New Year

The New Year can mean a fresh start, some much needed change, or a continuation of success and happiness. No doubt this new year will bring some changes in my life. I just pray that they are good changes.

Moment of Zen: Star Wars

I went and saw Star Wars: The Last Jedi yesterday. Surprisingly, it was not just a rehash of other Star Wars. It had a pretty original story and was quite good. Nothing that was like "OMG Wow! I've got to see that again," but it was good. I will say this, it's very long. With previews and all, it clocks in at almost three hours. Overall, it was enjoyable.

Star Wars

I'm going to see the new Star Wars movie today. I'm more of a Star Trek fan than a Star Wars fan, but I still enjoy seeing the Star Wars movies. I'm hoping that this one will be good. I haven't heard much about it, so I'll form my own opinion after I see it. At least it gets me away from family for a couple of hours.

Home

For most of the time I've been home, I've had a headache. I'm having to get used to the Central Time Zone again, which kind of has everything upside down. Nights are the worst because I want to go to bed so early. Mornings are better because I don't sleep as late. The weather is vastly different too. Plus there is the added stress of family. All of that together gives me one massive headache. I've been staying with my parents, but on Friday I will go to my house and visit more with my cats, Edith and Lucy. I look forward to spending time with them and with my aunt. Hopefully, that will reduce my stress and alleviate my headache.

Humorous Hump Day

It’s Almost Over

Thank God, it's almost over. I have to survive this morning's breakfast and then they will be gone. They meaning my sister's family. They have two wonderful children, who I love dearly; however, the inequity in how they treat the boy and girl is more than I can stand. Nothing my nephew does gets him into any real trouble, but everything my niece does gets her yelled at. She's a normal 10 year old with ADHD, and her parents don't make sure she takes her medicine. So when she doesn't take her medicine and is hyper, she gets yelled at. My sister went ballistic yesterday because my niece spilled the punch I'd given her. This is just one example. I get very frustrated at the way they treat my sweet little niece, but I'm not allowed to say anything. It's so very frustrating. Thankfully, they will leave after breakfast in the morning and things will return to something like normal around here.

I always get down here and wish I wasn't here for the whole week, but I love being with family (most of them) at Christmas and I love New Year's Day. New Year's Day is special in our family for its traditions, and I'd hate to miss it. I know if I get the job in Chicago, I won't have the luxury of staying a whole week. Maybe next year, I'll just come for New Year's Day.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas, everyone. I hope each of you has a wonderful day. 'It's the season to be jolly. I know a lot of us are with family, and that can be rather tiring, especially if you aren't out. The best thing to do is to make the best of the situation. Enjoy the fellowship, ignore the snide remarks or questions, and open your presents with glee. I'm staying mostly with my parents this holiday, and they constantly argue with one another. I've learned just to tune them out and focus on what I have to be joyful and thankful for in this life. Merry Christmas!

The Meaning of Christmas

Luke 2

And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.

2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)

3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)

5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.

7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

16 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

17 And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.

18 And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

19 But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.

20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

21 And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called Jesus, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

Moment of Zen: Merry Christmas

Back to Alabama

I’m headed back to Alabama today for Christmas and New Year’s. Thankfully the museum is closed during this time and I only had to take three vacation days. I look forward to seeing my family. They drive me crazy at times but I still love them and miss them. One of the drawbacks to possibly getting the job in Chicago is that I won’t get to see them for the full length of the holiday season anymore, but we all have to make sacrifices. By the way, still no word from Chicago.

I'll be in the friendly skies when this posts. My plane left at 5:45 this morning, but that means I will reach Montgomery around 11.

Winter Solstice

Today, Thursday, December 21, will be the shortest day of 2017 for anyone living north of the equator (the Northern Hemisphere).

Technically speaking, the winter solstice occurs when the sun is directly over the Tropic of Capricorn, or 23.5° south latitude. In 2017, this will occur at exactly 11:28am Eastern Standard Time today.

Humorous Hump Day

Santa Baby

Santa baby, slip a sable under the tree for me
Been an awful good girl
Santa baby, and hurry down the chimney tonight

Santa baby, a ‘54 convertible too, light blue
I'll wait up for you, dear
Santa baby, and hurry down the chimney tonight

Think of all the fun I've missed
Think of all the fellas that I haven't kissed
Next year I could be also good
If you'll check off my Christmas list

Santa honey, I want a yacht and really that's not a lot
Been an angel all year
Santa baby, and hurry down the chimney tonight

Santa cutie, there's one thing I really do need, the deed
To a platinum mine
Santa cutie, and hurry down the chimney tonight

Santa baby, and fill my stocking with a duplex and checks
Sign your 'x' on the line
Santa baby, and hurry down the chimney tonight

Come and trim my Christmas tree
With some decorations bought at Tiffany
I really do believe in you
Let's see if you believe in me

Santa baby, forgot to mention one little thing, a ring
I don't mean on the phone
Santa baby, and hurry down the chimney tonight 
Hurry down the chimney tonight 
Hurry, tonight

Songwriters: Joan Javits / Philip Springer / Tony Springer

Snow Day

Today is supposed to be another day of snow. We are expecting 1-3 inches. I hope it's not more than that. I know I complain about snow, even though I think it's beautiful, it's still a lot of work. I have enough to do without having to worry about what all extra I have to do on a snow day. Complaining is over.

The Birth of Jesus Foretold

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, "Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!" But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end."

And Mary said to the angel, "How will this be, since I am a virgin?"

And the angel answered her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy-the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God." And Mary said, "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her. 

- Luke 1:26-38

Moment of Zen: Colorful Socks

I just love colorful socks.

Friday

There is nothing yet to report on the job front, except that I go back to work at my current job today. I took yesterday off. It's always best to take an extra day after a whirlwind trip like that. I needed the day to relax. It's a good thing too. I had a terrible headache yesterday, so it was mostly a lazy day curled up in bed with Isabella. She's such a good little companion when you're not feeling well.

Back Home

I'm back home in Vermont with Isabella. She's always so sweet when I get home after being away. She just wants to be near me wherever I am. Now that I'm home from my whirlwind trip to Chicago, I have to just wait and see how they respond to my interview.

The Good and The Good

The good news is that things seemed to go exceptionally well yesterday at the job interview. I think I did exceptionally well with those I interviewed with. It was about a four hour process. From what I could gather, it's up to the CEO as to whether I get the job or not. Since he did more talking than I did in our interview, that interview is a toss-up. I'm hoping that I will hear their decision soon. Maybe today, but probably by the end of the week. Then again, who knows.

In other good news, Democrat Doug Jones won election to the U.S. Senate from Alabama in a sharp blow to President Trump that narrows the GOP’s majority in the Senate to two. He beat Roy Moore, a former chief justice of the state Supreme Court who had been accused of child molestation. I honestly never thought it would happen, but it did. A Democrat has won a Senate seat in Alabama.

Chicago

Carl Sandburg, 1878 - 1967

        Hog Butcher for the World,
        Tool maker, Stacker of Wheat,
        Player with Railroads and the Nation’s 
             Freight Handler;
        Stormy, husky, brawling,
        City of the Big Shoulders:

They tell me you are wicked and I believe them, for I have seen your painted women under the gas lamps luring the farm boys.
And they tell me you are crooked and I answer: yes, it is true I have seen the gunman kill and go free to kill again.
And they tell me you are brutal and my reply is: On the faces of women and children I have seen the marks of wanton hunger.
And having answered so I turn once more to those who sneer at this my city, and I give them back the sneer and say to them:
Come and show me another city with lifted head singing so proud to be alive and coarse and strong and cunning.
Flinging magnetic curses amid the toil of piling job on job, here is a tall bold slugger set vivid against the little soft cities;
Fierce as a dog with tongue lapping for action, cunning as a savage pitted against the wilderness,            Bareheaded,
            Shoveling,
            Wrecking,
            Planning,
            Building, breaking, rebuilding,
Under the smoke, dust all over his mouth, laughing with white teeth,
Under the terrible burden of destiny laughing as a young man laughs,
Laughing even as an ignorant fighter laughs who has never lost a battle,
Bragging and laughing that under his wrist is the pulse, and under his ribs the heart of the people,             Laughing!
Laughing the stormy, husky, brawling laughter of Youth, half-naked, sweating, proud to be Hog Butcher, Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat, Player with Railroads and Freight Handler to the Nation.

Off to Chicago

I'm off to Chicago today. My plane leaves around 3 pm, and I should get there about 6:30 pm. I plan to have a nice dinner then settle in for the night and get ready for my interview Tuesday morning. I've got everything packed except a few Little last minute items, and then I'm ready to go.

If the Lord Wills

Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” – James 4:15

I talked about this a few weeks ago, but I thought it needed reiteration and elaboration considering I am going on my final interview for the Chicago job this week. “If the Lord wills.” "If the Lord wills." There are times when we really want something in our lives, but we wonder if it is the right move, if we even get what we want. In those circumstances, we must pray. We must pray that God’s will be done. We have to have faith. Faith in that whatever happens, happens because God wills it.

God has a plan for every one of us. Many people go through life without ever thinking about it, but that doesn’t change the fact that God put us here for a purpose. We aren’t here by accident; we’re here because God put us here. And He put us here for a reason–so we could come to know Him in a personal way, and then live the way He wants us to live.

That’s why you can pray and seek God’s will when you face decisions, and it is why you can know God is with you every moment of the day. The Bible says, “Teach me your way, O Lord; lead me in a straight path” (Psalm 27:11).

When he says, "If God wills we will . . . do this or that," he teaches us that the activities and accomplishments of our lives are in God's hands. God governs what we accomplish. Not only are our lives in his hands, our success is in his hands. "Instead, you ought to say, 'If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that." "If the Lord wills . . . we will do this or that." And if the Lord does not will, we will not do this or that.

If the Lord wills, I will get this job in Chicago. It doesnt mean that I won't be praying that I get the job, it just means that if it is in God's plan for me, then it will happen. Maybe its not the right job for me or God doesnt want me to bite off more than I can chew. I will do my best to get the job, but I know it is ultimately in God's hands.

Moment of Zen: Packages

Don't you just love getting packages in the mail? Even more so if he was delivering.

Getting Closer

Monday, I fly out of Burlington for Chicago. Tuesday morning, I have my interview. Wednesday, I fly back to Burlington. It will be a quick trip, but I pray it will be a productive one. I want this job. I want to want this job. If they offer me the job, it will come down to salary and if I liked the atmosphere of the place. I suspect I will like the atmosphere, the question then boils down to money. Will it be enough? I hope it will be. I only have ten more months at the most (at least that's how it's looking now) at my current job. Therefore, I need to find something and I hope that's in Chicago.

Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor Day marks the anniversary of the Japanese raid on Pearl Harbor in 1941, bringing the United States into World War II and widening the European war to the Pacific.

The bombing, which began at 7:55 a.m. Hawaiian time on a Sunday morning, lasted little more than an hour but devastated the American military base on the island of Oahu in the Hawaiian Islands. Nearly all the ships of the U.S. Pacific Fleet were anchored there side by side, and most were damaged or destroyed; half the bombers at the army’s Hickam Field were destroyed. The battleship USS Arizona sank, and 1,177 sailors and Marines went down with the ship, which became their tomb. In all, the attack claimed more than 3,000 casualties—2,403 killed and 1,178 wounded.

On the following day, President Franklin D. Roosevelt addressed a solemn Congress to ask for a declaration of war. His opening unforgettable words: “Yesterday, December 7, 1941—a date which will live in infamy—the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.” War was declared immediately with only one opposing vote, that by Rep. Jeannette Rankin of Montana.

In the months that followed, the slogan “Remember Pearl Harbor” swept America, and radio stations repeatedly played the song of the same name with these lyrics:

Let’s remember Pearl Harbor, as we go to meet the foe,

Let’s remember Pearl Harbor, as we did the Alamo.

We will always remember, how they died for liberty,

Let’s remember Pearl Harbor, and go on to victory.

Originally published as part of a post from December 7, 2010.

Sleep

I fell asleep earlier than usual last night, then I woke up and it was my usual bedtime so I rolled back over and went back to sleep. So I forgot to do a post for today.

The Word

The Word

 by Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Oh, a word is a gem, or a stone, or a song,

   Or a flame, or a two-edged sword;

Or a rose in bloom, or a sweet perfume,

   Or a drop of gall is a word.

 

You may choose your word like a connoisseur,

   And polish it up with art,

But the word that sways, and stirs, and stays,

   Is the word that comes from the heart.

 

You may work on your word a thousand weeks,

   But it will not glow like one

That all unsought, leaps forth white hot,

   When the fountains of feeling run.

Hmmm

Not much to say today. I'm going to get my tires changed for winter. I hate changing out my tires, but it has to be done. Also, it's one week before I fly to Chicago. I hope all goes well then.

The Great I Am

And God said to Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shall you say to the children of Israel, I AM has sent me to you. -- Exodus 3:14

If I say "I am," I say what is not true of me. I must say "I am something — I am a man, I am bad, or I am good, or I am an Englishman, I am a soldier, I am a sailor, I am a clergyman." — and then I shall say what is true of me. But God alone can say "I AM" without saying anything more. And why? Because God alone is. Everybody and everything else in the world becomes: but God is. We are all becoming something from our birth to our death — changing continually and becoming something different from what we were a minute before; first of all we were created and made, and so became men; and since that we have been every moment changing, becoming older, becoming wiser, or alas! foolisher; becoming stronger or weaker; becoming better or worse. Even our bodies arc changing and becoming different day by day. But God never changes or becomes anything different from what He is now. What He is, that He was, and ever will be. Many heathen men have known that there was one eternal God, and that God is. But they did not know that God Himself had said so; and that made them anxious, puzzled, almost desperate, so that the wiser they were, the unhappier they were. For what use is it merely knowing that God is? The question for poor human creatures is, "But what sort of a being is God?' Is He far off? Does He care nothing about us? Does He let the world go its own way, right or wrong? Is He proud and careless? A Self-glorifying Deity whose mercy is not over all His works, or even over any of them? And the glory of the Bible, the power of God revealed in the Bible, is, that it answers the question, and says, "God does care for men, God does see men, God is not far off from any one of us. Ay, God speaks to men — God spoke to Moses and said, not "God is," but "I AM." God in sundry times and divers, manners spoke to our fathers by the prophets and said, "I AM." But more Moses said, "I AM hath sent me." God does not merely love us, and yet leave us to ourselves. He sends after us. He sends to us. But again: "I AM hath sent me unto you." Unto whom? Who was Moses sent to? To the Children of Israel in Egypt. And what sort of people were they? Were they wise and learned? On the contrary, they were stupid, ignorant, and brutish. Were they pious and godly? On the contrary, they were worshipping the foolish idols of the Egyptians — so fond of idolatry that they must needs make a golden calf and worship it. Then why did God take such trouble for them? Why did God care for them, and help them, and work wonders for them? Why? Exactly because they were so bad. Just because they were so bad, His goodness yearned over them all the more, and longed to make them good. Just because they were so unclean and brutish, His holiness longed all the more to cleanse them. Because they were so stupid and ignorant, His wisdom longed to make them wise. Because they were so miserable, His pity yearned over them, as a father over a child fallen into danger. Because they were sick, they had all the more need of a physician. Because they were lost, there was all the more reason for seeking and saving them. Because they were utterly weak, God desired all the more to put His strength into them, that His strength might be made perfect in weakness.

(C. Kingsley, M. A.)

Moment of Zen: Kisses

Goodbye, Jim

Jim Nabors, the comic actor best known for his years playing Gomer Pyle, one of TV's most lovable goofs, has died at the age of 87. Nabors' husband, Stan Cadwallader, confirmed to The Associated Press that the actor and singer died at home in Honolulu.

"Everybody knows he was a wonderful man. And that's all we can say about him," Cadwallader told the news service. "He's going to be dearly missed."