Cease and Desist

I'm an assistant store manager.
I want to be a Human Resource Manager.

I applied for a HR job in my company. I was told that I don't meet the minimum requirements because I have no prior HR experience.

It didn't matter that I have been an assistant manager for four years. As a manager, I perform most of the same tasks a HRM does. The HR supports the manager. Stupid.

I was a bit upset. So, I sent an e-mail to the district HR, Craig.
Craig and I wrote back a few times as I tried to figure out how I can meet the requirements of his posting.
I was getting no where with Craig. I e-mailed his boss, Clark. Clark is the regional HR.
Clark had a much more friendly tone with me and even called to talk to me.
The company will hire a guy off the street with ZERO experience and train him to be a store manager. BUT we do not have training to make someone a HRM.

I am still not satisfied with that answer. I'm stuck. They want experience as a HRM.
This all started back in December. The positions I applied for have been filled by people outside of the company. Within ninety days, those positions were both vacant again. SO, knowing that I do NOT meet the requirements, I apply for both jobs again. Now, I'm just being stubborn.

I e-mail Clark's boss this time. Scott is HR director for the South East. He is on the second tier of HR in the company. I explain my frustration to him. Looks like I have to quit the job I have had for more than eight years to get some HR experience. Scott does not call me, but he does write me back a pleasant e-mail.

Next, I decide to start back at the beginning. I will not give up. I e-mail Craig again. Auto-reply tells me he is on vacation. I immediately forward my e-mail up the chain to Clark. He calls me at the store within a few hours.

This whole process has been going on for over four months.

We discuss if there are ANY possible ways to get me eligible. There are none at this time. Maybe some training in the future, but not today. During our conversation he lets me know that he is aware of my e-mail to Scott.

Before getting off the phone, Clark very nicely gives me the cease and desist speech.
"If anything changes, you are number one on my list. I will call you. There is nothing that can be done at this time, and that is horrible to say. I will call you when there is a way."

Pretty much telling me to stop e-mailing the corporate offices.

Sigh.

Zombies

I didn't think this was real either. But it comes from the BBC. They got their act together, so I believe it.

People die. The virus that killed them starts their hearts back up and they behave in a violent manner for a few hours until dying again. Zombies!

This is happening in Cambodia. So what do the hella crazy officials have to say about this?

"Cambodian officials say that the outbreak has been contained and the public has no need to worry."

No need to worry? Are you friggin' nuts? People are coming back from the dead! I'm a little worried.

Still don't believe it? Read it here
Prepare yourself!

Talkin' Hand . . .out!

3 year old dictator

Meredith is not allowed to eat in the family room. When I approached her the other morning, this is the face I saw.

That's the "I'm caught, but not giving up", face. Look closely at her closed fist.
"Meredith what's in your hand?", I asked her. I got no responce. As I pryed her hand open, I realized I was dealing with a fist full of honey! When her hand was open, she told me with a smile, "I like honey!".

One of the main roles in the house that Meredith has taken recently, is becoming the house censor. If someone says a bad word, especially if it is mom or dad, she is quick to tell you. You don't have to be talking to her, just within ear shot of her. No matter if you think she is listening or not, she will hear you. Her favorite word to catch you saying is, "stupid".
"Dad, you said a bad word.", she will warn.
"No I didn't. What did I say?", I plead my innocence.
"You said stupid, and stupid is a bad word. I'm telling mom.", she convicted me.
Even at Wal-Mart people are not safe from her super sensitive ears.
"Mom, did you hear that lady say a bad word? She said damnit!", she rats out the lady still within hearing distance.

We are now very carefull where the little dictator is before having conversations.

Finish

Check out this picture and the one below it. That's what I did over the past weekend.
No, I'm not showing that I got rid of my wife!
We started putting this laminate floor in our house. Got two rooms done. We worked last night until 10:30. I crashed and went to bed, Cari worked until almost midnight. Now, two rooms and the hallway are done. We are not even half way through the project, but I think the kitchen and living room should go much quicker. We're becoming experts on installing this stuff now.

Start

work

we are installing laminate flooring in our house this week. Updates may be limited, but I'll try and keep up. I have a couple of good stories and pictures to share. Updates will probably pick up toward the end of the week.

We started on this floor project on Saturday. It's now Monday at 10:30pm, and we're still working on it. Ugh.

Storm Story

I added a grey arrow to this picture to show where I live.
This storm was a lot of fun when it passed through this afternoon. Just a little excitement at work. We were cleaning up outside and we saw it get VERY dark outside. Then the weather radio came on. The wind picked up very fast and a bit of rain started. I went to the garden center with another manager to close up. Now it was very windy. It took both of us to pull the gates closed. Plants were getting blown all over the ground. Signs were getting knocked over.

As we were waiting for the last customer to finish paying, the store manager came out and started yelling for everyone to get inside. RIGHT NOW! He said there was a possible tornado spotted within six miles of us. We chased everyone out and locked up quick. The store manager got everyone, customers and employees, to go to the center of the store. It got darker outside and the wind was getting stronger. We kept everyone there for about fifteen minutes. During that time myself and the other manager checked the perimeter.

We slowly got back to normal after that, and reports were coming in that there was a tornado touch down and also to the town just north of us, a pretty strong hail storm.
Just a little excitement to spice up a Friday afternoon.

Touching is Good

I got my hand in the mail yesterday. I forgot that I ordered it. It was free, I guess I requested it.
What this is about, is a contest from Nintendo of America.
You can read about it at: www.touchingisgood.com
They are promoting their new Nintendo DS handheld system, that features dual screens, one of them being a touch screen.

So, I need to take a creative picture and send it in. I might win $1,000. Even if I don't win, I got a cool hand to keep on the desk.
I'll post my entry here, when I get it done in the next week.

Booger

mom: I love your nose, Meredith.
Meredith: I have boogers.
mom: ok.
Meredith: Do you love my boogers?
mom: uh, sure.

Bones

Last week, Randy fell on the playground at school. Cari called me at work and told me he broke his arm. Cari and Meredith went to pick up Randy, and then she called me back. I was thinking maybe the teacher had exagerated. Nope. Still broken. I met them at the hospital.

At the ER, we were the only ones in there. Imagine that. I've never seen an empty ER. They got us straight to the triage nurse. Then to a bed. That's right, a hallway bed. What the . . .?!
This place is not busy, these permanant hallway beds with a screen around them should be for busy times. Last time (when I was in my car accident), we found a great sign on the wall, next to the bed, that said, "no waiting in the hallway." We found another great sign this time. I swear I'm not making this up. We are sitting in the hallway bed, this time with no curtain around. The boy is pale, sweating, and holding a swollen arm. The sign has pretty pictures and is on the wall directly behind the bed:

"Asprin in a NYC hosiptal : $12
Ice cream after getting a shot : $4
Privacy in the ER at Palmetto Baptist Hospital of Easley : Priceless"

You have to be kidding me. Although the reserve the rooms for the elite, they did provide quick service this time around. After x-rays of his broken elbow, it was straight to the operating room. The doctor explained that an elbow fracture is much more serious than just a broken bone. Your elbow has such a range of motion, that it must be set PERFECT.
Cari left to leave Meredith with a neighbor, and while she was gone, it was time to take Randy upstairs.

Up to this point, I was doing very well. Not nervous, or anxious. Just calm. Until I'm upstairs listening to the anestiaologist tell me about the risks of putting Randy to sleep. Suddenly, I was sweating. I could feel myself go pale, and I felt like I was going to pass out. The doctor didn't say anything, he continued telling his horror story. I kneeled down next to Randy's bed.
"Do you have any questions?", he asked. I was holding back vomit, and trying not to pass out. I shook my head, no.

The surgery was very short. While we were waiting, Randy's teachers both came up to the OR waiting area. They offered to help in any way.

We went home about ten pm that night.

Yesterday (Monday), we went to the doctor's office to get a cast on. Randy chose green. After much crying, he finaly calmed down a bit, and we got the cast on. Back to school today.

Walk in Faith

Yesterday at church, the message was WALK IN FAITH.
Abraham was told by GOD to pick up and move. To start his own nation, and thrive. Abraham had to have faith that GOD would provide for him during this time. Abraham picked up and left everything familiar to him. He did not know how far he was going, when he would get there, or what he would encounter along the way. He did not have an army to protect him.
We did not move to South Carolina for a religious reason. We had to have faith that this was the right thing to do. We left behind sights and sounds that were familiar. Left behind family. Going to a place we had never even driven through. We didn't know anybody where we were going. For a few days, even a job was partialy in question. We kept faith that this was the right thing to do.

It was.

Go ahead and laugh

The other day I was taking pictures of the tulips in the yard. A neighbor drove by and was laughing that I was taking pictures of the flowers. He made a comment like I had never seen tulips before. He said he saw me sitting in the yard with my hands by my face and thought I was crying or something. When he drove down the street and saw the camera, he started laughing.

These are the same neighbors that when I saw them hack up the Pompas grass, I felt the need to do the same.

Broken Arm

There is obviously a story that goes with this picture. It's not going to get typed tonight.
The story does involve a trip to the same hospital I visited after my car wreck. So, if you remember that story, you can just imagine how this went.

Something that I was never able to do in Florida was burn leaves. In South Carolina, people rake a pile in the middle of their yard and catch it on fire. After cutting the Pompas grass into cubes, we had a truck load of cutting left on the ground. What a perfect time to start burning. I was not quite brave enough to burn them as they were, on the ground. We bought a small fire pit that I put in the backyard.

After bringing most of the leaves to the back, and dragging out the garden hose, I was ready. I filled the box, struck a match, and watched it sizzle to nothing. The grass is a bit wet from all the rain. After about twelve matches, and very little fire, I decided to get some help. I took the gas can from the mower and started to pour it in the box.

*POOF*

The fuel caught one of the hot spots from a match and ignited everything I had just poured in a flash. The fire did not stop there, as it continued up and caught the nozzle of the can on fire. I feared it might blow up, so I did the first thing I could think of, drop the can. This of course, started several small flames in the grass. I grabbed for the hose, but realized I never turned the thing on! Running like a madman, I turned the hose on and got back to the sprayer to extinguish my fires. I sprayed the water straight into the gas can and set it aside. It fell over and started dumping gas in the yard. AAAGGHHH!!!

Once I got everything under control, I had a nice fire going in my box. I continued to feed it leaves and watch the smoke pour into my neighbors yard.

I had a lot to burn, and the damp leaves did not burn fast enough for my taste. What would help my fire along? Oxygen. Fire needs oxygen. I went into the shed and emerged with the cordless blower. Oxygen at 100mph into my fire pit had some very satisfying results. Flames shot out of every corner and the leaves didn't last long. I'm such a proud redneck.

So, I continued my cycle of filling the box, and blowing air into the bottom. This was taking hours, and I still had several garbage cans left. Finally, Cari went to take the rest of the garbage cans to the landfill.

I smelled like a camp fire, and my family avoided being near me, as if I had the plague.

When in Rome. . .

Pompas grass. Beautiful plumes in the summer and fall, green flowing blades of grass. Blades. Razor sharp. Cut your arm in half! These things HURT.

Several neighbors have these plants and they recently hacked them down to little cubes. This lead into a discussion on the front porch between Cari and I. Maybe we should hack our plants down to little cubes too. I'm not sure why we would do it. Not sure that it really helps the plant along or anything. Maybe we should do it, because that's what all the "cool kids" are doing.