One Step Forward...Two Steps Back (Just Ranting)

Don't you just hate it when you feel like you have taken a step forward and accomplished something, only for someone else to take control and make you take two steps back? It happens to me all the time. Unfortunately it is the nature of my job. It feels like a way of life for me a lot of the time in a lot of ways.

Today marks the end of the fiscal year. For us at work, that means getting as much done or purchased by today and paid for out of this fiscal budget as possible. So...I work my ass off from January 2 until March 31 trying to accomplish what they want or as much as humanly possible for the remainder of the fiscal. Trouble is, just when I feel like I've finished something and have gotten it off my desk, someone decides to change something and it comes back to me to redo all those last steps. Now, I'm not referring to something that takes another 10–30 minutes to accomplish, but things that require hours or even a couple days to redo. This happened to me 3 times in the past 2 days. It is rather frustrating to say the least. When they come back and say "Can you do this by the end of the day?" I simply look at them and say "Probably not. It will require more time than that." We didn't make that deadline you wanted? We had to wait a couple more days or weeks because someone else held it up or there was insufficient human resources to do it? Oh well...it is not life or death, so it is just not that important. We will get it done as quickly as we can without jeopardizing quality. We will do our best. Who can ask for more than that.

Don't get me wrong. I love my job. I just don't like the quantity of work that lands on my desk with unreasonable deadlines. At least I have learned to take it in stride and learned one very important word—NO!! My answer is always "We will do the best we can. We can't do anymore than that."

Thank God I've made it through another fiscal, and I only carried over 2 days of vacation into the next one, unofficially of course. I took the rest in spite of the deadlines I am always working under.

OK...I'm all through ranting now. Phew...now I feel better.

Awww....

...the show is over? Bummer!!! I was just getting ready to pull up my chair and open a big bag of chips or grab a brownie. I'm glad the wireless problem is being solved, though, Keyboard. It sounds like you've had a few frustrating days with it. Tomorrow will be a better and hard-wired day, I'm sure.

MouseGuy, I'm not so sure that Keyboard will be converted to using a mouse exclusively. Somethings are quicker with a keyboard, some are quicker with a mouse. They each have their pros and cons. That one is going to be a strictly personal preference, I'm afraid. Perhaps he will convince you to use the keyboard more? Personally, I'd be lost without either and have been. About once a week, someone blows a circuit breaker when they plug in a heater and out go both of my computers and my printer. Yesterday that left me totally lost. Everything I had to do was computer-related, and I was in the middle of doing things on both and printing a document when I lost power. The circuit panel happens to be in a locked room, so I have to wait for someone to be come with the key so I can reset it. Talk about feeling useless!! I don't like being powerless. Who turned out the lights?

Life

Well, well, well. It looks like life over at Sam's Place today was less than desirable! Don't you just hate days like that? Makes you wonder why you got out of bed. I think with all your computer knowledge, Keyboard, that you forgot one little detail about owning a wireless keyboard and mouse—always have a hard-wired one as a backup in case they fail! Well, MouseGuy, it looks like you got your day. I'll bet it was great to see the shoe on the other foot for once!!!

Keyboard, I'm glad to hear that you are considering WP over Word. Each has its pros and cons, but the reveal codes is the real selling feature in WP. There are all kinds of problematic things you can find in there like conflicting language codes, conflicting font codes, and just extra codes without a purpose except to help corrupt a file. Troubleshooting is always a challenge, but at least this way you can see where the problems lie.

I had a great laugh today as well. Our student, S, was walking by when B called his name to talk to him. Just as S turned around, there was a great thunderous "drill-type" sound from either below or above our floor. The timing was perfect. B looked at S and said "S, excuse yourself." Yes, that is exactly the sound and it was SOOO LOUD!!! Well everyone started to roar. S turned very red and started to walk away. The comments were flying. He said "I'm leaving, I'm going away," with which I retorted "Far away, I hope." The laughter continued. Then F walks by and hears what is going on. He leans into my cubicle and says "At least we know what account that came out of." I started laughing even harder. Earlier in the day, I was showing F a list of our yearly expenditures according to each of our subject area accounts. Our accounting division had chosen short names for each of them of 4 letters. The arts program, formerly referred to as Fine Arts, had been lovingly named "FART." Of course, you know I had to share that with the gang!! Poor S. He will never forget this work term!!!

I Can't Believe I Did It!!!!

Today I have sprinted over another hurdle in my life. Today...I sang solo in public for the first time ever!!!

This was not just a simple thing for me. I have been slowly building up my self-confidence over the past 7 years and finding myself. One thing I always loved to do was sing. However, after years and years of criticism I was frightened to use my voice where anyone could hear it. Over the past 3 years I have been singing with a praise band. I love it, but a few times my nerves got the better of me. I can sing duets or a solo harmony line with other voices now. I've even managed to get comfortable singing solos with the band, but the public eye being on me is very intimidating. That's when my shy side emerges.

I've gained some tremendous strengths over the past few years. Now I have this one to work on. I have to tell you that I shook so bad I thought my clothes would fall off. Now that would be quite a sight in church, wouldn't it? They would quickly whisk me off to the Reconciliation Room to ask forgiveness for being perverted in a public place!!! (It might also keep the rodent population down in the church!)

I guess I did OK though. I had several compliments and hugs from my friends, and those who knew how nervous I was told me they were proud of me. Whew!!! I'm just glad it is over...until the next time.

Sense of Adventure

Awww Keyboard, where is your sense of adventure? Perhaps you would look good wearing a black lace thong!!!! (hahahaha)

Of course you realize I meant for you to wear your own clean underwear! Thanks for the great laugh! I laughed so hard I thought I might have to change my own. What a hoot!!!!

Hey MouseGuy, wake up!!!! You're missing all the fun!!!

Clean or Dirty?

I can't decide if we are the cleanest or dirtiest people on this planet. It seems that all I ever do is wash dishes and clothes. It seems to never end, and there are only two of us here.

So...are we really so dirty that we have to change our clothes so often or are we just too clean. My priest (no, I'm not Catholic) says he believes (as do scientists) that the reason our society is being plagued by so many illnesses is because our society is too clean. It is true that we kill too many germs so our bodies don't learn to fight them off. Scientists also believe that is why so many people have allergies to things like dust. All the chemicals in the cleaning products we are using are contaminating us.

So our priest believes that the answer is to not change our underwear so often. He suggests that he could change with Walter, Walter could change with Mike, Mike could change with Steven... You get the idea! Now that's just plain gross!!!

Personally, I think I will wear my own clean underwear everyday. How about you?

What Type of Learner Are You?

There are three types of learners: Visual, Auditory, and Kinesthetic. Most people are predominantly one type, with traits of the others. Despite being aware of this, it is very challenging for a classroom teacher to be able to teach in such a way that every type of learner benefits. I suspect that the teacher teaches in their predominant learning style for the most part.

My son has always been a kinesthetic learner and secondary, visual. I think it is a challenge for teachers to meet this criteria. Lectures and videos bore him as does reading, but put something in his hands to build or take apart and he excels. Little wonder he has never liked school. He does excellent though in power mechanics and autobody repair. He was the top of his class here.

My daughter and I are visual learners. We need to see something in order to understand it more thoroughly. Secondly we are kinesthetic. Put us in front of computers and show us how to do it and then let us try. If you try to tell us, we will have to attempt to form an image of it in our brains in order to grasp the concept quickly. When I read something descriptive in a book, I need to slow down and form that image in my mind's eye to get the full effect. Perhaps that is why I do layout and publishing for a living. It is totally visual.

So...to sum it up for me: show me, let me touch it, then tell me you love me. ;-)

Sounds like MouseGuy got a poke in at Keyboard today. You're right, Keyboard. It would be pretty hard to login using a mouse, but then again there is always SpeakEasy Dragon. Then you could really be hands off. Trouble is if you spoke your password, what would be the sense in having one?

Keyboard, I'm glad I'm not alone in getting sidetracked doing things. It comforting to know that its not a gender or age issue. Now...where was I?

I'm thinking you two might benefit from a course on WordPerfect. Perhaps, though, you would need to find an instructor who can speak that second language that you're using over there. I will have to send you over the executable for WP8 restore. It works great for restoring those files that go corrupt. Perhaps some of that second language would revert to English!!! Wish I was a fly on the wall to see what you two are going through. I luv2laff...

Confused?

Have you ever started out to do one task only to get distracted again and again by others until you finally remember what you started out doing? Well...that would be me. Often...I'm embarrassed to admit. I caught myself doing it again today.

I came home from work and began to unpack my backpack. The shoes and purse went into the closet, the stuff I bought today left on the bed, then I take my lunch dishes to the kitchen. While I am there, I notice the paper towel is all gone. I go to the bathroom to retrieve another roll and find the shower not cleaned up from my son's shower (not unusual). So I clean up the shower. When I'm finished that I come back out into the kitchen, forgetting to bring the paper towel. So I go back to get it, then I start to clean up the kitchen.

I pick up the pop cans that need to go in the recycling bag and head toward the closet where the bag is hidden. Then I suddenly realize I haven't finished sorting out the stuff from my bag. Oh yeah!! I was doing that wasn't I? So I finish that and come out to work in the kitchen again, when I notice the clothes still hanging on the drying racks from yesterday. I folded them and headed back to the bedroom to put them away when I realize I still didn't straighten up the kitchen. I get to the kitchen and realize I had not yet changed my clothes. So I go back to the bedroom to change. At last, I can finish cleaning up the kitchen and get ready to cook supper. It was an awfully roundabout way of way of accomplishing it all, but I did manage to do it in the end.

So the question is whether I get easily distracted from one thing to the other, whether I have a memory problem, or if I just have too damn much to do sometimes. Another blonde moment perhaps?

Budget
Keyboard, I have to agree with you about the budget. I don't see a lot of positive stuff in there either. Being at the tail end of the baby boom era, I feel I've paid my share of taxes and pension contributions. Trouble is, the province just increased our contributions to our pension too. That is a good thing in the long run, but in the short-term it blows. Take more money out of my paycheque why don't you!!???

Second Language
So guys...you have learned a second language have you? I'm sure it is not the nation's second language. N'est pas? Would it be the language I learned while trying to set up my router? I imagine it was very similar, with a few differences, I'm sure. I hope you got your form all sorted out. Glad to be of help.

Busy as a What?

Today is my last day off before heading back to work tomorrow. Ugghh!! Perish the thought!! While I was working away today I was thinking about how busy I have been today. The saying "Busy as a beaver" came to mind. Then I started thinking, "where do people come up with these sayings?". The following ones came to mind:

Busy as a beaver
Proud as a lion
Dark as night
Faster than lightning
Slower than cold molasses running uphill backwards in the wintertime
I'm so far behind I can see my ass from 20 paces.
I'll knock you into next week.
Uglier than sin
Slicker than snot on a doorknob

The list goes on and on. I think the one I use most to refer to being busy is "busier than a one-armed paperhanger with crabs." Now people...THAT is busy!


And Keyboard, I have to agree with you about people saying nice things about people after they are dead. It's hypocritical to say those things after they die when you think they were a SOB when they were alive. However, those positive compliments should have been delivered to the person while they were still breathing. Some people forget the importance of being kind and appreciative of someone while they still can only to later regret never having told them.

Clutter

Why do we collect things we think we will use only to have them sit around for years on end, never used, and then throw them out or give them away? Will the person you give them to actually use them or will they, too, store them somewhere for a few more years until they decide they are never going to use them either?

I've spent some time this week getting rid of some such things and still have some more to go. I look at them at say "Why did I keep that?" "What did I think I was going to do with that?" "Someday I might need that." "Someday I might use that."

Well...I've learned to hate that word "someday." Someday never seems to come. The dictionary defines "someday" as "at some future time." Do you think they can be more specific than that? Patience is not always one of my virtues. I can have a lot of patience for some things, but others are much more difficult. I've settled for less than what I've really wanted in life before, simply because I could not be patient enough to wait for the best. I've proved that doesn't work. I wouldn't want to do that again.

So...Lord, grant me patience, but hurry!!!

Spooky Anagrams

As you know, an anagram is a word or phrase made by rearranging the letter of another word or phrase. The following are exceptionally clever.

Word — When you rearrange the letters

Dormitory—Dirty Room
Desperation—A Rope Ends It
The Morse Code—Here Come Dots
Slot Machines—Cash Lost in 'em
Animosity—Is No Amity
Mother-in-law—Woman Hitler
Snooze Alarms—Alas! No More Zs
Alec Guinness—Genuine Class
Semolina—Is No Meal
The Public Art Galleries—Large Picture Halls, I Bet
A Decimal Point—I'm a Dot in Place
The Earthquakes—That Queer Shake
Eleven Plus Two—Twelve Plus One
Contradiction—Accord Not In It
Astronomer—Moon Starer
Prince Diana—End Is A Car Spin
Year Two Thousand—A Year to Shut Down

Somebody obviously had a lot of time on their hands to figure these out or is awesome at Scrabble!

Today's Update

Well, poor MouseGuy seems to be getting it from all angles. It would appear he was right—Keyboard is recruiting the students now too. I hope you have big shoulders there guy! It appears the war is just beginning. Oh no!!!

Keyboard, there is actually a server that serves passwords. So when my server needs a new password, it sends me to the server that serves passwords and it serves me a new password. Then I can use this new password on the server that serves and the other server that serves, too, and then use it for the server that serves passwords. So then the passwords for the server that serves and for the second server that serves and for the server that serves passwords all serve me well with the same password. And all is now well in the server world. (Besides, now I have a written list to refer to.) Teehee

True Confessions

OK, OK. Time for me to fess up too, I guess. Keyboard and MouseGuy, take your best shots. Here goes:

A couple weeks ago at work, I log into my server. No problem. Then I go to log into the database program that I worked with programmers on to design for me. It resides on a different server. Now, both these servers require frequent password changes. Each time, we must use a combination of upper/lower case and numbers/symbols for security purposes and must be different from the last five we used. Problem is that both servers do not prompt for password changes at the same time, so it is hard to keep them in sync. Most of the time, this particular database program is seamless so I do not have to log into the server, it logs me in itself. However, on occasion I have to sign in. I clicked on the icon (yes, I used a trackball), then it prompts me that it is time to change the password on this server. I'm sitting there ready to put my old password in and stop dead in my seat. I CAN'T REMEMBER THE LAST PASSWORD I USED IN ORDER TO CHANGE IT. I tried several of the list of ones I have to have and use in sequence, but it was different from the server I have to log into everyday. I can't figure it out for the life of me. (And it has nothing to do with the colour of my hair.) I had to call the Helpdesk to have them reset my password in order for me to change it. They had a chuckle on my behalf. As luck would have it, I was able to change both passwords the same day, so I should be able to remember it the next time. (At least I hope so.)

OK guys, go for it. I'm ready!!

As Plain as the Nose on Your Face

Have you ever spent days or even weeks trying to find the solution to a problem, only to find that the solution was the simplest of fixes? That is how my day went today. After weeks of trying to sort out a problem with getting my router set up, I again called my ISP only to find out that the password they gave me was not the one they had in their system. Once they set them to match—voila! My router now works. Imagine that!! They wouldn't even talk to me 3 weeks earlier. I guess telling them I was very dissatisfied with their service at the moment and was considering a new ISP got them moving to find a solution for me. I guess I should have tried lighting that fire earlier. Oh well...live and learn. At least it is now sorted out, and I've learned a great deal from this. So...it is all good!

To all of you who tried to help me sort it out, many thanks for your help. I really appreciated everything you have done to help. You have all contributed to the solution in one way or another and to my lessons on networking. Merçi beaucoup!!!

Cheat Sheet?

You ask, "Who reads instructions anyway?" In my experience, very few men will read instructions or ask directions. It seems to be a testosterone trait to believe they are not necessary. Am I right? In any case, the cheat sheet is a good idea. Now just to put it to use.

Leprechauns? No...Just Gremlins

Today may be St. Patty's Day, but there are no leprechauns in my house. No pot of gold, no rainbows, just kitchen gremlins.

You see, I go to bed at night with a clean kitchen. Dishes are all done and put away. When I get up in the morning, I find opened bags of nachos; small dishes with dried up con queso sauce in it; opened, unwashed cans of tuna (and I hear complaints when I cook fish and it smells); and other dirty, gross dishes with food dried on them. Who do you suppose is doing this? I never see it happening. I occasionally hear the beeps of the microwave in the late night hours, but I never see this creature in action.

Yes, I believe I have kitchen gremlins. Even the shoemaker had elves who helped him out at night. Why, then, do I have gremlins who like to make work for me? Oh woe is me...

Instructions Not Included

Keyboard, have you created a Quick Reference Card for the use of that remote? Perhaps that would be an asset for MouseGuy. Better yet, can you create a poster with a picture of that remote and rename the buttons for the appropriate use? Sorry, MouseGuy. I couldn't resist!

Keys

Have you ever noticed how many different kinds of keys there are in this world?

- Car keys
- House keys
- Safety deposit box keys
- Key ring
- Key on sardine or corned beef cans
- Answer key
- Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean
- Keys to old watches and clocks to wind them
- Piano keys
- Key on a music scale
- Keyboards on computers
- The key ingredient to something
- "That's the key!"
- Key-stages in educations (grades 3, 6, 9, and 12)
- The key to the city (Who put up a gate and locked it anyway?)
- Melancholy key (a tone of voice)
- Keyed up (Be careful of this person.)
- Key fruit
- Keyhole
- Keynote
- Keystone
- Key West, Florida
- Key Lime Pie
- Kiwi (teehee)
- Key to someone's heart

With all those keys, there must be a lot of busy locksmiths in this world and a lot of untrustworthy people. Yikes!!! Imagine the size of the keyring you would need to hold them all!

Murphy's Law

Everyone has heard of Murphy's Law right? Well...who the heck is Murphy and why did he make this law? Someone should have smacked him hard upside the head when he made it.

The best laid plans of mice and men often go astray. There's another one of those sayings that should disappear.

I've had a Murphy's Law/mouse plan kind of day. Urgghh!!! Every plan I made got changed in one way or another. Everything I touched did not turn to gold. Going with the flow today felt more like drowning than floating along peacefully.

On the upside, I did find some spans of time here and there to enjoy my day, especially the time I spent with my daughter. I embraced those hours. But hey...it's all good. All the problems are actually opportunities for me to learn patience and endurance. I will be thankful for them. Let's just remember one thing:

Everyday above ground is a good day!!!! Life could get worse.

March Break

Wahoo!!! It is March Break this week. That means I am on vacation. I take March Break off every year. Last year my March Break ended up being bereavement leave, since my Dad passed away, but this year will be vacation again. I'm not even going to check my work e-mail, although they will be expecting me to. (Teehee, that ought to surprise them!) Yeah, I will clean the spam mail out of it for my own sanity because I get about 150+ per day, but I will not check the business mail. This will be a week spent with my kids and friends and doing what I want to do. It should be quite enjoyable.

Did you know that March Break is always the week that has March 15 in it? That makes it easy to know when it falls each year. Many people are not aware of how that is calculated.

Traffic should be less and so will the ridership on Transit. Many families will be away vacationing somewhere sunny or on the ski hills. (Those are the lucky ones with money!) I only know the office will be quiet without the teachers and school board offices calling and without me there. O:-) Actually, I am the quiet one. Some days my co-workers remark that they didn't even know I was there. I'm the one who is working diligently away. They know I'm there if I laugh, though. I have inherited my father's laugh—straight from the belly. (teehee) The one thing Dad left me with was the ability to laugh at life and at myself. I love to laugh. Thank you, Daddy! That was a precious gift.

Health Care

Have you noticed that the province promotes a healthy, active lifestyle? They have advertisements about eating right; keeping ourselves healthy mentally, physically, and spiritually. Why then, does our healthcare system not pay for preventative medicine? It doesn't pay for us to see naturopaths, to pay for natural medicines or vitamins and minerals, or for preventative measures such as massage therapy, chiropractic care, and orthopedic devices that help keep us moving to stay active and healthy. They also fall short in helping provide coverage for those things for their provincial government workers. Yet there is an attendance policy in those offices that as long as you can drag your weary butt out of bed and into the office, you are required to be there. Does this make sense to you? Sure, it is wonderful to have coverage if you are already sick, hospitalized, or require chemical drugs to help you heal, but it falls very short in helping you stay healthy and out of the hospitals or your sick bed. Why do they make it so hard to be and stay healthy? Go figure!

MouseGuy Remembers!!!

Hey, Keyboard, it looks like MouseGuy remembered his password after all. He managed to get his little dig in, didn't he? It seems there are some things that you just can't do with a keyboard and need to use a mouse. I know...I use both, whichever is fastest or more convenient to do what I need to do. My preference? I think I will keep that to myself for fear of becoming the next object of the blog wars. Will we all get invited to this party when you finally get the invitation sent out?

Poor MouseGuy!!!

He forgot his password to his blog??? Oh dear me...what could be worse? Looks like you will have to wait for his revenge, Keyboard. Be patient. He will figure it out sooner or later. It may be when you least expect it, but expect it. I can't wait to see how it turns out!

Patiently waiting for the antics to begin again...

Born Free...Taxed to Death!!!

It's tax time again. Groan!!! Have you ever noticed how people react at tax time? Some of them are excited about refunds while others complain about having to pay more in. Let's think about this.

We pay taxes on the money we make. Then we pay taxes on almost everything we buy with the money they have left us with. I'm told that every cent of money we make up until late June each year belongs to the government. What we make the rest of the year belongs to us. That's very kind of them to allow us to have half of our money!!!

If you get money back, it is money you already made anyway that the government has used for the year and gained interest on for themselves then gave it back. Is it a gift? No it isn't. You've already earned it. If you get some back, it's because you don't make enough to live on in the first place. This little bit back helps, but it doesn't fix the deficit problem in our wallets.

If you break even, that's not so bad. But if you have to pay, that is painful. I've been there. Having had a business for many years, several years ago, I know the pain involved in paying large sums of money to the government only to have them ask for more at the end of the year. And then they fine you for not paying it in 30 days. Do they give you interest for the money of yours they have used for the year? I think not!!!

I don't mind paying taxes to provide us with health care, fix our roads, and provide us with the necessities such as fire and police, but there are many uses for taxpayers money that I do not agree with. The only say we get is at the polls once every few years. Does that seem fair? I thought taxes were begun to help out with the war effort in the early 20th century. Did someone forget to tell them the war is over?

So...although we are born free, I think the taxes are what kill us in the end.

English Grammar

Isn't English grammar fun? No wonder it is such a difficult language to learn. Look at these examples.

Moot - Meet - Meat
Foot - Feet - Feat
Boot - Beet - Beat

These structures do not work the same way. They all have different meaning. Look at these synonyms.

Red - Read
Read - Reed
Vale - Veil - Vail
eye - I
site - sight
boat - bout
see - sea

These sound the same, but have different meanings. Look at how these words are pluralized.

mouse - mice
house - houses
moose - moose
foot - feet

It seems every rule in the English language has an exception. What have we done to our language? Little wonder our young readers and writers are having difficulty. Bless their hearts!!

Parenting

I read the most fascinating article today about parenting. It said so much of what I have seen and experienced, I couldn't put it down until I finished reading it. Let me see if I can sum it up. It was entitled Parents: Don't Try So Hard and had originally been published in The Washington Post.

The article began by describing what childhood was like for those of us who are from the baby boomer era. When we grew up, our parents really didn't spend much time with us. We had chores that had to be done, homework we did mostly by ourselves, and we had to hold part-time jobs, sometimes just to help out with the day-to-day expenses of living. We didn't have brand-name clothes, cell phones, and every technological contraption that was available in those times. Our parents didn't spend all their time or more money than they had trying to make us happy. They were more concerned about their own happiness. The article went on to say that we would consider that selfish. But was it?

The next thing it described was our children these days. We give them all we can--all our time, energy, and money. We buy them brand name clothing, pay their way through school, provide them with cell phones, digital cameras, and computers, sometimes even cars, all the while sacrificing our own lives--friends, family, and our own happiness. The result: young adults who are takers rather than givers, who do not know how to be self-sufficient, and expect the world to hand them everything, while being unempathetic most of the time.

You know, the author of this is right. Not everyone has turned out this way. I never try to paint the world with the same brush. I can only speak from my own experience.

One of my children's grandparents insisted on buying "stuff" for my children...every day, and I mean every day. Even when I pleaded and asked for this to stop, it fell on deaf ears. I have not been one to hand everything to my children. I don't believe in that. Sure...I have done some of those things that I probably shouldn't have, indulged them a little too much by times, but this grandparent carried it to the extreme. One of my children can now not figure out how to get an education and start life as a self-sufficient adult. I'm constantly struggling to help them make decisions for themselves and not ask me how to solve their problems. I have another child who can't seem to take enough initiative to go looking for a job because it is too easy to ask Mom or Dad or Nanny for money (alternately, mind you, so the other doesn't know). Both of them are bored if they can't find something to keep them entertained. What happened to the imagination we used to use to occupy ourselves? One of my children doesn't even want to do volunteer work because "What's in it for me? Will they pay me? If not, I'm not doing something for nothing!"

I hang my head in shame about these things. I was so afraid of these things happening. I don't lay blame entirely on the grandparent, but it was certainly a key factor. I know where I am to blame too. How do you undo these things? I vow never to do that to my grandchildren, if I am lucky enough to be blessed with any. Gifts on birthdays, Christmas, and other special events, but love in abundance. That is what I will give. Love cannot be purchased. Are we really doing that? Are we trying to buy our children's love? Are we defining what we believe is happiness for them instead of letting them find happiness as we did?

No one is perfect, and we will always do some things wrong. Let's just hope that our children can correct these trends in their children. Material things are not happiness. Some of the happiest people I know are very poor financially, but rich in love. After all, that is what life is all about...

Router Rage

Who ever said home networking was easy? They had to be on drugs or something. Things are not always as simple as they first appear to be. Sometimes it takes a lot of research to find the right answers. I'm having a great deal of difficulty trying to set up my router. I even have a tech friend of mine stumped. Urgghhh!! Sooner or later we will figure it out and then wonder what all the fuss was about. You may depend, though, that I will try to keep an accurate step-by-step record of the successful route, just in case... Wish me luck!