Isaac Newton?

Anna was more proud of her storyboard than her costume, I'm sure. That's my grey adidas golf vest she's wearing.

Piggly Wiggly

Much to her delight, Ceil is recruited to make a fool of herself during the annual Piggly Wiggly song sing-a-long. Becky Norman rocks son David's yellow cap.

Guess if I were to take skit-wizard Mrs. Switzer's place, I'd have to wear goofy outfits as well. Wait, I'm already good at that.

A Quiet Fight

Will with the band "A Quiet Fight".

L-R: Will, Joel Norman, the oh so cool Kyle, & slugging catcher Andrew.

The amount of Living Science logo-ed merchandise grows every year.

5th Grade Volcano Day

Mark Lemke: Mall Walker

Took Ceil to Perimeter Mall tonight. Good times. Anyway, we parked in the deck and entered by the Nordstrom shoe department. As we headed into the mall we were passed by the Lemmer, in a heavy red Braves jacket. Most all the other shoppers were in short sleeves, many in shorts.

Dropped Ceil off at Anthropology and began my prowl. EB Games, Sports Fan Attic, and on to the far end of the mall, and down to a shoe store. As I exited, there again was Lemke. He had first been 2/3 of the way across the mall, headed in the OTHER direction. Now he was coming out of Dillards, heading back in the same direction again. Mall walker? Mall stalker? At least he didn't have on those weird glasses.

Second big moment. Next I headed back past the Clarke store and on to the massive Nordstrom shoe department (Ceil spends a LONG time in Anthropologie, dontchaknow). I was presentable, wearing an untucked black golf shirt, driving loafers, jeans, unkempt hair, and new glasses. Coming down the escalator, I spied a cool old-school Braves tee, off-white, black tomahawk. Checking it out, a saleslady ASKED IF SHE COULD HELP ME! Usually I'm too un-cool to be bothered with. NOT TONIGHT, BABY! I'm someone...someone cool!

Or maybe it's the terrible economy.

The night got bigger. We also hit Lenox, where Ceil found the reading glasses she wanted (five bucks...Yes!). Most times these days I never see any shoes I like. Tonight there were plenty. besides loafers, I got a good look at some Nike Lunar Trainers and about six different cool Pumas. AND we got home in time for Idol! I am so blessed.

Tomorrow? Bed, Bath, & Beyond? Good times.

At the Macon Heart Center

My dad’s heart cath couldn’t have gone better. He went into it very discouraged. Eleven years ago the same procedure was very painful, then he had to stay in the hospital and have four bypasses. He has been in pain and been dropping things lately, and is frustrated he can’t do yardwork. It’s been a chore to walk down to the mailbox.

The doctor discovered an irregular heartbeat he hopes to correct in a few months. Two arteries were partially blocked, but it was determined he didn’t even need a stint. One of dad’s meds will be reduced in half. The worst part for him was having to lay still for six hours in recovery, without even holding his head up.

Worked til 12:20 yesterday before driving to Macon. As I was approaching the hospital around two my sister called, irate. I had regrettably mentioned on Facebook Monday night that I was “going to Macon tomorrow.” Nita is famous for reading my blog and repeating details back to family members…quite inaccurately. She said I only said I was coming to Macon “to get out of work.” What does Facebook have to do with going to work? And I had “said” I’d be there “in the morning” (no, I said “tomorrow”…look it up!).

After visiting dad for a while I drove home to cut the grass. Took the scenic route past my high school, taking several streets from the old days…a rare treat. Got done with most of the needed work by six, when my sister picked me up. Dad was supposed to be discharged at eight, along with four other patients…so it took longer. Dad was itching to go, but when the nurse was finally checking him out, he started telling stories. Guess he was happy to be dressed and off the bed.

Afterward he seemed encouraged. When we got home at 9:45 he walked down the driveway to the mailbox.

Since he was doing so well I drove back last night, arriving around midnight. Tired today.

Reading the book “Winning” by the former GE CEO. He reads the book on CD and tells numerous anecdotes, making all the business stuff more tolerable. Worked it into a conversation this AM with the Ogre and Randy, regarding a $1.5 million problem I hadn’t thought the Ogre knew enough about. He understands how the problem grew to what it is, and what needs to happen going forward. Last year that wasn’t the case. The book mentions the “GE Workout”, a term my old boss was in love with.

Monday evening before meeting Ceil I flipped on the TV, and saw Lang’s wife interviewed on Entertainment Tonight. Jennifer Garner was the subject.

Been so busy it was Tuesday afternoon before I found out Boyer had been traded. Hopefully the change will help him out. Completely missed these last two Nats games.

Whether Tommy Hanson?

680 was talking about what to do about the fifth starter. Perry L wants to call up Hanson now. Mazzone was saying he always wanted the guys that gave you the best shot to win, but also said the fifth starter spot was never a priority with him. I say no need to panic over JoJo yet. How many times would he pitch between now and June first, when Hanson can be called up arbitration-eligible a year later…three or four? Even if JoJo had pitched well Saturday, he had no offensive support behind him. Wait and call up Hanson in June.

Hopefully yesterday’s offensive explosion will carry over to the Nats series, and beyond. Noticed that Parr pitched well Friday night, but not when called upon Saturday afternoon to pitch a second straight day.

Got a bunch done this weekend, but only scratched the surface. Spend a bunch of time organizing the kid’s rooms & closets, as well as ours…but it was at best 95% complete, if that. Removed all the unneeded winter clothes, but didn’t have time to get out the summer clothes (Ceil said not to). Kitchen is clean, and other areas neater. Did a little yardwork, not much. As I continued to clean I kept finding hidden laundry, so I ran several loads throughout the weekend. Civic passed the emission test, but I didn’t do any other running around.

Enjoyed Con Air, which I had never seen before. Didn’t spend too much time on the computer. Last night I slept some on the couch, monitoring the storms. Should’ve gone to Macon. Just found out my dad’s having a heart cath Tuesday AM…so I may be going down there at some point.

Sounded like everyone was having a good time at Jekyll, especially M and W. Anna was too, but was under the weather a bit. They’ll be home tonight.

After Claire sent out her baby announcement, Matthew took it to his room, took an old Little League team photo out of a frame, put the twin’s picture in it’s place, and put in on his wall. Funny.

74 Braves Cap

Like pants, if you get a fitted cap in the next size up, it feels great. Guess I'll be sporting this model most of the summer, instead of the golf caps that make my head look even bigger.

100% wool. Made by American Needle for MLB's Cooperstown Collection, fitted...by I won't mention the size.

As for the team, I'm certainly not throwing in the towel.

Anna's New Shoes

Anna loves her new shoes...she wore them out of the store. Size 8...much larger then her mother. We'll see if they survive the Expedition.

A fun evening with Anna and Matthew last week...to Kohl's, then north to the Rack Room near the Roswell Super Target, backtracking to Merchants Walk, then to Moe's for dinner.

Torpedo-ed

Remember yesterday I said I felt so bad I was just trying to hang in there until 5 so I could go home? At 4:15 I finally got called in for the inventory meeting, and it lasted past six. I took my box of Kleenex in with me. The GM was asking if anyone had a report while I was stuffing a used Kleenex in my pocket. I said I had it, and Dale thought I'd just blew my nose with the report. Almost got invited to dinner (not because of that!). With everyone out of town it would’ve been the perfect time, but I felt terrible.

Got sucked in to buying one of those new Quiznos Torpedo sandwiches for $4.00, but it wasn’t worth it. Enjoyed Benjamin Button, but the nighttime drugs I’d taken almost made me go to sleep. This morning is still felt bad/tired, although the drugs were working on my sinuses. Fell better this afternoon, just not enough to go golfing or exercise…though I didn’t bring any clothes or workout shoes.

Another supposedly quiet Friday filled with emergencies. Will watch the Braves/Pirates tonight, I guess. Any Hawks playoff predictions?

Batchin' It

Stayed up late for the second straight night trying to help get things ready for the school trip. Ceil got up at 3 am to get ready, and they all left the house at 4:15. They left Woodstock at six and were in Metter getting gassed up at ten, and arrived in Jekyll Island by 1:30. Since they’re going on an all-day field trip Sunday to the Okefenokee, there’s not much sense in me doing down there this weekend. They wanted to tour the swamp on Saturday, but can’t because of an Earth Day celebration.

Any Expedition 2 students reading this blog just got treated to inside info, but I doubt that’ll happen.

Got chilly last night, and all day today I’ve been sneezing. Gone through a box and a half of Kleenex. Supposed to have an inventory meeting today, but they’ve yet to call me in. Don’t feel good enough to do nothing but just lay low until I can go home.

Wanted to work out every day the fam is gone. The house is such a mess, it’ll take me most of the weekend to straighten up: Kitchen, School room, Den, Upstairs bedrooms, Downstairs bedroom, Get out summer clothes from attic, Utility room, Garage, Civic Emissions. We’ll see how much gets done. It would also be a good weekend to hit Macon.

The Marlins always seem to beat up on the Braves, but I read where this would be the Marlins’ first-ever 3 game sweep at the Ted. Boyer doesn’t seem to be getting any better, but right now there aren’t many options in the pen. Good to see Francoeur have a big day. G Anderson is such a class act, you wonder if they wouldn’t keep him around as a PH even if he falls on his face in the OF.

Our first NP group in about 2001 was that Crown study on finances, and we pretty much stuck to the text and didn’t share hardly any specifics. Still see one couple on Sundays from time to time.

$$$

While we both agree about schooling, ballet, and baseball (& other opportunities we can’t afford, like art & music) our day-to-day spending is not cut to a level where we can afford the choices we’ve made. Cutting it so close drives me crazy, making time together tense (& worse).

Ceil’s mom sent money for clothes. Whenever she does, more is spent. C just got Will a bunch of clothes for the trip from Dick’s. Even on sale it was more expensive than similar items at Kohl’s, Marshall’s, or TJMaxx. I took Will to return a pair of a too-large pair of shorts. There weren’t any in his size, and Will didn’t understand why I wouldn’t pay ten bucks MORE for a pair.

Last night Will & I went to the Barrett Dicks SG and came up dry, so I got our money back. Then we found a cooler pair down the street at Marshall’s that was cheaper. But he found this Braves cap he liked for $7.99, and I found a fitted 1974 Braves cap in my size, so I wound up spending $17.00 more. Just what we needed. This time Ceil wasn’t happy…more about Will’s ugly cap than the money.

It is therapeutic to write. I was thinking about Andy’s story of the small group that completely opened up their finances to each other, and whether that would work with Ceil and me. Today my office neighbor Brad had a comment that let me know he’s of a similar mindset. Yesterday at Chickfila we both separately “splurged” because whatever we bought, we could later get the same items free. He added fries to his order. I got TWO sandwiches (still used a coupon!).

I’d opt out of more SC trips, but the long drive is tough on Ceil, and it’s quantity family time, though the quality isn’t great. By doing the packing and stuff, it gives the rest more time with cousins, etc. I consider it taking one for the team, though my attitude could be better. I do get to sleep in, eat good (too good), relax, and catch up on computer/internet stuff.

The Marlins always play the Braves tough. G Anderson was having a tough time in LF. Cox had some funny comments, being positive about calling up JoJo.

Our company is closing the Knoxville plant, because many customers have shifted that business to other parts of the country. Mentioned that to my UT friend Jim, who just lost his IBM programming job. His friend was a long-time Weather Channel on-air guy who recently was laid off, who was interviewing at a small Knoxville station. He’d have to do early mornings and the late news, as well as weekends…a lot of work.

Got a comment on my blog about a post I’d written over a year ago, from a GT guy I’m friends with on Facebook. I figured he found the blog through my Facebook page. I responded to the blog post, telling him to tell his wife I said hello. He responded back saying he didn’t know who I was. Bob!

May go see Benjamin Button at the Picture Show tomorrow.

Anna the Slugger

Again in SC Anna and her two girl cousins were more active participants in the boy’s whiffleball games. Anna was consistently hitting the ball hard, almost always out of the infield. Will and Anna play hard and have a fun time, smiling all the while.

I often have a hard time with those offering biting comebacks, meant in jest. A completely different personality type than me and Ceil. Makes me clam up all the more. Should I make similar comments, they’d come across as bitter and hateful, as I wouldn’t be delivering them as humorously.

Jefferson SC is 300 miles away, but a world apart. Ceil’s mom didn’t realize Will didn’t play baseball this spring because we lacked the money.

Nike Shox Monster Metal

Van Earl

A Facebook friend is friends with Fox announcer Van Earl Wright. Van Earl is friends with Kenny Albert (& Buckhead Church, where brother Scot is an “elder”…but not the similar Johnson Ferry group, where other brother Bryant is pastor. Hmmm). Looks like Van Earl currently lives in Salt Lake City.

Took Anna Thursday night to get a new pair of new balance shoes, at Rack Room. Thought Friday would be quiet, but early on a vendor called…our plant had cut almost $20,000.00 an inch too short. So I spent over have the day trying to find a very scarce item.

Ceil picked me up Friday at 6 pm after my day full of emergencies. I let her stop and shop the Gwinnett Talbots outlet, not knowing about the storms til almost 7 pm. Matthew had to get something to eat, so we stopped at the M of Ga ChickfilA. Rain, lightning, and wind started after we got on 85 North, & continued the next 5 hours…one of the rougher drives I had. Had I known earlier about the rough weather, I would’ve headed out sooner. Someone had put C’s cell on vibrate, so she was out of contact all Friday. Didn’t pay attention and missed my exit in Greenville (I’ll blame it on the rain!)…but that only cost us ten minutes.

Listened to some of the Braves game on the way. Sutton had Pete on…they should’ve let Pete call Escobar’s home run. On the radio Sutton thought he was a lefty, but writing is the only thing he does lefty. Also the rain delay show with Chip and the Lemmer. Bout time they started back I lost the signal…but picked up the end of the Indians/Blue Jays game from the Cleveland AM clear channel.

Didn’t do much Saturday…great weather for a run over country roads. Watched the Masters and took Matthew to Burger King.

Not a great Easter Service where we were Sunday. Left about 2:30 to come back…Will drove the first 2.5 hours to Augusta without me having too many heart attacks. Listened to the dramatic Masters finish on the radio. All the Moes were closed last night, so we picked up a PaPaJohns Pizza.

Found out our company does have Braves tickets this year…the Ogre offered me tickets for Sunday’s game. I think Darryl went.

Going to be busy for a few days…we really shouldn’t have gone to SC with all there is to do. I cashed in MyCokeRewards points for a Nike gift certificate, as Will says he needs new spikes. Will order them after we get his size. Should be able to get a decent pair. Also need to reorder SI…my subscription is about to run out.

Haven’t been doing a good job on the van’s MPV lately, since I rarely am the one to get gas.

Thursday

Games like yesterdays will drive me crazy……glad I missed it. Nice that the Braves are hitting.

Going to SC this weekend. Plenty to do at home, which I reckon I’ll do the next weekend when everyone’s gone. Would be nice to go down to Jekyll for that weekend, maybe take off Friday. We’ll see. Matthew is sick, and Will has been having headaches. My headaches have to do with the pollen, I think.

Tied up almost all day yesterday in meeting/emergencies. We’re all busy and are filled with tasks not in our job description. He took me to lunch, the first time in over a month. I’m sure it has to do with the downturn…he hasn’t taken Brad out either. The Ogre doesn’t know if the layoffs & salary cuts only have to do with the economy, or if our owners are doing it to cut costs because everyone else is doing it. He likened them to Richard Gere’s profession in Pretty Woman, which is pretty accurate.

BTW, my salary cut did turn out to be only 5%. Today & tomorrow 3 co-workers are on vacation, but it’s slow. I won’t get caught up that much.

weekend on the go

Everyone had a blast at the Braves game (& Varsity afterwards). I was concerned about two of the quiet girls, but their mothers later told Ceil they had a great time. Alyssa’s dad was great company, as he was a good fan (before Friday I had only met him once, briefly). He brought up things like pitch speed and selection, and how Gonzo lost the perfect game with a walk in the 5th.

Went to Macon Sat AM with A and M and did many hours of yardwork. Anna was a tremendous help (my parents paid her $30.00 before we went home). I had told Matthew when we got there that he might get paid if he worked hard, but after messing with the fire (leaves) for a while, he went inside to watch TV.

Traffic was terrible. On the way down on 75 in Cobb, I took 285 around the west side. South of the Perimeter 75 was still bad, so I continued on to 675, but the problem was construction on 75 south of 675. On the way back it was bad at the same point. Almost took 675 and 285 east, to say I pulled a Pasqual Perez.

Will had morning and afternoon meetings at school, then watched the Final Four at the Normans. So Sunday he had a big project to work on instead of practicing baseball. My concern is a sore arm. Plus, if he gets off to a slow start on this new team, he may find himself on the bench. Everyone else is already playing on school teams. Ceil says he needs to learn for himself. With my pay cut, it will be an expensive lesson.

Got back from small group to find the Braves up 4-0 in the 5th and watched the rest. Looked like a fine start. The announcers also mentioned what a tough call relieving Lowe was. He had thrown about 95 pitches. They showed Soriano getting ready in the bullpen. I still say Gonzo is better in a close game than with a four run lead. He may just need more work to get to midseason form. He did strike out Ryan Howard and another guy. At least Cox didn’t put in Boyer.

This AM the Ogre says the pay cut could very well be a 10% cut for me and my neighbor Brad. Guess I’m a bigger shot than I thought. A little unexpected, but not completely…better than the alternative. Ceil took it OK, but I don’t think she completely understands the impact, no matter how much I try. She thinks the bonus and tax return will cover us, but it won’t.

Friday Braves Recap

On a beautiful Friday night for baseball in Atlanta, the early-afternoon grey clouds cleared away, allowing the Braves and Tigers blue skies and brilliant sunshine for batting practice. Javier Vasquez threw four perfect innings, then Mike Gonzalez and Jeff Bennett extended the hitless streak for five more outs. Omar Infante’s two-run homer to left was enough offense, and the Braves went home 3-1 winners.

Fresh off preseason training sessions, Turner Field parking attendants, ticket-takers, and ushers were all smiles, welcoming us to the park. Indeed, they are usually most friendly, but tonight it seemed more so. Perhaps their higher-ups reminded them they’ll be fighting for customers in this tough economic climate. Even a young male employee in the parking lot greeted us…while chatting on his cell phone.

Leadoff hitter Yunel Escobar singled the first pitch up the middle for a single, but then was hit in the bicep by the first pickoff throw. He had to leave the game.

When Gonzo was introduced in the top of the fifth, the giant video screen caught him kneeling to tighten his spikes. He was rocking a pair of red-swooshed Shox. Rookie phenom Jordan Schafer, he of the celebrated Nike contract, had his shoes mostly covered with extended pants legs. Vasquez’s adidas had red accents. Clint Sammons joined buddies Francoeur and McCann on team Mizuno. Curtis Granderson sported orange-swooshed road Nikes. Several young Tiger outfielders wore high-cuffed pants and stirrups. In our party, Amber rocked a cool pair of brown/beige Pumas, and Alyssa broke out green Nikes with yellow swooshes. The young pirate Matthew wore his familiar black Converse, which were showing some wear.

Granderson broke up the no-hitter with a two-out 6th-inning double. Twice Schafer got to show off his accurate arm. Infante made two tough back-handed stops filling in for Chipper at the hot corner, both times accurately one-hopping throws over to first. After snaring a line drive to end the sixth, Omar carried the ball with him, to toss to a fan. He found the top of the dugout filled with the Tomahawk Girls starting the Home Dept Tool Race, so he patiently waited for the race to start before finding a young fan to toss the ball to.

The game moved along quickly. The seventh inning was reached by nine o’clock. Saw a few regular faces: the white guy who’s at every game dressed as an Indian, and the gregarious, always-smiling learning-impaired black guy (who Lemke and Chip Carey were razzing).

We got off to a late start Friday afternoon leaving Living Science. This was to be a team-building exercise, a chance for the Group Eight Servant Leaders to spend time together. It appears the other seven groups weren’t able to organize get-togethers, quite understandable this busy spring. The entire seven-member Group Eight was able to attend.

Being LSA (Living Science Acceptable), the boys rode in my van, and the girls rode with Alyssa’s dad Craig. Pulling out of Living Science at 4:15, traffic didn’t slow our little departure caravan until we hit the Connector. Had I not stuck to my beloved HOV lane, we would’ve arrived at the park 15 minutes earlier. This gave us time guys to chat up many topics, including the old Pepsi commercial were the old lady “likes Rock, but prefers Rap.”

Still, there were dollar seats remaining, and we made it into the left field stands in time to see the Braves complete BP. The Tigers took over, so Craig and I sat back while the teens took up a front row. Christy’s dainty wave to the Tiger players quickly became contagious…soon all the girls were daintily waving. I noticed one difference right away: no piped-in rock music. Instead the old-school pipe organ cranked out tunes. Nice.

The waving worked…soon all four were holding baseballs. Kaitlin gamely tried to catch a ball tossed by a Tiger. She bobbled it, but stuck with it, and soon secured it. Alyssa had no problem making a catch. Christy also stuck with it. Kevin’s long reach snagged him a ball, which he immediately handed to Amber. Later Alyssa caught a ball, then seeing a lady behind her, generously handed her the ball. Will and Kevin also gave balls away. Interestingly, three of the four balls were International League balls. After BP the girls got the balls autographed by ex-Brave Mark Lemke.

During BP Tigers manager Jim Leyland sauntered out, making his way to the bullpen, stopping to sign multiple autographs…unlike Tiger ace Justin Verlander, who took a break from his daily running to very nicely decline. Magglio Ordonez also begged off. Nearby, I determined an Oriental in street clothes was the interpreter to a skinny, young, Tiger hurler. One line drive narrowly missed a youngster in foul territory…who hadn’t been paying attention. It reminded Craig of a story: At a minor league game when Alyssa was quite young, he caught an errant warmup pitch headed their way.

We leisurely chose seats down the left-field line, in section 222. In front of us was a spry old usher who was on the move all night: leading cheers and chatting with fans. He was quite popular with the young Tomahawk Team girls, who were always sure to stop by to give him hugs. The oldster was hip, wearing his Braves cap with the shiny holograph sticker still on the brim. Can he keep up this frantic pace for 82 more home games? Will he wilt in the summer heat? What about day games after a night game? We thought that perhaps he was on the Braves retirement program…whereby older executives are later put out to pasture as ushers. Was this the guy who discovered Hammerin’ Hank?

Whatever the case, this usher was having the time of his life (however short that may be). I wondered out loud “I bet he drinks Pepsi.” Amazingly, we even saw him STARTING THE WAVE! All this time I thought it was heathen fans committing this crime.

A very old WWII colonel (in uniform!) was selected for the NAPA Cap Shuffle. Looked a little like a skinny Col. Sanders. Since I can barely keep up with the high-tech, fast-paced puzzle, I knew he had no chance. Did he even know where to look? After losing, they still gave him the prize.

After the game ended (before 9:30!) we cruised over to the Varsity. The weather was on the chilly side, and I thought Mrs. D’s greatest hopes (and worst fears) were realized: the team had a great time, but they may have froze to death at the same time!

Five Percent

Our CEO just announced a company-wide pay cut on all salaried personnel, from 5 – 15%. "Luckily", I should be in the 5% group. They’d already cut warehouse employees back to 32 hours. One competitor let all their outside sales force go, and they only had 2 on the inside. The inside sales force here has been calling out to customers, asking if they have any metal to buy. If they get an order, they ring a bell, and everyone claps. Lately the bell will ring 4-5 times a day, which isn’t bad.

Found out today that the warehouse manager, a guy I’ve known for a while, used to play high school baseball against Chipper. Said Bolles usually beat them bad at Bolles, but they played almost even at home.

Seven teens (2 boys, including Will), me, and Alyssa’s dad are going to the game tonight.

Wednesday

Not much new…survived the month end. We’re holding our heads above water, but doing better than other companies. Wrote up two reports for the new boss, the Ogre, who said I did a good job…wouldn’t change a thing.

UGA needs to hire someone quick, before all the good ones are gone.

Didn’t realize Watterson’s son David was an associate pastor at FBC Amarillo Texas.

Pretty much stopped entering many sweepstakes like I used to do, since work and home has been so busy the last year.