My Darling Hubby and I are going to participate in a 5K! Vern’s No Frills 5K in Georgetown. He’s walking. I’m running (and walking). He says he will keep up with me. Humph. We’ll see.
Today was the day. Most of those affected knew this day would come. Eventually. And yet…it’s still hard. A lot of people I know and love were escorted out of the building today. Others were placed in another organization, no longer in my building. A lot of people who were working at MFE on my first day back in ’97, they’re just gone. Now we began again, picking up the pieces. Trying to figure out who will cover this or that function that used to be done by so-&-so. But so-&-so’s gone.
For myself, now running a small company that supports the big company, I have to lead my team successfully through the changing terrain. We’re reinventing ourselves, again. Defining our place at the table. There’s no room for whiners or slackers. No room for excuses.
A beaver, hard at work.
Busy beavers only need apply. We’ve got a lot of work to do.
If someone had told me at the first of the year that I’d be considering running in a 5K before the year was half over I’d have said “5K”? Or something equally witty because seriously, it would have been beyond reason to even imagine such a thing. Now I’m not only imagining it, I’m actively researching my options and looking for the lucky winner of my first 5K entry. Runtex offers quite a variety and that’s only a start.
I’ve let my runs dominate my workouts. This morning I reintroduced Gin Miller’s medicine ball (Power Abs) workout. Whew!
I’ve been consistently running 3-4 times a week. My “jogs” take me on a 2.5 mile circuit of my neighborhood. I’m averaging a pace of about 4 miles per hour. My endurance is improving. My pace is improving – I shave time off with each successive run. I’m finding running more rewarding than lifting weights or other forms of exercise. But yesterday’s effort will go down in history as my worst ever. I need to remember to check the weather before I take off.
It started out as well as any run. I warmed up with a 1 minute walk then broke into a jog which loosened and improved as I warmed up and got into the zone. At about ¾ of a mile the wind picked up and the weather appeared to be quite threatening. Dark storm clouds were rolling in and I realized I might get caught in rain. I decided to head home at the mile mark rather than run the extra mile on the other side of the neighborhood.
I knew I could adjust my run to make up the distance while staying closer to home. What I didn’t expect was that I should have been wearing protective goggles. With the wind, there was a lot of debris. As I innocently planned a new route, I came under attack. Something got in my eye. It could have been a grain of sand/dirt or a leaf for all I know. It felt huge, yet I couldn’t seem to get it out. Of course I didn’t stop running, that would have been silly.
So I ran with one eye closed, tears streaming down my face. Finally, as I reached the end of the first mile, I gave up and walked while trying to get the “something” out of my eye. I thought about knocking on a door. I thought about just walking up to a car in a driveway and using their side-view mirror (some objects are closer than they appear). I imagined my cornea getting scratched up while I rubbed on my eye. I imagined a trip to the emergency room to get the twig out of my eye. I didn’t have to imagine the horrible pain I was feeling.
So I walked most of the ½ mile home.
When I got home I looked for all I was worth but I couldn’t find the log that was in my eye. I put in eye drops. Lay down for a while. Looked again. Tried not to rub my eye. Rubbed my eye. Looked again. Eventually the tree or boulder that was in my eye came out. I never did figure out what was in there. Of course, by this time I was exhausted.
And so ended what I hope will remain on record as the worst run ever.
These days it’s a common sight to spy 2 engineers with their heads together, like a pair of conspirators. It’s would be surprising because designing notebooks isn’t a particularly covert operation. I know it when I see it, though. It’s the rumors of layoffs bringing people together this way, with furtive looks cast over shoulders. The halls are relatively quiet. Everyone’s laying low.
The rumors have been rampant for weeks. Productivity is down. Morale is down. Job searches are up. Many are just hoping against hope they can collect a severance package to tide them over until they land on safer ground.
I desperately want to soothe fears, calm nerves and help create focus on the immediate needs of the organization. I firmly believe there is no benefit in worrying. Yet we are human. There are bills to pay, families to feed. Worry is our nature.
There doesn’t seem to be enough work to do. While some are seeking to flee, others are fighting to stay. They scrabble and scramble, making their presence and their contribution front and center so they are noticed and credited. Their behavior is no more healthy than the fretting.
And where is management? In the last 2 weeks, no fewer than 3 layers of management have shifted or disappeared completely. I’ve never seen such a vast change in organizational leadership. The expectation seems to be that the soldiers will sort things out themselves. Or maybe it’s a game of survival of the fittest.
But the rules of the game have changed. The demands are different. And the rumors prevail. Yet…another week has passed without a Reduction In Force. (But it’s only Thursday, you say. Yes, but everyone knows…no RIF happens on a Friday.)
“What’s to be made of that?” I ask.
“Next week,” they say with a nod. “Next week.”
And that’s life in the halls of My Former Employer.
Minutes before officially becoming a big brother, our grandson spent time burning energy, running around the secluded patio in the women’s section of the hospital. 
Labor was eased by an epidural. Delivery was quick. My daughter asked me to stay with her during delivery. What a blessing! I won’t deny weeping at the moment of birth.
I’m sure I’m biased. I think she’s precious.
Yes, this grandma loves her grandchildren.
Sitting quietly in the waiting room, on the outside. Outside of the doors. Doors that require approval from the nurses’ station before entry (or exit) can be granted. We’ve been excused for a moment.
Before I’m finished with that thought, I get a text from my daughter, summoning us. She’s ready for our return.
Although the world is filled with death and violence, I get to set all that aside today. I’m soothed by the sounds of my granddaughter’s in utero heartbeat and the steady gentle breathing of my napping grandson. It’s a waiting game for us. The grandparents.
Today is our baby’s 16th birthday and it seems like only yesterday that he was born. The memory of his birth is as vivid as the memory of his older sister’s birth. His sister that’s about to give birth. And life goes on.
Way back when, shortly after Christmas, I began a delightful (but slow) journey into fitness. My regimen of workouts evolved from playing around on the Wii Fit Plus to getting serious about exercise. Initially, although I was putting in at least 30 minutes per workout and working out at least 5 days per week, I lacked focus. By the end of February I was developing focus. I was consistently working out a minimum of 30 minutes of aerobic and up to an hour and a half of aerobic/strength training exercises. I also introduced yoga into my Wii workouts.
On top of that, once a week I joined a friend for a brisk 3 mile walk (taking a little under an hour). By the end of March I was feeling pretty good about myself, and I boldly began to jog a bit during my walks. I even joined my friend and her husband on a 7 mile bike ride (which exercised a completely different set of muscles, causing my glutes to ache for almost 2 weeks).
I also introduced a medicine ball workout which greatly taxed my abs/upper body. This was complimented by a twice-weekly arm/chest/upper-body workout with dumbbells.
By mid April I was jogging more than walking and the inviting Spring weather allowed this to be my predominant exercise. I truly felt as though I’d graduated from the Wii.
Then the Spring weather invited more than outdoor exercise. Austin is blanketed with the yellowish dust of Oak pollen. The wet weather fosters a bloom of mold, as well. I haven’t worked out for a week as I’ve struggled with chest congestion and a chronic cough brought on by my allergies.
Hopefully I’ll be back in action soon. I’m missing my workouts!
Last week I had an unpleasant encounter with a pair of “Christian women” who demonstrated unchristian behavior. Yesterday I concluded that I would not confront the offenders directly. Instead, I wrote an article for the Examiner about motives for good deeds.
