The DDA Trouble Free Zone Part 7

[Pooh67_68]

Look what my DH had delieverd to me.

 

[rosiejo]

Very cool! I've wondered about that! Now I can go on to the next thing on my list! Seriously, this is really neat! I would never have thought about going to the internet to research it.

Thanks, Clare!

Glad I could help you learn something new

I really am a google addict - if I ever come across something I don't know I am straight into google - I can't actually work out how I did my degree without it as this time round I look up so much stuff. If I write a sentence in an assignment I know I can use google to back up my claims!

 

[bear74]

Denice definatelly get the second opinion. glad you have at least some good news if we can trust the first Dr.

 

[rosiejo]

ok - I have to go study... right now!

 

[Pooh67_68]

Thank you for the birthday wishes and the anniversary one too.









mommykds, cute email.

 

[Tammi67]

Okay, all you Croc lovers,

I am now addicted!!! I bought a pair of Airwalks from Payless (all they had was black in adult sizes), and an original Beach pair from Dick's in pearl last weekend. I love them! They are ugly as all get out, but I have been wearing them at home, and in my office when I'm just sitting at my desk or going out to my printer, etc. I have a really hard time with foot cramps from running around in heels all day, so I thought I would see if these helped at all. So far, no cramps since I've started wearing them whenever/wherever I can!

So, now you experts need to help me. Besides Paula (I might be PM'ing you!), where can I find Crocs at a decent price (cheaper than the $29.99 retail)? It seems like you guys were talking about sites a while ago that had them for a lot cheaper, and I just wasn't paying attention at the time. Help me - I need more!!

Kate and I ordered them from REI.

 

[Tammi67]

Wouldn't work so well for me as mine would be ClLoSw

When I first saw that I thought to myself 'coleslaw.'

I would be TaLeAl

 

[Tammi67]

Look what my DH had delieverd to me.

What a good man!!

 

[KMH1]

Look what my DH had delieverd to me.

He gets an A+ from this former teacher!

Happy Anniversary too Heidi!

Amy

 

[bethbuchall]

Hi all! I have been so busy the last few days that I haven't been here at all. I have no idea where I left off, and I doubt I'll ever be able to catch up. I'm off to give it a whirl, though!

Beth

 

[KMH1]

If you lived closer we could have a marathon!

I think Dawn should just move to Cincinnati. Milk is much cheaper here!

Dawn, I know I'm a big hyprocrite, but start taking it easy! I'm sure Marti will chime in and say the same thing too!!!

Amy

 

[KMH1]

Today I am the secret reader for my son's 1st grade class. I picked out this cute book "The Trouble With Cauliflower"..when I am done reading I am going to tell his class that I brought them all cauliflower as a treat! Then surprise them with goody bags I made last night. (Pencils, stickers, & a Hershey bar)

Um..I am a SAHM..this IS my social life!

That sounds like fun!

Amy

 

[Glynis]

When I first saw that I thought to myself 'coleslaw.'

I would be TaLeAl

Mine's bad: GlElNe. Yuck!

 

[bethbuchall]

thanks for the good wishes. I am totally depressed. Knowing he is refluxing again is horrible. He literally almost died from it the first time around, so for this to be starting again is making me sick. John is very upset with the results too. Having it be "medium" was our worst fear. Yes, it is bad, but we won't fix it with surgery. The first time, it took us almost 2 years of agony, hospitalizations, etc to convince the doc to do the Fundo surgery. He is one of those that surgery is absolutely the last resort and will try anything and everything else first. After the Fundo, Rees was a different child and it was a complete success! So now, I'm worried he's "playing" us again and will make us try everything else under the sun before redoing the surgery.

I've actually contacted my good friend who has a personal friend that is a Peds GI doc and surgeon down at Emory University Med School. Last time, he suggested the Fundo a year before we got it. I'll be interested to hear his opinion. John and I both think there is more to this than the tests showed. I think my mom instinct has kicked in. I'm worried, and I don't know why. Thanks for listening to me ramble. I know I should think this is good news, but I just feel like something is amiss.

Denise, this is where I started reading. I will keep Rees in my prayers. You have been through so much recently. I hope that you get full answers soon!

Beth

 

[julia & nicks mom]

we are in recovery
nick did great and is still asleep
waiting to hear from the doctor
I will keep you all updated

p.s. DH's blackberry is SWEET!!!!

 

[Tammi67]

Thanks for posting. I'll say a prayer that it is good news.

 

[tink2020]

Beth! -- You have a new clip... congratulations!

Clare -- I will let you know about the Starburst. Please just remember that Cadbury chocolate is the greatest chocolate on the planet if it was made in the UK. Our sold-out rendition stinks (minus the aforementioned mini-eggs)! As for P&P, I didn't like the book until I saw the movie (old version of the movie, not even a Colin Firth one! ) Give the series a try if you have lots of spare time. It might move slow at first, but is very good!

Heidi -- how sweet of your DH!

And Dawn(and Amy) -- are you kidding?! Amy is right. You all should definitely move up here, if just for the milk! Does everyone else pay that much? Even without the Kroger sale, it isn't much more than $2.00 around here ever (somewhere anyway)!

Kate -- thanks for keeping us posted. Aren't Blackberries fun?! When do you get to come home, when he wakes up a bit?

 

[bethbuchall]

I found out late last week that I am changing jobs again, and with the new job I will be going to Colorado in a couple of weeks to train. Theresa, how far are you from Fort Collins?

Anyway as background to all of this, I feel a need to spill my story, feel free to ignore if needed. My work life over the last several months has been extremely stressful. DH and I both work for Kodak in Rochester, NY. Rochester is Kodak's headquarters. At it's peak, Kodak employed over 60,000 people in Rochester in the early 1980s. This year Kodak employment in Rochester is less than 14,000 and falling.

Last August, 2005 they announced that they would be closing down the traditional photographic paper manufacturing operations in Rochester, where both my DH and I work. Everyone was being laid off, but they would be keeping 2 machines running and transferring them to a new division. Anyone that wanted to continue employment with the new division had to apply for any jobs they were interested in. Fortunately for both of us, the 2 machines they were keeping were the 2 machines we worked for, and both of our jobs would be continued, but we had to apply for them, and if selected, interview for them.

We were both very fortunate, and secured our own positions. Over 80% of the people in our division weren't so lucky, and about 400 people in paper manufacturing were laid off at the end of October, 2005, including most of our friends. We went for about 2 months not knowing for sure if we would be employed, but ended up relieved to both have jobs, though sad for what this means to Kodak, and to US manufacturing in general. We have been through anywhere from 1 - 3 layoffs/year for the last 15 years or so, so it has been stressful for years, but this was even worse, with closing down our whole manufacturing area.

So a week later, after everyone who was laid off left the company, they called us all together and told us that the machine I had been supporting would now be shutting down at the end of March, 2006. They told us that they would let us know at the end of January if they had positions for us. So I had a total of 1 week feeling good about having a job before they put me into limbo again for another 3 months.

Because of the uncertainty, I had my resume up to date and out on Monster.com. I would occasionally get calls from recruiters, but was not actively pursuing any new jobs. Then in January I got a call from a recruiter regarding a job that sounded really good to me, and I decided to go on an interview, since Kodak wouldn't tell me if I definitely would have a job or not. Well, 3 days before I had the interview, Kodak informed me that they were going to keep me and move me into a new posiition. At that point I decided to go on the interview anyway, since I had already made the arrangements, including flying out to Madison Wisconsin later that week.

Well the good news is that the interview went great, and I got offered a really good job, with a huge increase in pay. So DH and I spent many hours discussing the pros and cons of moving to Madison, WI and me taking this job. All of our families were very supportive of us going, since they have seen all the stress we have gone through with Kodak. In the end, for a number of reasons, we decided to stay at Kodak in Rochester. Not so much because of Kodak, but because of family. So of course we have been waiting to see if we made the right choice.

There are no guarantee's, but last week another girl announced that she would be leaving to take a job with another company. They decided to offer me her job. It is a much more interesting and exciting job, and there is more job security with it, as long as Kodak doesn't decide to shut down completely of course. So for the short term anyway it seems like my decision to stay isn't so bad, and I'm glad that I was patient. I will be working longer hours through some big challenges in the next few months as we start up a new manufacturing machine, but it will be much more interesting than the last several months of downsizing and shutting down and laying off.

I just wanted to share that little piece of my life. Maybe I can look forward to a year of no threat of losing my job. We'll see.

Change Kodak to IBM and my dh as the only income provider, and you have our life! I know how stressful it can be, so I wish you the best. Dh thinks that we have at most 5 years before IBM shuts down completely here. I pray that he is wrong. Last time we went to Disney, they were going through a huge round of closing down entire departments and layoffs. He had to call in mid-vacation to find out if he still had a job to return to. Fortunately for us, he did. Many friends did not fare so well.

Beth

 

[bethbuchall]

we are in recovery
nick did great and is still asleep
waiting to hear from the doctor
I will keep you all updated

p.s. DH's blackberry is SWEET!!!!

I'm jumping around a bit, so I don't know exactly what is going on. I did want to say that I'm glad that things went well. I hope that all news is good!

Beth

 

[bear74]

Heidi happy birthday and happy anniversary.