Thursday we took off to see Lindsay and Sean up in Sacramento. We had a great time at IKEa. It amazing what they can do with a little designing and some shopping systems.
We had lunch at their employee cafeteria that they open to the public. Its most famous for its meatballs. Sue was hooked by the shrimp salad. Linzi had the meatballs and I ordered the loin barbecue ribs. What a treat. The deserts are wonderful. Chocolate cake, a toffee torte and the apple cake/pie thingy. Like all good employees at the corporate cafeteria, we bussed our dishes.
The big purchase was a new comforter for Sue. It is a great place to get a very nice one for a very good price. They have such a diversity that you have to think about the weather inside your house before you buy one. How warm is your house when you go to sleep? The comforters are rated by relative warmth. Along with a comforter you need to get a duvet to go along. Sue has decided to give up her cheap "bed in a bag" for a new set and a new color scheme. Her new one is a brick orange. Tons of other "stuff" found their way into our shopping cart. It was a good experience and I am very glad that we do not live too near a an IKEA because we would be shopping there often. The Swedes have a great insight as to what needs to be for sale and for what price. IKEA is a Swedish company.
After that we headed to the Arden area Goodwill. Sue is happiest when she can snag a great buy in a goodwill. This one, although it has been somewhat shorten and diminished by newer ones that have taken its business, seems to have some very nice books and clothes that many of the others do not.
Linzi had been out to coast earlier in the week. She brought back some samples of some pretty outrageous cheeses from the area. As they say in Facebook...nom nom nom.
Have a great weekend
Pat
Friday, March 12, 2010
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Tough Week at School
Negotiations were this week. All they had for us was reductions of the school calendar.. with lowering pay that goes with it. And/or across the board pay reductions. With a little of more jobs could be lost.
Our side wants to keep things the way they are with plans for a raise in about 3 years... may be 5. We want to keep the jobs.
At the table we cannot do much about keeping the jobs. They can RIF as much as they want. (Reduction in Force).
The librarians and the counselors and the foreign language teachers, the shop teachers and most of the teachers with less than 3 years of experience at our district were given notice this week. I tried to sit in on the ones that the teachers asked for help. The district denied us access to those meetings since they were not disciplinary in nature. We came into the meetings and were told that we were not allowed to be there.
One of my negotiation team members was in the group. He was offered a 40% job next year instead of his normal 100% job. He is an oldie and will probably retire instead.
It looks like French is a dieing languag in Merced. We have already mourned the passing of German. If this is race to the top somebody isn't getting it.
Overall I was pretty happy to see Friday come this week.
Friday night I put into the mail the resignation papers for this year. It was required to take part in the the retirement incentive program offered by the district to move the top end out of the salary schedules. All I am missing is my conversation with STRS. Linzi is looking into that on Monday.
: ) Pat
Our side wants to keep things the way they are with plans for a raise in about 3 years... may be 5. We want to keep the jobs.
At the table we cannot do much about keeping the jobs. They can RIF as much as they want. (Reduction in Force).
The librarians and the counselors and the foreign language teachers, the shop teachers and most of the teachers with less than 3 years of experience at our district were given notice this week. I tried to sit in on the ones that the teachers asked for help. The district denied us access to those meetings since they were not disciplinary in nature. We came into the meetings and were told that we were not allowed to be there.
One of my negotiation team members was in the group. He was offered a 40% job next year instead of his normal 100% job. He is an oldie and will probably retire instead.
It looks like French is a dieing languag in Merced. We have already mourned the passing of German. If this is race to the top somebody isn't getting it.
Overall I was pretty happy to see Friday come this week.
Friday night I put into the mail the resignation papers for this year. It was required to take part in the the retirement incentive program offered by the district to move the top end out of the salary schedules. All I am missing is my conversation with STRS. Linzi is looking into that on Monday.
: ) Pat
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Cats along the way
Its great to have the daughters home.
They both came in on Saturday on the train and spent the night. We went out to Winton to our favorite Mexican food place. Sue had a chance to shop with the girls thorugh Target.
Heather answered the call to walk this morning. She and I completed the walk while spotting every feline out for the Sunday morning view. There were many. Most of them were too shy to really meet our friendship.
Heather picked up a large long haired Siamese that was near the school and needed to be across the street. Its easy to know when cats are "peopleized." The cat's curiosity to the human touch is too much to resist. This one was a big boy that even let us pick him up. We returned him to the proper side of the street and give him a decent pet besides.
This beautiful Siamese was carefully groomed and gave us a piece of his mind as we interacted with him. I knew that he was up for a pet when he rolled in front of us. I had pet this guy before on my walks but you never know how they will interact with a new person. Heather was quite impressed.
Have a great Sunday..
Love
Pat
They both came in on Saturday on the train and spent the night. We went out to Winton to our favorite Mexican food place. Sue had a chance to shop with the girls thorugh Target.
Heather answered the call to walk this morning. She and I completed the walk while spotting every feline out for the Sunday morning view. There were many. Most of them were too shy to really meet our friendship.
Heather picked up a large long haired Siamese that was near the school and needed to be across the street. Its easy to know when cats are "peopleized." The cat's curiosity to the human touch is too much to resist. This one was a big boy that even let us pick him up. We returned him to the proper side of the street and give him a decent pet besides.
This beautiful Siamese was carefully groomed and gave us a piece of his mind as we interacted with him. I knew that he was up for a pet when he rolled in front of us. I had pet this guy before on my walks but you never know how they will interact with a new person. Heather was quite impressed.
Have a great Sunday..
Love
Pat
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Oh Canada!
Is it true that most Americans know only the first phrase of the National Anthem of our Neighbors to the North?
Just so you don't sound too bad.. you may rehearse the lyrics to the this beautiful anthem that we know so little.
The Canadian National Anthem
O Canada!
Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all thy sons command.With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North strong and free!From far and wide,
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.God keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
Congrats go out to the Canadians who won gold in the ice dancing contest at the Vancouver Olympics last night.
: ) Pat
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Giving the Olympics a Rest.. A Netflix Referral
On the Netflix instant cue.. you can also get it through the mail..
Burning Plain
Its a drama film directed and written by Guillermo Arriaga, the screenwriter of Amores Perros, 21 grams, and Babel.
Its a great movie with plot twists and a non lineal development.
The women in this movie move this movie. Its a great story with some interesting action. Throughout the movie you wonder about sections and their ties to the other plots. Kim Basinger and Charlize Theron, and Jennifer Lawrance a do great acting in this film. They are just enough alike in physical appearance to make you wonder.
It was released in 2009. It has some great cinematography. It was filmed in New Mexico and some sea oriented city. It starts with a trailer burning to the grown in the middle of seemingly nowhere.
This movie has many of the qualities of Bridges of Madison County but with tragic consequences. There are some mystery elements to it.
Yep I know you are going to be watching this one..
Pat
Burning Plain
Its a drama film directed and written by Guillermo Arriaga, the screenwriter of Amores Perros, 21 grams, and Babel.
Its a great movie with plot twists and a non lineal development.
The women in this movie move this movie. Its a great story with some interesting action. Throughout the movie you wonder about sections and their ties to the other plots. Kim Basinger and Charlize Theron, and Jennifer Lawrance a do great acting in this film. They are just enough alike in physical appearance to make you wonder.
It was released in 2009. It has some great cinematography. It was filmed in New Mexico and some sea oriented city. It starts with a trailer burning to the grown in the middle of seemingly nowhere.
This movie has many of the qualities of Bridges of Madison County but with tragic consequences. There are some mystery elements to it.
Yep I know you are going to be watching this one..
Pat
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Drinking the Koolaide
What a phrase!
In common vernacular it means doing it with the group.
Its very appropriate for this week.
The district is worrying about three years from now and going broke. So.. the tapped their greatest resource of greatest expense and offered a buyout for their ready or almost ready to retire employees. I do mean employees.
Offered through the PAR corporation who has 3.1 million beneficiaries, it buys a 403 b annuity for those people over 55 from funds provided by the district. It amounts to roughly 70% of your current salary. It can me taken in 14 ways from straight 5 year payout to life. It also can me "rolled over" into your own 403b or it can have survivor benefits.
At the meeting this week it was rumored that 147 of individual packets were prepared by this organization for our district. A large crowd of eligible people attended, looked over the figures and took them home to discuss with those that are near and dear.
Dead line for the decision is March 15th.
It looks pretty good to me.. so I will take mine in cherry.. thank you very much.
Love
Pat
In common vernacular it means doing it with the group.
Its very appropriate for this week.
The district is worrying about three years from now and going broke. So.. the tapped their greatest resource of greatest expense and offered a buyout for their ready or almost ready to retire employees. I do mean employees.
Offered through the PAR corporation who has 3.1 million beneficiaries, it buys a 403 b annuity for those people over 55 from funds provided by the district. It amounts to roughly 70% of your current salary. It can me taken in 14 ways from straight 5 year payout to life. It also can me "rolled over" into your own 403b or it can have survivor benefits.
At the meeting this week it was rumored that 147 of individual packets were prepared by this organization for our district. A large crowd of eligible people attended, looked over the figures and took them home to discuss with those that are near and dear.
Dead line for the decision is March 15th.
It looks pretty good to me.. so I will take mine in cherry.. thank you very much.
Love
Pat
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Olympics Tell Your Eyes Fall Out!
I am a sucker for the spectacle. Yep.. every two years the Olympics provide a fix for this spectacle. A multi million dollar presentation is on tap in every one of these that allows the host country to "educate" the world about its culture. What could be better than that? Artistry of visual and cultural art from that country speakeing about that country is displayed. Without the art and the culture, the Olympics could be held in the same place time after time and it would not matter.
The press is always hard pressed to cover such an event. There is the classsic "space shuttle talk" approach which is too much commentary and too little action. There is a lot of "critique" commentary. This approach compares it with previous events. There is the reporting that tries to make sense of it without the press guide.
There was evidence of all of these reporting styles in the latest Vancouver coverage of the opening ceremony. All it misses the mark.
The spectacle of all the nations coming together for a parade with different winter fashions is pretty cool. The projections of Orca whale pods that actually spouted from a flat floor was pretty cool. The story of the country culture from one side of Canada to the other was amazing. The dancing and the art of set design on that scale was amazing. The lighting and projection off the white parkas was a technological beauty. I loved the trees and the prairie, and the "stompers" and even the poetic blogger. The aboriginal Indians were highlighted with amazing clothing. Overall it was an incredible show.
So what did the press report? One of the pillars in the torch did not come up. The NPR reporter reported that he lost the significance of the prairie, but latter picked it up in the press guide he did not read before the event. The NBC commentators tried to compare it to the summer spectacle in Beijing.. different season different world.. really. The reporting about what was going to happen next on the floor was made in a sort of cynical manner that made the spectacle somewhat diminished. On top of this there was a continual reminder of the wired concept of the a medal tote. Who even cares? Its great that we have some wonderful atheletes in these areas that do not get much coverage every year while every four years we get reintroduced to our own homegrown product.
I don't care what others think. The Olympic opening ceremony is a class A spectacle that should not every be lost in the the other parts of the games. Art lives!
The press is always hard pressed to cover such an event. There is the classsic "space shuttle talk" approach which is too much commentary and too little action. There is a lot of "critique" commentary. This approach compares it with previous events. There is the reporting that tries to make sense of it without the press guide.
There was evidence of all of these reporting styles in the latest Vancouver coverage of the opening ceremony. All it misses the mark.
The spectacle of all the nations coming together for a parade with different winter fashions is pretty cool. The projections of Orca whale pods that actually spouted from a flat floor was pretty cool. The story of the country culture from one side of Canada to the other was amazing. The dancing and the art of set design on that scale was amazing. The lighting and projection off the white parkas was a technological beauty. I loved the trees and the prairie, and the "stompers" and even the poetic blogger. The aboriginal Indians were highlighted with amazing clothing. Overall it was an incredible show.
So what did the press report? One of the pillars in the torch did not come up. The NPR reporter reported that he lost the significance of the prairie, but latter picked it up in the press guide he did not read before the event. The NBC commentators tried to compare it to the summer spectacle in Beijing.. different season different world.. really. The reporting about what was going to happen next on the floor was made in a sort of cynical manner that made the spectacle somewhat diminished. On top of this there was a continual reminder of the wired concept of the a medal tote. Who even cares? Its great that we have some wonderful atheletes in these areas that do not get much coverage every year while every four years we get reintroduced to our own homegrown product.
I don't care what others think. The Olympic opening ceremony is a class A spectacle that should not every be lost in the the other parts of the games. Art lives!
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