits in the freezer awaiting consumption (perhaps at Christmas if we’re so motivated). The soup won out today, as I didn’t feel like Pizza Rolls or Chicken Caesar Salad Wraps.

Having a day set aside to count our blessings is wasted on me - I try to be thankful daily for the blessings that I have. Some days, unfortunately, the minutia of the day overshadows my cognizance of my blessings.

I am, however, deeply thankful for the following:

A brother who just happens to be my best friend, cheerleader and counselor.

Two dogs who love me - bad hair days and all.

Five cats who accept me as their guardian, albeit rather reluctantly. (They will never admit it publicly, but they’re just as glad to see me at the end of a long workday as the dogs are).

Friends, near and far, who listen to (OK, read) my rants.

Being a citizen of the United States where I have personal freedom, a healthcare system that works, food and natural resources aplenty. I try not to take any of things for granted, but perhaps it’s a good thing to acknowledge them publicly once in a while.

Peace.