Back To St. Louis

I’m flying to St. Louis on Friday night to visit my mother. It will be a short trip. I’m flying back to Denver on Sunday night. K will be flying back with me because he has meetings in Denver for a few days next week. My mother is doing better that expected. She’s tired all the time but has not been sick. She starts her second round of chemo on Monday.

The pond pump has malfunctioned so I need to see if I can repair it tonight. I have about 10,000 other things to do tonight but if I don’t get the pump working there’s a good chance the fish will die from lack of oxygen. I will not get to work out tonight as planned but I’m still stopping by Helena’s for a haircut. I want to look good for my mother since she doesn’t see me very often.

My manager told me a reorganization of the IT department will be announced on Monday, effective on Monday. Our department head will be taking on a different role. Our department will now report to another leader. The good new is that I can go back to working from home whenever I want. Hopefully, the problem engineer’s poor behavior will be addressed by the new leader.

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The Last Meeting

Last night I attended the last neighborhood association meeting that will be held in the mansion. The university is getting the mansion ready for sale and is conducting an inventory of the furnishings and artwork. The gay couple that bought the mansion will take possession on December 15th. The neighborhood’s annual holiday party will held in a 12,000 square foot house around the corner from the mansion.

The focus of the neighborhood meeting was coyote control. Denver’s wildlife ecologist gave a very interesting talk on coyotes. The sad news is once the coyotes have moved in they will not leave unless there is a nuclear holocaust. If the coyote family is relocated a new family will move in and take over the territory. Residents have to retrain the coyotes to be afraid of humans and their pets. Most importantly, people have to stop feeding the coyotes. Coyotes are wild animals and for the most part can’t be domesticated. Residents have to confront the coyotes, make eye contact and then make threatening noises. The ecologist demonstrated how to confront a coyote and gave out air horns to help scare the coyotes.

It was a very interesting meeting. I was saddened to realize that I will probably never be inside the beautiful mansion again. The new owners have net worth around $500 million. K and I, along with most of our friends, don’t run in the same circles as these guys. The couple contribute huge amounts to charity but are not known for hosting fund raisers in their home. Sheila and I have joked about delivering a welcome basket and introducing ourselves. We’ll probably only get to meet the house manager.

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No Gloves Needed

It’s cold and windy in Denver today. It was joy driving to work today in the BMW. I love the heated steering wheel. Yes, I am spoiled.

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It’s Ski Season

Loveland opened yesterday and A Basin opened today. A powerful fall storm is making its way across the central mountains bringing heavy snow and high winds. No snow is predicted for Denver as it’s too warm.

Here’s a look at the current traffic alerts:
Loveland Pass (US 6) has been closed due to the snow.
EB I-70 over Vail Pass is closed due to a disabled vehicle.
Chain laws are in effect for Vail Pass, the Eisenhower/Johnson Tunnel, Rabbit Ears Pass, Hoosier Pass, Douglas Pass and on US 24 from MM 144-175.

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Welcome Aboard

The IT department recently hired additional contractors to support a couple of new initiatives. The new contractors are all male so far and have moved into the empty offices on my row. Yesterday I was told the company has no spare office space in the IT centers in India, Argentina or New Jersey. Denver is the only IT center with available office space. Any new IT employees will have to work in Colorado. This should help lower the Colorado unemployment rate that currently sits at 8.2%.

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Updates 10-20-2010

I talked with Patty a few days ago. She had her facelift but didn’t get her eyes done. I wondered why she didn’t do her eyes but didn’t ask. She’s dating Ray again and is back in therapy. Patty has decided to work part time starting in January so she can write a book about her life with her late husband.

Cindi is still dating the man who owns the chocolate company. Business is finally picking up. People are starting to book holiday parties. She leaves for the Galapagos Islands on November 9th.

K got a card in the mail for a free night at the newly opened Four Seasons in downtown Denver. I thought it would be fun to spend a night downtown. Then I read the fine print. You have to buy one night to get the free night. The rooms start at $400 a night. The card was tossed in the recycle bin.

Crazy Barb got her new BMW. Mike is getting her old car detailed. I should have it in a few days.

Sometimes I think Mike is crazier than Crazy Barb. He got a customer to assume the lease on his white 5 series BMW. He got rid of the car because he saw three old women with white hair driving white 5 series BMWs. Since his hair is now white he didn’t want to be mistaken for an old woman. He’s now driving a BMW 135 coupe. I asked Mike when was the last time he saw a woman with forearms as hairy as his wearing a man’s Rolex. He didn’t have an answer.

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Now You See It, Now You Don’t

I’ve been assigned a ninety hour test project for the current test cycle. I’ll be testing a new product offer. However, the company decided not to go forward with the new product after the code was written. Next month I get to test the code to make sure everything related to the new offer is hidden from the user. The company decided to hide the code instead of removing it in case the decision not to launch the product is reversed. Don’t you wish you had money to waste like large corporations?

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The Buttons Are On The Left

At the end of last winter Chatty Cathy asked me for advice on buying a new dress coat. I gave him a few tips and told him I would alert him to any good deals I came across. K and I were at the outlet mall about two week ago. Both Neiman Marcus and Saks had a nice selection of topcoats. The coats at Neiman Marcus were high end lines like Prada and Paul Smith but were marked down to around $1,000. Saks had coats from Andrew Marc and Cole Haan for around $500. I had a coupon for 30% an item at Saks so I offered it to Chatty Cathy. Chatty Cathy didn’t need to buy a coat. He told me his wife bought one of those dark blue sailor looking coats with two rows of buttons with anchors on them. His wife didn’t like the coat so he was going to wear it. I informed Chatty Cathy that his wife bought a pea coat. I then added that the buttons on a women’s coat are on the left while a man’s coat has buttons on the right. Chatty Cathy thought there was something odd about the coat when he buttoned it but couldn’t figure it out. I told him not to worry about it because most people will not notice the buttons on the left. Except for detailed oriented people interested in fashion. Somehow I don’t think there’s one in Chatty Cathy’s social circle.

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Updates 10-12-2010

K is in Florida attending meetings and trying to drum up business. He’ll be back on Friday. He goes back to St. Louis on Monday.

It’s a glorious cloudy rainy day. There has been no measurable precipitation for 65 days. It’s always so sunny and dry here. People forget that Denver is in a high plains desert. I always love when it rains here.

My mother’s first day a chemo went well. She’s not sick yet. I told her to take it day by day and not to expect having all of the side affects outlined in the literature given to her by the doctor. She was actually in a good mood for a change.

Problem engineer has only spent one day in the office in the last three weeks. The consensus is that she wants to get fired. At this point everyone is frustrated with her. She’s become the joke of the office. It’s a shame because she used to be a great engineer.

Crazy Barb’s new BMW will be here by the end of the week. I emailed Mike copies of my car registration, insurance card and driver’s licenses so I can trade my car for her car. Mike is arranging to get the windows tinted and clear bra installed on the BMW.

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How Do I Feel?

Inquiring minds want to know how I feel about my mother’s situation. I don’t know if there is one word to describe it. I’m sad she has lung cancer and has to endure chemo but I feel it’s her own fault for smoking for sixty five years. I’m sad she’s in a loveless marriage with and emotionally unavailable man. However, my father has been that way as long as I can remember so she has to take some responsibility for not divorcing him. I’m frustrated when I hear my mother say she has no friends but it’s her own fault. I can never remember my mother making any attempt to make friends. I’m angry that my sister is emotionally retarded and will not be there for my mother. I’m pissed at my father for being such a dick and for continuing to smoke in the house. I’m not happy I’ll be spending a weekend in their smoke infested house. I’m glad that K has been supportive of my situation. I’m thankful my brother and sil have done so much to help my mother. So I’m sad, frustrated, angry, pissed, unhappy, glad and thankful all at the same time.

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