There's No Easy Way...

I got "one of those" e-mails from Boss Lady. I just picked up the phone and said, "Tell me now."

Our campus is closing. We are a regional site, which costs about $300,000 to run. Don't gasp. We BRING IN over ONE MILLION DOLLARS in credit hours. 

But someone saw that we "could save" $300,000 if we shut down this campus, given that some other decisions were made on the main campus which renders one speechless and doubting the wisdom of those at the top of the food chain. 

So. After 8 years. I'm essentially out of a job. But wait. It gets better.

We're closing as of the end of THIS calendar year. So we have 6 months to stew about this. 

And we're not guaranteed positions elsewhere in the organization. We get "preferential treatment" but we have to apply just like the average outside person. 

Yes, I'm used to this kind of shiv in the back. This isn't my first rodeo. My first Master's thesis was on what to do with the SURVIVORS of a RIF (Reduction in Force) -- no matter what you call it, and its names are legion, someone loses a job. 

So let me list the names I know of: RIF, down-sizing, corporate realignment, layoff, and (my personal favorite - NOT) right-sizing. 

Basically, the main campus made some decisions which, when coupled with a slow return to full growth, made someone Upstairs start to clutch their pearls. They saw an opportunity, and rather than let us work on finalizing some details on partnerships which would have been VERY profitable, they threw us under the bus. 

I'm not naming names or the school. I'm just very disappointed because we're all supposed to be mission-oriented, and above all, SMART. When the math doesn't work, it doesn't work - and in this case, it's very short-sighted (and I would have said that about any of our other regional sites, given this set of circumstances) to bail before you have a chance to really see the long-range plans come to fruition.

Even one of my colleagues said, "Hang on - I've only got an MBA, but $1,000,000 - 300,000 = $700,000. Seven. Hundred. Thousand. Dollars. In profit." 

Yep. But we're still being closed as of the end of the calendar year. 

Mind you, this is my fourth or fifth RIF (they all blend together after a while), so while my colleagues reeled, I was  -  well, actually, pretty cold-hearted about it. They were all "Whaaaaaaaa??? Do you have jobs ready?" and I told them not only did we NOT have jobs, but if we wanted to stay with the school, we had to reapply just like anyone else. Well. You could've heard crickets in the room. 

I finally said, "Look, folks. I've been on this ride before. The shiv I feel in my back is just like the other ones. You get used to it. This is exactly what happens outside the academic bubble." And my colleague who was still stunned by the lack of logic in the math said, "Yes, but aren't we all supposed to be family?" 

Well, yeah. But apparently, there's a new sheriff in town and the bottom line is the bottom line. Not unlike our corporate friends. 

I did tell my boss that "as of now" I was taking all the comp time I've been accruing - usually I give half of it (or more) up because it's only me and a part-timer and we have to have this place open 6 days a week. She said, "I'd have to holler at you if you do NOT take it...go for it."

So how's that for starting your week out? The "official" announcement goes out Friday, and I expect the "WTH???" e-mails to be backed up in my inbox by Monday morning. 

Not to fear; I have applied for another position. Boss Lady said that, as a matter of fact, she was going to "lean on" some people she knows and make sure that I am looked after, as well as my assistant. She's being so wonderful about all of this. 

So we have the dreary drudgery of making an inventory, finding a home for all the houseplants (with deferred "adoption" till later in the fall) and for me -- finding a home for 8 years of "stuff" that I've used at work that's actually my stuff. Like holiday decorations, art work, some office accessories... It's a lot, and you don't realize it till you have to box it all up. 

Could I retire? No. 

Do I want to? Well, I'd probably LIKE to, but likely would not really WANT to. 

We can't afford it anyway. 

I'll keep you updated as to how things go. But for now? This week rather sucks.

Garden...

Tilt your head...

How does my garden grow? Remarkably well, thanks. Here's what our veggies look like. Yes, (shhhhhhhh - don't jinx it) we have actually got TWO baby tomatoes. 

The flower garden is equally impressive. The hummingbirds appreciate the color and have been back to the feeders again, which is nice. 

Baby tomato

So this picture above, please tilt your head, is the complete veg garden. At the far left, red cages, tomato plants. In the middle of that same bed are 2 rows of cucumbers. One is for salads and the other is for my World Famous Hand-Cut Pickle Relish. 

The middle bed is carrots - the Heirloom seeds from Seed Savers. And next to that in the same bed are the Seed Savers radishes. Yes, we spaced them out. And yep - looks like every single radish came up!

Cucumbers

The far right bed is just every lettuce I planted. Well, Hubby planted. I picked out. They're just about done, at least the loose-leaf ones. I have one or two rows of butter lettuce in head-variety. Those take a tad bit longer to get fully formed. 

The nice thing about the lettuce is that we can plant that throughout the summer and into fall, like a rotating crop. I like to do that because we'll eat it all summer and can plant, if we have a decent season, through about October or so. We shall see what Mother Nature has in store for us. 

And you noticed all the twirly-birds, right? That's why I like those screens. Otherwise, we'd have a garden of maple trees. 

So the flowers are also doing well. The poppies have popped, and the marigolds just shine at dusk. Our fuschia plants have blossomed nicely, and the Wave petunias are coming along. 

Carrots and radishes

It seems like the flower bed has lots of reds and lots of yellows. Sadly, I haven't seen our foxgloves. Hubby planted 2 more, but they're pale and one looks rather sickly. 

The French Lavender has bloomed a bit. I'm hopeful. 

I have yet to see the Purple Coneflower do anything but grow greenery in mammoth proportions. 

Lotsa Lettuce

The dill is up. The chives? Hmmmmmmmm. Not sure where they went. Maybe a bad batch of seed? I have to also drill some holes into the containers; we had the drainage all figured out, I thought, but not as good as it should be. 

Knitting...

Well, sock #2 of the KAL is coming along, and I've got about 1" on the foot till I can start the toe decreases. This one does look slightly different than the first one, but that's because I did the longer gusset. It'll all work out. 

Icelandic Poppies

I'll actually be happy to get this done. Guess I'm not meant for "marathon" sock knitting. It's taking me longer than #1, which was a record 13 days, but I have had several days of just not being able or wanting to knit. Shocking, right?

It'll pass. I did knit during the Blackhawks games, and I can tell that the tension is different! And I don't even like hockey all that much...

Yes, in case you were wondering, I've been pondering a new project. I think it's in direct correlation to what's been happening at work. I need a distraction. 

Like I don't have what? A dozen of them right now?? Well, I need a NEW distraction. I won't though. I have to at least keep SOME semblance of order amidst all this chaos. 

NRA BS...

So the NRA said that those clowns who carried their "long guns" (compensation, much?) into the local fast food outlets were "kind of weird"... and I though, Wowza - the NRA is finally getting some common sense. Someone there has decided to call these morons on their ridiculous "protests" where they're carrying assault weapons (I'm not kidding - automatic rifles. I mean really...) into businesses "on the principle that we have the RIGHT to do this."

Well. That didn't last long. So apparently the REALLY crazy gun nuts are to be appeased because NOW the NRA is blaming the "anti-gun media" (Is that the same as the "liberal media"?? I get confused as to what it's all supposed to be, seeing as it's all owned by like what? Three people? All of whom are conservatives??) for "grasping" at "a staffers personal opinion that wasn't supposed to get into anything published for public consumption. 

What a REAL weasel looks like...

Yikes. Sorry, I am VERY uncomfortable around civilians with guns. I can't tell if you're the "good guy" or the "nutter." And I'm especially not fond of long guns (Assault rifles? Really??) in a commercial setting. Unless, perhaps, that setting is a bona fide target range.

Not a Target. 

Here's the blog entry that started it all. And here's their "Oh, no, we didn't mean THAT" response. I'd say they were weasels, but weasels are kinda cute and they have a purpose. Neither the NRA nor these over-compensating juveniles masquerading as "men" have much of a purpose. 

It's peachy if you have a RIGHT to do something. It's also, in my opinion (and I'm not alone on this one) MORE right that your rights don't scare the crap out of me and mine. I shouldn't have to carry a gun just because the NRA and various conservatives feel like the Wild West should be our milieu. 

I didn't think I'd be facing my elder years (no, I'm not THAT old; I'm projecting) having to be worried about gun violence, since where I live it's a relatively safe place, all things considered. 


Random Picture...

Goofy dog...

Time for some Raisa goofiness... This is the way she greets Kid #2 - she wants to snuggle. Strangely enough, that's how QUINN does it, too, so we're not sure if Raisa learned it from Quinn or if she's just some strange, mutant being.

Quinn did give her the royal stink-eye when she did this, seeing as this is QUINN'S gig... 

I still get the woooooooooo - woooooooooooo every morning and every night when I come home. One of these days, I'll have one of the guys tape it for you... 

Just so you get the full effect, imagine her jumping up there. She then plows her face into his ribs, slides her head along his thigh, puts her butt in his face, and then does a full belly-up move so that he can pet her. 

And her head hangs off the couch. To the point where I'm afraid she'll just slither off the couch. She hasn't yet. 

She'll probably bounce...There's some "Tigger" in there...

Lost Our Collective Common Sense...

Memorial Day is NOT Veteran's Day. 

Just wanted to get that off my chest. Also, FYI, it's not the Fourth of July, so I would really appreciate the firework crazies taking a step back, please. 

And as Americans, we have, I believe, collectively LOST any vestiges of common sense we ever had.

Don't know if you've seen this on the news, but on Friday, May 23, a crazy kid killed people in Isla Vista, CA - 3 people in his apartment (he stabbed them) and then gunned down another 3 near the University of California at Santa Barbara. Why?

Because he said the women he killed "rejected" him. Oh, and they were whores, too... Of course. So, let's blame the women. Again. And let's blame the folks who choose not to carry weapons, because, you know, "good guys with guns stop bad guys with guns."

Except they don't. This kid had actually obtained his guns LEGALLY. He was able to get them because he didn't have a record. So much for screening, right? He had some pretty awful Facebook and YouTube screeds out there, moments before he went on his rampage.

Oh, and the big man -- killed himself. Because every killer channels Jimmy Cagney in "White Heat" - going out in a blaze of glory. (Apologies to James Cagney, by the way.)

The father of one of the victims asks a very pertinent question: "...what kind of message does it send to the world when we have such a rudderless bunch of idiots in government?" Mr. Martinez, do you mean the dolts who blocked the legislation set forth after Sandy Hook, which would have extended background checks for gun sales and banned assault weapons - AND limited magazine capacities? --- Yep, all blocked by our intractable Senate in April of last year. Intractable because the NRA told them to block the legislation. Because they were afraid of losing their upcoming elections. Afraid that their corporate slave-masters ('cause let's be serious - it's out there already) wouldn't be pleased that they didn't obey... 

And then... Here's the kicker. Not-Joe, the Not-Plumber -- yep, that guy. He says, in a stunning moment of absolute idiocy: "Your dead kids don't trump my Constitutional right to have guns." Yep. He did it. Here.  

Go ahead. Take a deep breath. Try not to whack your head against a brick wall. 

This is total and complete: the collective insanity in this country in regard to gun laws. We cannot ever have a sane conversation about anything to do with guns. Because the legislators have been bought and paid for by the NRA and because the folks on the side of reasonable regulation are unable to be heard by the "oh-my-God-grab-your-panties-'cause-the-Black-Guy-in-the-White-House-is-gonna-take-your-guns" mantra.

And that has happened -- exactly NOT. But like Henny Penny, the good little NRA chickies run around with that song and dance and get to change the whole tenor of the conversation. 

A conversation that grown-ups need to have. Now. Before another shooting. Before the memory of this fades as fast as it usually does, particularly since in about a nanosecond, we'll all be concerned (greatly concerned, I might add) with the pics of Kim & Kanye... 

We as a nation used to be great. We're not great anymore. We're a commodity. Bought and paid for by special interest groups and rich white folks. (For the record, I'm white, but I'm not rich.) (And also for the record, my brother, whom I would do anything for, is a gun owner and we disagree mightily on this topic, yet somehow, WE are able to have a sane conversation. Maybe we should be running for office... except we're not rich.)

As a friend in England said to me this morning, "What is wrong with you people?" The only answer I can give her is that we've been purchased. And that 90% of us don't have a clue that we've been purchased. We've bought the party line and we're lined up like lemmings about to go off the cliff. Because we're told to. 

I'm all about activism. I'm hoping that I can educate people. And what I'm educating you on is your right at the ballot box and your right in the arena of free speech. Get out and learn about even ONE SINGLE ISSUE that's dear to you. And then go preach it. I honestly don't care if your issues are completely opposite mine.

All I want is a decent, logical discussion without rhetoric, hype or talking points. I want YOU to make your point to ME. And then I want you to allow me the same courtesy. Maybe, that way, we can become great again; when we start caring about what others have to say and how our actions impact others. 

It's not "all about me and my rights." Are you listening, Not-Joe, the Not-Plumber?? No, actually, YOUR right to wave your metal penis around does NOT trump the right of my kids to live.  

Sure. You can have your guns. And you can stay home if you're that "a-skeered" of the boogeyman, protecting what's yours. And letting the rest of us, the sane ones, live in safety from you and your guns. 

Socks and More...

So, I'm going to try to be more consistent on the blogging thing... 

We managed to escape any t-storms last night; today, it's clouding up a bit (and will most likely break loose about the time we take the dogs out the door to the vet) and there may be t-storms. I got brave, though, and put all the feeders back out and put the gazing balls back into their holders. 

And I hit the LYS for one skein of sock yarn. Go ahead. Laugh. So the LYS is having a KAL. (Translation: The local yarn store is having  a knit-a-long) And the yarn they're using is Trekking XXL - a sock yarn. The KAL benefits Ovarian Cancer research, so the color is Teal and it's called Susanne. It's really pretty - a bright pop of color. 

The KAL is for a toe-up sock. Ain't happening; I'm going to do my own pattern - well, someone's pattern that I like. I think it's crying for a great leg; perhaps a little simple lace, or a chevron. The nice thing about the yarn is that there's a TEN DOLLAR donation PER BALL of yarn to research. That's phenomenal. 

I have 2 very simple patterns; and I might just do the swirly rib that I'm using for Robin's Nest. Sure, it's the same pattern, but what do you want to bet that it looks totally different in a solid? 

The Collar of Shame

Tippi got The Collar of Shame last night. She was messing with the site of the pain patch. They removed the patch, but she's sensitive to the adhesive, apparently, and it irritated her skin. I tried to just be stern, but it didn't work, and I wasn't going to stay up all night making sure she didn't mess with the irritated leg. So this happened around midnight. She tried the "stink-eye." Then she tried the "sweetheart" -- and then she gave up. This picture was taken in her favorite hideout: my bathroom. She got it off to eat, but it's now back on. What happens is that she gets grumpy and then she figures out it's a good pillow. We go to the vet for the next bandage change; she's not bothering her incision at all. Thank goodness!! 

Cascade Heritage Silk

So, what else did I get at the LYS? Lots of Opal. I love the colors and it wears like iron! Here's what I have: Opal Sweet & Spicy, in colorways as shown on the pictures. Also, I've wound up the Cascade Heritage Silk. I was going to change to another yarn for G's scarf, but looking at the Heritage, I really want her to have silk. I added this to Ravelry, so you need to go there to find the pattern. The pattern is called Lettuce Leaf Scarf, by Janice Lynn for Madelinetosh. You can also go to the actual Madelinetosh site to find this; it's a free pattern. 

I'm noticing a lot of blue so far! Yikes! 

Opal 6752

Now for the Opals. They're all, as I said, in the Sweet & Spicy variety. I loved what 6752 looked like in the picture. There's a nice tweediness in the heel if I follow their pattern. Either way, it's a very pretty sock that would be good in a clog or even just a Birkenstock. I know - socks with Birks is cheesy. But I'm spending $20 per ball here, people... I want to show off my socks!

Opal 6755

The next one is 6755 - a very nice spring-ish green pattern with hints of taupe. What I like about this one is the variety of colors in this one, and how it's got that pop of orange in it. I think I can still use my size 2 needles. It can go down to a size 1, but I knit fairly tightly on the DPNs, so I don't have trouble doing a few rows and see how it looks. 

I did for grins just buy another set of DPNs - bamboo ChiaoGoo. Not my favorite, but just in case I delay putting the scarf on needles, I wanted a spare set of DPNs in the smaller size to get cracking on socks. At some point, I'll have to go order another set of Kollage. I do have some Kollage size 1 circulars...Hmmmmmmmm. Maybe I should just do one of these in Magic Loop? There's a thought.  

Magic Loop would certainly work better on this kind of yarn rather than the hiking socks that I tried it on! I have the basic idea, so it shouldn't be that hard to just wing it. It's only yarn. All I can do is try. If it doesn't work, I'll frog it. 

Opal 6757

This Opal 6757 was the first one I actually purchased; this was acquired about 3 weeks ago. It's a great fall colorway and I love the star anise on the label. Maybe that's what the German means? Who knows? I can barely ask where the bathroom is in Spanish. And even if I asked, I don't know enough Spanish to understand your directions anyway. 

So as I go forward with these socks, I will be sure to keep you posted. 

I actually went ahead and listed some of my favorite knitting blogs on my site. I really like several of these and I admire the dedication of these folks to blog -- Every. Single. Day. I wish. I was doing that for a while, but I fell off the rails on it. Now I really do need to get back to it.

Oh, the Robin's Nest? I think I'll start the decreases this weekend. I'm at about 6.75" now, and I have to go to 7.5" before I start decreases. The straight knitting is a breeze. 

On the news hole...I've kind of skimmed. I just didn't want to go there. It looks like Gov. Quinn might veto the initial handgun bill in IL. Actually, I'd really like to smack the NRA nutjobs; the only thing Illinois did right was to have the ban. But now, noooooooooo - it's more important for people to carry guns, as opposed to listening to those of us who don't want to be collateral damage. 

On SCOTUS. I'm sorry, you can gut the Voting Rights Act, and call that "effective use of time" but the DOMA thing you're having a problem with??? Justice Scalia is a nitwit. I would have loved to see Justice Ginsberg catch Alito in the eyeroll. 

On Texas. Well. What can you say to a Governor who's willing to spend millions in taxpayer dollars to legislate vaginas, but who won't pass a jobs bill, then claims to be "passionately pro-life" as his state executes its 500th person. And who says of those executions, "I can sleep at night" and not worry whether they're all truly justified. Lovely. Not. 

So, what's on your needles? What are your summer knitting projects? What else can I add to my own WIP stack??

I'm trying....

...to keep up here. We all got sick over Christmas, one by one. Started with The Kid, then came to me, and now Hubby is the last one standing. Or coughing, actually. He had a flu test, and it was negative. But he's got all the symptoms. So, high-test cough medicine, a stronger antibiotic, and he's sleeping on the couch, poor thing. I'm not forcing him - the cough is just that bad.

I attended a fantastic Raw Food seminar at Just Breathe Yoga, and learned that smoothies can fit into my overall plan of increasing fiber and the "good stuff" and getting all the "processed stuff" out of my diet. Or as much of it as one can in this day and age. So here's my lunch smoothie:

1 apple, quartered and cored
1 large handful baby spinach
1 c. unsweetened almond milk
1 little knob of ginger, peeled
1 handful almonds
1 cucumber
4 leaves of romaine
3 sprigs flat-leaf parsley

Peel the cucumber if it's waxy. Wash all the produce. Put all this in a fairly sturdy blender and whiz up till it's smooth-ish.

This makes A LOT of smoothie, but it's easy to eat. The other day, I made one with everything there except the ginger and I added a whole avocado (peeled and pitted, obviously). The gal doing the seminar is a certified instructor for raw foods, and she uses a honkin' VitaMix blender. Thanks, but until I blow it up, my Cuisinart will do ok! Can't quite spend $500+ on a blender. Here's her info, if you want; she's at dishonraw and will help you get a bit healthier in 2013.

I'd have put a picture up, but Blogger isn't cooperating! Well, maybe next time.

I started on the lace portion of the Monkey Socks (located at Ravelry), and I managed to mess up one section; so I have to take it to the LYS for a little help. I can already see the pattern develop and it's gorgeous!

I have to finish the baby blanket so I can start on the yellow one.... I set it aside and had committed to having a "Sock Sunday" where I work on anything BUT the baby stuff ("sock" only because I like the sound of "Sock Sunday" - it can be any of my WIPs, but I'm NOT starting anything new. Go ahead. Laugh.). And my week got busy what with the semester starting at work. Haven't picked it up all week, and I'm feeling guilty.

We still have no snow. Nothing. "Maybe" forecast for Saturday, but if it does, I hope it lasts. I have to work, of course, but I'll still be able to enjoy it out my window.

I can't believe I start my teacher training at Prairie Yoga next month! I have already started on the homework, and I realize that I've forgotten everything (or most everything) I knew about anatomy!! I mean, yeah, we haven't grown new bones, so I'm kind of familiar with the main ones, but this training includes some fairly intense sessions on musculature and bone stuff. It's good to stretch my brain - so I'm plugging away.

As far as the health issues are concerned, first off, I don't have to see the cardiologist for a year!! Huzzah!!! Second, I'm kind of hovering at the "lost 30 lbs." mark. I would like to lose about 8 more, but I'm taking it as it comes. I am a H-U-G-E carb fanatic, and I have to say that switching up to include more fiber and more protein has helped me tremendously. I've pretty much conquered my sweet tooth, and that was a big issue for me.

We had our first Tuesdays with Tippi for the semester. The pictures are still on my camera, and again - if Blogger can get its act together, perhaps the next post will be a pictorial.

So how about the NRA? Holy-moley - I'm almost using up my "Shakespeare Insult Kit" on comments about these folks. Between the claims that the whole Newtown shooting was "a set-up by the government and a hoax" to the commercial taking aim (yeah, I did that deliberately) at President Obama's children -- these folks are just poisonous milk-livered boar-pigs. (Shakespeare works!)

We need sensible solutions to the multi-pronged problem of gun violence. And you know what? MORE GUNS is truly NOT the answer. As this unfolds, we'll have to see what the government says and does. Of course, the red states, and even parts of IL are having trouble with what he's already proposed, but the President made an excellent argument:

"We have the right to worship freely and safely - that right was denied to Sikhs in Wisconsin; the right to assemble peacefully - that right was denied in Oregan and Colorado."  This was in this morning's Chicago Tribune. Obama turned on the "professor" mode and pointed out, quite rightly, that "that most fundamental set of rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness [were] denied to college students at Virginia Tech and high school students at Columbine, and elementary school students in Newtown, and kids on street corners in Chicago on too frequent a basis to tolerate."

Which is kind of what I've been saying: When does YOUR right to carry a gun interfere with MY right to go about my business without fear of being collateral damage when the bullets start flying?

Of course, Republicans insist that "Second Amendment rights were non-negotiable."  You know what? So are the others. So what kind of country do you really want to live in? I'm not cool with the "live in fear" thing.

Honestly, call it crazy, but my friend and I went to see Les Miz (the movie) and I got jumpy when some folks moved around down in front. I'm not living my life that way. It also appears that even reasonable NRA members are embarassed by the current web commercial (I think it was already taken down but you can surely find it on YouTube), and many folks who are prominent conservatives are backing away slowly (seeing as the NRA is armed) -- because they jumped the shark by not only having a new "app" which is "suitable for 4 years and up" whereby kids can shoot at coffins... Yeah, I'm not kidding ... but also, that commercial asking "are the President's kids more important than yours" and ...wait for it... The NRA says that ad "wasn't aimed at Obama's children." Really?

I don't think I could belong to an organization which thought I was that stupid.