Good news... Gary got a new job.
Better news... He's taking time off between jobs and we booked a Hawaiian cruise during that time.
Woohoo - can't wait. :-)
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
Kitties
Well for an update...
They are getting along ok, but not great. There is still a lot of hissing and growling going on.
I'm not sure who is winning between Molly and Isabel. They seem to be equally matched and I have spotted both of them chasing the other. I never really see who starts it.
For Molly and Abby, Molly is often doing the chasing but they keep their distance more because Abby is definitely doing the most growling. The good news is, it appears Abby is losing weight from all that being chased and going up/down stairs. She has been much more active and playful than I have ever seen her. Gary actually had her jumping up and batting at a cat toy... I've never seen her do that. :-)
They are definitely all enjoying all of the attention and company.
They are getting along ok, but not great. There is still a lot of hissing and growling going on.
I'm not sure who is winning between Molly and Isabel. They seem to be equally matched and I have spotted both of them chasing the other. I never really see who starts it.
For Molly and Abby, Molly is often doing the chasing but they keep their distance more because Abby is definitely doing the most growling. The good news is, it appears Abby is losing weight from all that being chased and going up/down stairs. She has been much more active and playful than I have ever seen her. Gary actually had her jumping up and batting at a cat toy... I've never seen her do that. :-)
They are definitely all enjoying all of the attention and company.
Friday, November 11, 2005
Kitty Check In 2
I'm working from home today, so Abby has really enjoyed the company. She's been on the couch with me most of the day. She's still growling at Molly whenever she sees her.
Today Molly and Isabel were chasing in a bad way. I'm not sure who was chasing who or what exactly happened, but I heard some mean screaming (in cat language) at each other. I yelled at them and they ran in opposite directions as they came down the stairs. :-(
Thankfully I wasn't on a conference call or something at the time. :-)
They seem to be fine now so I'm not sure what that was all about.
Today Molly and Isabel were chasing in a bad way. I'm not sure who was chasing who or what exactly happened, but I heard some mean screaming (in cat language) at each other. I yelled at them and they ran in opposite directions as they came down the stairs. :-(
Thankfully I wasn't on a conference call or something at the time. :-)
They seem to be fine now so I'm not sure what that was all about.
Last Chapter
After getting the school and tuition reimbursement folks on a 3-way call yesterday, I decided to give up. I just wasn't getting anywhere.
Last night I went ahead and applied and put the fee on my credit card.
Wouldn't you just know it... today I got an email from the tuition reimbursement people that although they normally require fees to be associated with a class for approval, they have gone ahead and approved this for me.
Now, I'll see if the nice folks at the school will reverse the charge on my credit card and accept the payment from the tuition people. The school was much more reasonable to deal with yesterday, so I think that may work out fine.
Last night I went ahead and applied and put the fee on my credit card.
Wouldn't you just know it... today I got an email from the tuition reimbursement people that although they normally require fees to be associated with a class for approval, they have gone ahead and approved this for me.
Now, I'll see if the nice folks at the school will reverse the charge on my credit card and accept the payment from the tuition people. The school was much more reasonable to deal with yesterday, so I think that may work out fine.
Thursday, November 10, 2005
That thing I do
My company issued a press release today, announcing a line of wireless and wireline softswitches that will be marketed in the US. Almost makes me well up with pride and burst into the official company song.
Anyway, I mention it not because I get a commission on each item sold (though maybe I'll drop that little idea in the suggestion box), but because friends, relatives, and coworkers (go figure!) sometimes ask me what I do at work. Well, here it is: I help figure out how to make these things work here in the states.
You see, telecom gear talks different languages (or at least dialects) depending on where you are in the world. There's a whole maze of regional standards to navigate. Then there are the regulatory considerations. Each country tells us how to do things like 911 and wiretapping a bit differently. Finally, we need to iron out various stuff with the customers themselves. For example, our equipment needs to generate billing records just so, so it can be easily fed into their accounting systems and you get your bill at the end of the month.
We're a little informal about job titles around here, but this would generally fall into the category of "systems engineer" or maybe even "systems analyst." I figure out what the thing's supposed to do (requirements analysis) and then tell the engineers (requirements specification). Then, the engineers ignore me (design and implementation) and, lastly, I beat them with a stick until it works (quality assurance).
So that's it in a nutshell. Not so complicated after all, huh?
Oh ... and did you notice the title of the article? "Samsung unveils plans." It sounds kinda ominous, doesn't it? As in, "Samsung unveils plans ... to rule the WORLD!! muahahaha!!!"
Hmmm ... another idea for the suggestion box.
Anyway, I mention it not because I get a commission on each item sold (though maybe I'll drop that little idea in the suggestion box), but because friends, relatives, and coworkers (go figure!) sometimes ask me what I do at work. Well, here it is: I help figure out how to make these things work here in the states.
You see, telecom gear talks different languages (or at least dialects) depending on where you are in the world. There's a whole maze of regional standards to navigate. Then there are the regulatory considerations. Each country tells us how to do things like 911 and wiretapping a bit differently. Finally, we need to iron out various stuff with the customers themselves. For example, our equipment needs to generate billing records just so, so it can be easily fed into their accounting systems and you get your bill at the end of the month.
We're a little informal about job titles around here, but this would generally fall into the category of "systems engineer" or maybe even "systems analyst." I figure out what the thing's supposed to do (requirements analysis) and then tell the engineers (requirements specification). Then, the engineers ignore me (design and implementation) and, lastly, I beat them with a stick until it works (quality assurance).
So that's it in a nutshell. Not so complicated after all, huh?
Oh ... and did you notice the title of the article? "Samsung unveils plans." It sounds kinda ominous, doesn't it? As in, "Samsung unveils plans ... to rule the WORLD!! muahahaha!!!"
Hmmm ... another idea for the suggestion box.
The Saga Continues
Would you believe... the tuition reimbursement people have now denied my application because "any fees need to be associated with a class". I ask you... how can an application fee, which the policy clearly says it covers, be associated with a class??? UGGHHHHH! Getting angrier...
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
Not Sure It's Worth It...
My employer provides tuition assistance and I recently decided to take advantage of that by going back to school to work on an M.S. in Finance. However, I almost decided not to go back because while working on my M.B.A. (which I finished in 2003), I had nothing but problems with the whole tuition reimbursement process. However, I decided it would be a shame to pass up the opportunity solely because I don’t like dealing with them. Today, I’m re-thinking…. Ugggghhhhh.
So… they cover application fees and I submitted the paperwork for the application fee on 11/1. First of all, they told me it takes 2-3 weeks. It’s due 11/15, so I don’t have that long. When I talked to someone though, he was nice enough to tell me that although they say to allow 2-3 weeks, it was currently averaging 3-5 days, so I should be fine.
They reviewed the application on 11/4. That was good, but unfortunately, they marked it “incomplete” and asked me to re-submit. The comments say the dates were missing… which they weren’t!!?? So, I re-submitted and sent along an email asking them to tell me specifically what was missing. Their response (which I just received today): “The dates were missing, but it looks like they are there now, so we will review and get you a response in 2-3 weeks”. Although I know they are really only taking 3-5 days right now… the point is they screwed up… I have no idea what they were looking at the first time… and the 11/15 date is fast approaching. So irritating!!
So… they cover application fees and I submitted the paperwork for the application fee on 11/1. First of all, they told me it takes 2-3 weeks. It’s due 11/15, so I don’t have that long. When I talked to someone though, he was nice enough to tell me that although they say to allow 2-3 weeks, it was currently averaging 3-5 days, so I should be fine.
They reviewed the application on 11/4. That was good, but unfortunately, they marked it “incomplete” and asked me to re-submit. The comments say the dates were missing… which they weren’t!!?? So, I re-submitted and sent along an email asking them to tell me specifically what was missing. Their response (which I just received today): “The dates were missing, but it looks like they are there now, so we will review and get you a response in 2-3 weeks”. Although I know they are really only taking 3-5 days right now… the point is they screwed up… I have no idea what they were looking at the first time… and the 11/15 date is fast approaching. So irritating!!
Kitty Check In
It appears that Molly and Isabel may be starting to play a little bit. They are chasing each other around and we *think* it’s in a good way. :-)
Monday, November 07, 2005
New Roommates
Gary and the kitties made the big move this weekend. Abby and Isabel are slightly upset and confused after having been uprooted from their home and moved to a strange place… with another cat. (eek!) They are even hissing at *each other*.
We did really enjoy the first night with Abby and Isabel each on opposite sides of the bed growling (sarcasm). Gary gave them a good talking to about the manners of joining us on the bed only to sit there and growl. Low and behold, it must have worked because last night was better.
Overall though it’s gone fairly well. We think they’ll “work things out” and be able to live together. Molly seems more interested in them than upset by them… but then she doesn’t have to also get used to a new environment, so I guess it’s expected that she would not be as bothered.
As for the rest of the move, I felt like we accomplished a lot. We packed and moved several loads while sorting things for a garage sale. Gary got the PC’s hooked up after a couple trips to Fry’s. So far there’s enough space although the pantry was a challenge already and we haven’t brought all the food from his place yet. Of course we are talking about someone that has three different jars of bay leaves!!?? So there may be some opportunity for reduction. :-)
We did really enjoy the first night with Abby and Isabel each on opposite sides of the bed growling (sarcasm). Gary gave them a good talking to about the manners of joining us on the bed only to sit there and growl. Low and behold, it must have worked because last night was better.
Overall though it’s gone fairly well. We think they’ll “work things out” and be able to live together. Molly seems more interested in them than upset by them… but then she doesn’t have to also get used to a new environment, so I guess it’s expected that she would not be as bothered.
As for the rest of the move, I felt like we accomplished a lot. We packed and moved several loads while sorting things for a garage sale. Gary got the PC’s hooked up after a couple trips to Fry’s. So far there’s enough space although the pantry was a challenge already and we haven’t brought all the food from his place yet. Of course we are talking about someone that has three different jars of bay leaves!!?? So there may be some opportunity for reduction. :-)
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
Excuse me...
Molly Halloween
Originally uploaded by rkbk03.
I don't think she likes the witch... what do you think? (The witch is kind of in "her" spot).
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