Accomplishment or Just Archaic and Pathetic

Today marked what I once viewed as a milestone...an accomplishment if you will. Now I am not so sure. Today I reached the milestone of having worked for my company for 20 years. Yes that's right 20 years and that equals more than 1/2 my life that I have given to my employer. As I contemplate all that means, I am not sure what I think or even how I feel about this "accomplishment". Perhaps I am a little bit of a throwback to an era that has come and gone.

I feel a degree of pride... how many people my age can say they have been with their employer for two decades. I grew up with the stories of my grandfather having worked for his company for decades. I was always impressed by the loyalty that he had for his company. The loyalty trickled into all our lives. To this day, many of my shopping expeditions revolve around the company to which he dedicated his life. (my wedding gown and all my bridesmaids wore dresses from that company) Not unlike grandfather, I have a feeling of loyalty toward my company; however, I sometimes question whether my loyalty is misplaced. I think companies in general today view their employees as less than an investment and more as a replaceable commodity. The hierarchy in my company is always telling us to hire quality people; and I believe the issues for that lie with the expectations that everyone that comes through your front door will perform at the level of a seasoned employee within moments of starting the job. The true reality is that quality employees are created through development, training and coaching(ie. the investment).

My company does make a small effort to recognize our service and about a month ago they mailed my 20 year pin to the store. Well the pin was suppose to have diamond look chip in the upper left corner. That's right folks, my pin arrived with the little diamond looking chip missing and an obvious hole where the chip was supposed to be. Now I found that amusing but someone did call about the pin being defective (no not me - I was not that concerned). A new one is being mailed out and we can just "toss the defective one" in the trash while the person telling us that acted put out that we would even ask about such a thing. I think that probably sums up the corporate attitude about someone giving the company 20 years.

Pictures from the Dance Recital

Well I finally managed to get through the photos from Meghan's dance recital. There are 134 photos on my Facebook page for those that are interested. However, this is probably my favorite picture that we took between the dress rehearsal and the recital. Mamoo and Papoo made it to be here with us for the recital. Meghan has another BSYO performance tomorrow and they will be here to enjoy it.

The Stare Down

The Proud Papa!!!

I can eat this bird. Maybe?

Time to feed the babies.

"The Stare Down" The cat cannot see inside my nest today.

Nibbles and the bird who I have named Gloria had a stare down this morning. I really thought it was odd that she was not flitting around in the branches like she usually does, but I figured she was just trying to aggravate the cat. Later in the morning Meghan and I noticed that she was perched at the edge of the nest with something in her beak. As we watched something moved in the nest. There are at least two babies in the nest that were not there yesterday. We watched throughout the day and also managed to see the proud papa guarding the area in the afternoon. So now folks we need a name for two babies and the proud papa. Nibbles spent the afternoon playing with his toy bird.

The Bird

The bird is getting use to us and appears to becoming more comfortable. She does not go flying everytime we come out the door. She was in her nest when I left for work this morning and she was there when we came home this afternoon. We have bought bird feeders and bird seed, but we still do not have a name. So again please help provide suggestions for her name.

Name the Bird

Just a little while ago, I posted about a bird that built her nest just outside our front octagon window. Since we will begin "providing" for her, I feel we should have a name. So Internet, please help us find a name. Pictures are in the previous post. Meghan will choose from the suggestions. The choosen name will be posted in a week.

Have fun and be creative!!!

Bird Moves In & Cat Goes Nuts

The "bird in the bush".

Bird watching!!!! I just want a "nibble".

Camera shy!! Catch me if you can!!

Bird watching!!!! Please just a taste!!!

I'll build my nest so I can aggravate the cat. He can't catch me!!!!

The bird's nest with a "Birdseye" view of the world. Keeping the cat close to home.

Our house has this octagon window at the front which we thought was neat when we bought our house. However, the reality of living with that window far outweighs it's neatness. Our cats on the other hand have loved to sit in that window and watch outside. Nibbles tends to be very quite when sitting in that window, but lately he has been very vocal and agitated when in the window. Yesterday I found out why. A bird has built a nest in the Hibiscus that is just outside the window. The bird was actually quite smart about the placement of the nest because it places her just under the eaves of the house and is located in the back of the bush. Plus she is driving the cat nuts. I spent part if yesterday and this morning trying to take her picture. She has proven to be camera shy making it difficult to snap that shot, but she did cooperate this morning.

Enjoy the pictures. Watch Meghan's blog in the coming weeks too. Tomorrow we are buying a bird feeder and bird seed. I guess this means we will have to name her. Help with name suggestions.

STS - 125 Atlantis Lifts Off

Here in our part of Florida, we are counting down the remaining Shuttle missions. Today Space Shuttle Atlantis lifted off for the final Hubble Telescope mission. As these missions wind down for the shuttle program's scheduled retirement, each shuttle launch brings the end of an era a little closer in our world. I remember being in grade school and televisions being rolled in for us to watch the first launches of the new shuttle program. Living in this area has provided me the opportunity to experience the thrill of these massive vehicles lumbering into space up close and personal and share awe inspiring event with my daughter. Today because the launch time was so close to the time to pick Meghan up from school, I experienced the shuttle's race to space from my front yard. How incredibly lucky we are to live where we can have this experience in our backyard (or in our front yard since our house faces east). For those of you unfamiliar with were we live, we live south and a little west of the Kennedy Space Center. So to see the shuttle we must look north and east. One of our new neighbors came rushing out of her house to watch. I had to tell her to turn around and look the other way.