Archive for May, 2007

Memorial for Lois J.

Thursday, May 24th, 2007

“Crazy” Aunt Lois died last week.Aunt Lois

I have two Aunt Loises. This Aunt Lois was a diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic, therefore unofficially dubbed “Crazy Aunt Lois.” Mom decided that wasn’t very nice, so we officially dubbed her “Lois J.” to differentiate between the two Aunts.

Anyhow, my family doesn’t handle mental illness well and pretty much resented her existence. They decided not to have a memorial for her. I guess she is going to be cremated, but I don’t know what will happen to her remains.

I like Crazy Aunt Lois. She was a daily part of my life for many years. Even though I haven’t seen her for years, I think of her often. This is my memorial to her.

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An Uninspired Poem

Tuesday, May 22nd, 2007

Corporate Job

fired / booted / canned / got the chop / got the axe / terminated / dismissed / laid-off / discharged / pink-slipped / sacked / downsized / let go / dehired / re-deployed

moved on to other opportunities

souless / inhumane / greedy / ass-kissing / arrogant / thoughtless / spineless / control-freak / micro-manager / petty / insecure / manipulative / political

climbing to the top on the backs of others

lively / learned / happy / fulfilled / valued / priorities-straight / wiser / healthier / skinnier / richer

without you

Let them eat cake!

Monday, May 21st, 2007

The Company held decapitation day earlier this year, and this time the CEOs grabbed the ax themselves, bloodied their hands a little and lopped off the head of their own executioner.

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A Newbie’s Report – the personal version – part 2

Friday, May 18th, 2007

Here are the things that I left out of the article I wrote for my company’s newsletter. I left them out because I was trying to be professional…

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A Newbie’s Report – the personal version – part 1

Wednesday, May 16th, 2007

I was actually in Las Vegas primarily to be on-call for my Grandparents (the G’s) while Mom went on vacation. I G-sat Wednesday-Sunday, then attended the NCTA conference (see previous post) Monday and Tuesday.

It was an exhausting week of pure culture shock jumping between the highly oxygenated, slow-paced halls of the assisted living facility, to the smokey casino floors and Armani clad businessmen who populate the cable TV industry – not to mention a brief time-travel back to high-school curfews.

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A Newbie’s Report from the 2007 NCTA Expo Floor

Monday, May 14th, 2007

I just attended a work-related tradeshow, the National Cable and Telecommunications Association show, in Las Vegas. I was asked to write an article for the company newsletter. A reprint of that article follows. This is the professional version of my report – the personal version will follow in a separate post.

Enjoy!

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Uninspired Anniversary

Saturday, May 12th, 2007

Well, it has been about a year since that fateful day I was fired, my work-related trip was cancelled but I went anyway, and Uninspired was born. Believe it or not, I just returend from a work-related tradeshow. Here is what is different a year later:

1) I am happy in my job (which has comparable pay and better benefits than the job I was fired from)

2) I like my boss.

3) I am getting the opportunity to learn new things at work.

4) My company trusts me enough to let me set my own schedule, decide how to go about doing the work I am assigned, share company information with me with a minimum of up-the-ass smoke blowing.

5) I work with balanced people with normal egos, respect for their co-workers, who can have conversations and question things without getting all threatened and twitchy.

It is amazing what can happen in a year!!

A Must Read Book

Thursday, May 10th, 2007

Hi All,

This site is not dead. I promise! I’ve had some sick family members this year and I’ve been travelling A LOT doing hospice care. I have a bunch of half-written posts that I hope to get done soon.

During all this travel I read a fantabulous book called Bitter is the New Black by Jennifer Lancaster. If you’ve ever been laid-off and are slightly bitter about it, you must read this book. The author also goes down in my list of Fearless People. Her priorities changed a lot after her experience and she took the leap to become a writer instead of continuing to sign up for jobs that made her unhappy, but paid the rent. AND it seems to be working out for her. You can read her blog at http://www.jennsylvania.com/.  I suggest you pour yourself a nice martini and settle into the couch with your lap-top while you peruse her blog. It will enhance the experience.