The TrUtH According to Lisa

Still Spring in New England

Back in February, a friend asked if the trees were blooming and I said no. Our spring begins rather late up here. Winter can be so long. My friend Dave in Winnipeg, he taught me something. He said they do not have flowering trees up there on the cold prairie. I was so surprised. So, today, I wanted to share spring with Dave as we do get flowering trees and LOTS of them. My favorites include these cherries, but I love the tulip (magnolia) trees, and PMJ azaleas we have...and the bulbs. This color, assaults my eyes after winter and wakes me from my winter sleep. Today, it feel more like winter coming than winter going...burr. So these two trees are in front of my office and I snapped them on my Blackberry as I came in this morning. Enjoy!

And here is the other one...

 Correction from Dave: He says they have a rare flowering tree here and there but he only seen maybe one. Recently, when traveling in the US, he saw many of them. I think of it as the fireworks of spring. They explode all around us in different colors.

Small World. . .

I was talking to one of our management team as he was stuck in Europe due to the Volcano and while waiting in the airport someone from his past found him and gave him a little punch in the shoulder. How strange it is  to have such encounters. It happens to me too and the most astounding case was back in high school.

I was a checker at a grocery store for my high school job. Some German teachers were coming through our store and I was taking German in high school and saving my pennies to go visit my cousin. I finally found the courage to speak to one of them, a man teacher. I said hello in German and told him I was going to visit my cousin there in a few months. He asked me which town. I said, " Andernach." He replied he was from that town. I was thinking he was pulling my leg. Then he asked me who my cousin was. I replied. He said, "She is my student." I was shocked. He waited until my grocery line was still and asked to take me to dinner. I was thinking this was a very creative pickup line...and I was young, only 17 and ill equip to handle it well. I said well I would have to ask my parents. So, I called them. They asked to speak to him. They approved of him. I think I picked him up and took him to the local dive for seafood. The one where we fed catfish through the floor of the pier upon which the restaurant was perched. HE loved it. I learned that prawns and shrimp were the same thing.

Later that summer, I went to school with my cousin. Sure enough he was her teacher. He was showing the students his slides. School goes longer in German than in the US. Students applauded by knocking on the desks and not clapping their hands...it was so surreal. What are the chances of me meeting someone like this? Turns out, they were more than teacher and student <grins>.

Last night, as I was working on my business in second life a fellow I know IM'd me and invited me to come sit with him and some friends. I was just finishing up and so figured that could be fun. When I arrived, three of his friends where three of my friends that I know from three different places in Second Life. I was blown away. I like all of them very much. As community gels in Second Life I am always amazed because it is a very large meta-universe. Part of my goal there is to build a community, as one that connected many of us closed a year ago and has been sorely missed. Connections in life happen in many ways. Have any of you stories of freak encounters?

94 Year Old Bungee Jumper!

OMG, look at this guy! My 50 year old frieds keep whining about being too old...and this guy is in his 90s and the OLDest jumper ever!! We are YOUNG!!

Read this CNN report and watch the video.

Flooding in Lowell, MA 2010

Wally and I get asked all the time if we are ok. If the floods have affected us here in Lowell, MA, as they know we are surrounded by water, both with the Merrimack River and the canals that lace through the City of Lowell left over from the mills that were in our area. We were once called the Venice of America here.

The answer is no. We are fine. Yes, there is flooding around us. We are on the 4th floor of our apartment, which helps and the canals around us are not even high. The Merrimack River however is. These are pictures from our walk on Easter Sunday taken by my Blackberry.

 
Typically, where these trees are is dirt. The water has receded and did cover this walkway, which is our bike path along the river.

This is one of the spillways from the mill canals where they are allowing the water through. As you can see, it it pretty violent and spilling over the walkway. The entry to this path from Boot Mills is blocked by the DPW.

Another view of the same powerful water system. It is amazing to watch and see the flooding we have had locally and in the last few years. We are thankful NOT to be harmed in this. Our benefit is a delay for us in paying our taxes since we live in a disaster area. Yippee!!

PS on previous blog

I forgot to add how my life is completely different because my father got transferred in 73 to the west coast. He was a lucky one. He kept his job. It cancelled my college plans on the east coast. I went to a junior college out in CA at the last minute. I did not finish college until later in life, at San Jose State. I was on the west coast from 73 until 97. While my folks have now returned to Florida, and I can get back there...my "hometown" does not exist really like normal hometowns.

Cocoa Beach has been around for a while yes, but growing up there was like growing up with folks from EVERYWHERE else. There was not much culture or amenities...I did find that later in life but I often associate growing up in Cocoa Beach as kind of growing up in the sticks. I loved the nature and the beach, BUT, I wish I had real roots in a community with family that goes back forever. I am a nomad now and home is wherever I am and I guess that makes me stronger...today there is a reunion back in Cocoa Beach and I am glad to see us babyboomers looking for our community there...it is beautiful to see. I am too far away to go to this party...maybe next time!!

Spacecoast in for another down turn...

I came across this article and it hit a sore spot:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/20100401/ts_ynews/ynews_ts1421

I lived in Cocoa Beach when the Apollo program ended and all those talented workers suffered such layoffs and financial harm. I cannot believe that our government cannot remember this tragedy and have avoided it with better planning. I cannot believe I am seeing it happen again.

I live in Lowell, MA...which is the birthplace of the American Industrial Revolution. This city used to be the richest city in America and fell hard when that industry left this area.

As a high tech worker, I have no job guarantee, none of us do, but seems like we could avoid trauma in this country with better planning. Watching industries end is inevitable I know, but can we consider the people? Can we not see things coming and figure out a way to truly retrain and reuse the talent? This harsh reality is hard to bear especially in areas where no other jobs exist and folks have to walk away from homes as they did in the Space Coast in the 70s. It was harsh and horrible. I can imagine it is the same for those working in the car industry and other ones that have come and gone.

My father asks me why I do not stay in the same job and have a retirement. My answer is that does not exist for me. In my industry, I am lucky to stay in a job for three to five years. Then I have to retool and retrain an yet another technology. Yes, it keeps me on my toes, I am nimble. I know how to interview and find a job. However, I never expected to have these skills at my age. My mother was enjoying traveling to see her grandkids for long periods of time..this is a luxury I don't really have. I get a few days. Short of winning the lottery this won't change.

Anyway, reading this makes me sad. These people dedicated their lives to make the Shuttle a success, yet we do nothing to use their talent for some years to come.  Just stinks.

Lucky me, I own a Toyota Camry

Each day, as I arrive at work, I now tell my friends on my ham radio how I survived another day driving my Camry. I bought one because of the reputation. I was tired of the uber repair jobs to my Jeep and VW Bug. I have to say in the almost three years of ownership I have almost no repairs...now I have the first recall notice in my hot little hand. I wish they would just take my car and give me a refund. I am sure this will affect my resale value as well. This sucks. Where are consumer rights? I guess only time will tell.

Hello, stop telling Haiti where they should build until WE DO THE SAME!

Are people like Rush Limbaugh blind? Does anyone every read about the great San Francisco earthquake? Don't people in the US see we build on land that we KNOW is unsafe because WE CAN? No one outlaws it. In recent history, look at New Orleans. Ever visit the wharf in San Francisco? Ever work in an office south along the San Francisco Bay? Hello, you are on liquefactor ground. The road interchange in San Jose where 101 and all the roads mesh, guess again, yup, bad land. Soooooooooooo, before we go pointing fingers at third-world countries, what are we doing in our own backyard? Just wait until a big quake hits here.

Buy American? Makes Sense to Me.

I just got this in an email. You know, one of those chain letters? This one makes sense to me. Given the choice between one product and two sources, let's all pick made in America!

Read This:

***********

THIS IS IMPORTANT FOR ALL TO CONSIDER!
 
A physics teacher in high school, once told the students that while one grasshopper
on the railroad tracks wouldn't slow a train very much, a billion of them would . With that thought in mind, read the following.............obviously written by a good American..

 (I think this lady's on the right track. Let's all get behind her!)
 
Good idea. . .. .one light bulb at a time. .. . .

Check this out. I was in Lowes the other day, and just for the heck of it I was looking at the hose attachments.. They were all made in China . The next day I was in Ace Hardware, and just for the heck of it I checked the hose attachments there. They were made in USA .. Got me thinking. Start looking.

In our current economic situation, every little thing we buy, or do, affects someone  else - maybe even their job.
 
My grandson likes Hershey's candy. I just noticed that it is marked 'made in Mexico ' now. I choose not to buy it any more.

My favorite toothpaste, Colgate, is also 'made in Mexico ' now. I've switched to Crest. You have to read the labels on everything.

This past weekend I was at Kroger. (Can be true for any store.) I needed 60W light bulbs, and Bounce dryer sheets. I was in the light bulb aisle, and right next to the GE brand I normally buy, was an off brand labeled, "Everyday Value." I picked up both types of bulbs and compared the stats - they were the same, except for the price. The GE bulbs were more money than the Everyday Value brand..........but the thing that surprised me the most, was the fact that GE was 'made in MEXICO' and the Everyday Value brand was 'made in (you got it) the USA', in a company in Cleveland, Ohio.

So throw out the myth that you cannot find the products you use every day........made right here!!!!!!!

On I went to another aisle. Those Bounce Dryer Sheets ! I needed - yep, you guessed it! Bounce cost more money - and - it's made in Canada . The Everyday Value brand was less money - and - 'MADE IN THE USA'! Bye-bye Bounce! I did laundry yesterday, and the dryer sheets performed just like the Bounce Free I've been using for ears...........and at almost half the price!
 
My challenge to you is this. Start reading the labels when you shop for everyday things,
and see what you can find that is made in the USA . The job you save may be your own, or your neighbors! 

If you accept the challenge, pass this on to others in your address book, so we can all start buying American......one light bulb at a time!

Stop buying from overseas companies and other countries!

 (We should have awakened a decade ago . . .. . . . )

Let's get with the program . . . . and help our fellow Americans keep their  jobs, and create even more jobs, right here in the U. S. A.

My Lunchroom Is Blooming Donuts...and I Have Resisted. . .

It happens. Heck, I used to bring donuts. I been good for the last two months and it is not always easy. I LOVE donuts. Today, the table was covered with many boxes. Each colorful donut displayed in its own beauty. Pink and chocolate frosting...my favorite whip cream ones...ugh. I wanted one. I was getting my black coffee. No cream for me. The man next to me was getting coffee. I was bemoaning my resistance. He said he had not had a donut in 13 years.

"Wow, how did you manage that?" I asked inquisitively.

"That is when I had my first stint, and I have had seven of them and I am still alive."

I was quiet for a moment and pondered over what he said.

"I am doing this to avoid diabetes. My blood sugar is up this year as my exercise went down and my cholesterol flipped."

"Well, you are doing the right thing."

Somehow, not having the donut did not sting. I am doing the right thing. I get good things to eat and I do splurge a bit sometimes. I have my healthy stuff and my diet is great. I just have to remember who is in charge. Me, the healthy me, OR the screaming meme that sometimes can take hold and eat a donut every time. I am TRYING to eat to live, not live to eat. Not always easy. I love to cook. I am down 14 pounds and I stalled over the holidays, but I am not up. Trending down again, which is good. I don't want to sit back and be comfortable taking drugs. What if something happens in this world where I no longer have access to "a better life through pharmaceuticals?" I think our culture gives us false security with our health.

"Got blood sugar issues? No problem, take a pill. Cholesterol up? There's a pill for that. High blood pressure, there's a pill for that. . .and so on."

Think about it. Big business has moved into your health. Most people eat all kinds of process foods loaded with fillers and corn by products that fatten cows and now we have an obesity epidemic, SURPRISE! One set of businesses feed us for a profit and another medicates us. We are a world dominated by business in what we eat and how we are governed and we all roll over and say nothing. Interesting huh? What do you think?