Just lost ten years' growth!

Last night, I was driving along, lost in my thoughts (as usual). And suddenly, there's a spotlight shining in my back window. You guessed it: a cop. I glanced at my speedometer (guilty conscience) and saw I was going 45 in a 40 zone.

So, of course, I moved over to the right lane and slowed to 40, thinking, "Oh great. Just great. I'm getting pulled over. Swell."

He passed me, but MAN was I ever in a cold sweat! Whew! I don't know if it was a warning, or just to get me to move out of the lane and out of his way.

My cool new closet thingy

Just had to share. These things are totally cool! They fit together a bit like a honeycomb, and slide in and out like drawers.

They're from a company called "Neat Containers."


This is the "Shoe and Boot Kit," which fits absolutely perfectly! I've ordered a "Combo Kit - Large" for the other side of the closet.

The whole project started when I tried to find a shoe cubby like Cat's, which OSH apparently no longer carries. So I googled "shoe storage." This is way cooler than I what I had in mind! They also have hat-sized boxes, but since I only have one nice hat (thank you, Lizzie!), I really don't need any.

I did go to OSH for a stepladder.

Christmas down South

Daddy working on his pills... We're talking a project that takes him several hours.


Lee's brother made these beautiful wine glasses

Daddy's new book - 50th anniversary Playboy history

Now that's a frown

Gordon commented on his frown in another photo (I could tell he was smiling!).

This was our first (and only) formal family portrait. For some reason.

Is Amazon cool, or what?

I just love how easy it was to shop this year. Nearly everyone I shop for had wish lists on Amazon, and I just let my fingers do the shopping. Piece of cake! And I was given stuff I really wanted, since most people used my wish list to shop from. Those Amazon folks are genius!

I also did just a bit of shopping on eBay. Got coats for Jem and my Dad that would have been crazy expensive brand new and at full retail (Land's End and Eddie Bauer).

I hope Jem's fits him. It looked kind of smallish, but it is a 5/6, so hopefully is fine.

Running out of time

Golly, this is a short Christmas season! I just realized there are only about two-and-a-half weeks until Christmas. I have finally started my shopping, but am not even halfway there. Thank goodness for the Internet!

Oh, and there are those pesky birthdays to take care of, too. And since they're my children, I have only myself (okay, and their dad!) to blame for the timing.... I love you, Chiquitas!

What the ...?!

My Christmas tree is missing. I'm serious. All I found was its empty box.

This is a 36" lighted artificial tree. Pretty hard to lose ... I guess I'm extra talented. I KNOW I had it last year, and I KNOW I put it back in the box! Sheese!

Bad news for me was good news for Lowes: I just went out and bought a replacement.

I'm turning into my parents. I can't even count the number of times over the years they misplaced something and then went out and bought another.

And who would steal a Christmas tree (and leave the box!), of all the stuff in my house? This makes no sense whatsoever.

On another note, all of those who know me should now sit down. I'm reading a couple of history books. For fun. History of the Inca by Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa, and The Royal Road of the Inca by Victor W. von Hagon. Obviously, in preparation for next year's trip to Peru.

You may all stand back up again.

My day(s) in court

I just spent more than four weeks on jury duty on a civil trial (2.5 days of jury selection, 11 days of testimony plus 3.5 days of deliberations). I know that doesn't work out to 4+ weeks. In San Joaquin County Superior Court, juries only sit from Tuesday through Friday, and we had days here and there where we weren't to come in, so we averaged 3-4 days per week.

An employee sued her employer for disability discrimination based on lasting effects of injuries received in several Workers' Compensation cases.

Aside from being unbelievably shocked that I was actually placed on the jury, since WC is a major portion of my job, I thought I'd share some of what I learned.

All of this is from memory, of course, since we had to leave our notes at the courthouse.

The case was resolved in favor of the Defendant. I removed all names of individuals, but left in the name of the employer. It's public record, anyway.

Approximate Timeline of Events

1998 – LH (a middle school PE teacher with SUSD) has three Workers’ Comp injuries. Two were from breaking up fights (shoulders and neck); one was from being struck by a door on her elbow. At some point during that year or the next, she was sent to an AME. There was also some settlement at some point. $27,000? The three claims are ultimately closed.

Early 2003 – LH’s claims are reopened. She’s again sent to an AME who puts her at ~75% function for her neck. He recommends surgery for one of her shoulders, which she receives. She’s able to return to work with some level of accommodation.

Late 2003 – LH is again sent to an AME for evaluation in November. The result of the examination is the doctor recommends LH is no longer physically capable of teaching PE; however, she should be able to teach in a classroom. His report has a November date.

Early March 2004 – SUSD receives the AME’s report. [Take away – it’s important to have somebody tracking progress of treatment/claims, so there isn’t a large gap between the writing of a report and its receipt – four months is excessive]. A few days after receiving the report, they call LH in to the Risk Management department for a meeting at which they communicate to her the results of the AME’s report and let her know they are putting her on paid administrative leave while they initiate their interactive process to determine what reasonable accommodations (if any) they can provide. During the meeting they ask LH to generate a list of suggested accommodations for them. They give her a two-week deadline. Later that same day, LH asks for a list of her job duties. SUSD’s WC Claims Coordinator makes arrangements for a job description to be left at the front desk for LH to pick up. The job description dates from 1973.

There were a lot of letters back and forth. Something like eight from the district either to LH or to her attorney and about five from LH or her attorney to the district. Once LH referenced her attorney in her first letter (which included some possible work accommodations), all further correspondence from SUSD was addressed only to her attorney.

Mid April 2004. The Reasonable Accommodation Committee comes to a conclusion. LH is notified early in May that her Paid Administrative Leave is being converted to Extended Illness Leave. One of the provisions of this type of leave is something called a “sub differential” where the pay for a substitute teacher is deducted from the pay of the teacher on leave. This doesn’t have an impact until LH receives her check for September and her net pay is about $75. Similar deductions are taken in October, November and December.

[Extended Illness Leave. When a bargaining unit member is absent from his/her duties on account of illness or accident, for a period of five (5) months or less, whether or not the absence arises out of or in the course of employment of the bargaining unit member, the amount deducted from the salary due him/her for any month in which the absence occurs shall be the lower of either the sum which is actually paid a substitute employee or Step “A” of the absent bargaining unit member’s salary class. Entitlement to sick leave provisions under this Section, if any, shall be considered “entitlement to other sick leave” for the purposes of computing benefits under the provisions of Section 45 192 of the Education Code if the absence is for industrial accident or illness and shall be used after entitlement to all regular sick leave, vacation, or other available paid leave has been exhausted. (from “Contract between SUSD and California School Employees Associate (CSEA)) ]

During her leave, LH applies for the open position of Social Studies teacher; however, her application is refused because she is not credentialed appropriately to teach social studies. She has taught social studies in the past; however, due to “No Child Left Behind,” SUSD can no longer give her a waiver to do so without losing state (federal?) funding for the students in the class.

LH is offered a position that she accepts in Mid-December. She begins working as a middle school Opportunity Teacher in January of 2005.
At some point, her Workers’ Compensation claims all close.

June of 2007. The position of Opportunity Teacher is eliminated and LH is presented with a list of open positions. She applies for and is given a position at a district High School teaching PE. The head of Risk Management (or Human Resources?), remembering her earlier case, asks her to bring in a release from her physician that she is physically able to do the job. She complies, and is still teaching PE at that High School.

Things that nearly sunk SUSD’s case

SUSD didn’t have a list of essential job functions for LH’s job. If her attorney had spent more time and energy on this particular issue, her case would have been stronger, and SUSD might very well have lost.

[from LawRoom: ... one of the most important steps employers must take to comply with disability discrimination laws is to determine the "essential job functions" for every employee. Specifically, employers need to know the primary and fundamental tasks that a person filling each position must perform.]

Had items listed in a letter as “essential functions” with no other documentation to back them up. The two that made the least sense had to do with paperwork requirements and the need to be physically able to assist an injured student, both of which would seem to apply to all teachers, not just PE teachers.

SUSD’s Claims Coordinator continually saying she couldn’t specifically recall any details while she was on the witness stand. While it’s unreasonable to expect someone could remember details from that long ago, several jurors thought she was lying as a result.

SUSD communicating with LH’s attorney, rather than directly with LH. It took a lot of convincing before several jurors would accept that as standard practice and that communicating with her attorney should be considered as the same as communicating with LH since she has hired him to represent her and it’s his responsibility to make sure she knows all the details of any communications about her.

Not inviting LH to the Reasonable Accommodation Committee meeting to discuss her case, even though their customary practice was to NOT invite employees unless those employees specifically requested to be included.

Several jurors thought it wasn’t fair when SUSD didn’t give LH the accommodations she requested. We had to spend a lot of time focussing on the law as it pertains to Reasonable Accommodations to show that an employer doesn’t have to give an employee the accommodation they request or even the “best” accommodation and that reasonable accommodation may include placement into an alternate position, if deemed appropriate by the employer.

Plaintiff came across on the stand as very likeable, dedicated and quite passionate about her work. She’s the sort of teacher I would want my children to have.

Jurors that were swayed by “fairness” arguments and emotional arguments, rather than legal facts. Plaintiff’s attorney did a good job of eliciting sympathy for her plight.

Things that sunk Plaintiff’s case

Didn’t prove that Defendant failed to act in good faith.

Long-winded attorney.

Seeming lack of organization and planning on part of attorney.

Attorney’s smug little smile every time Defendant’s attorney was making a point during her closing argument.

Putting a lot of emphasis on things that were “unfair” or “wrong” that were actually determined by the contract that had been agreed-upon by the teachers’ union, such as the sub differential.

GG's Camera

I finally pulled GG's old camera (a Canon EOS 700) out of the box to see what was there. As some of you know, my Canon Rebel was stolen last summer, and I've been really missing having an SLR.

I pretty sure she never used it! The strap was still wrapped in plastic, and nothing on it looks worn at all. Similar cameras are selling for ~$20 on Ebay, so I feel perfectly safe in messing with it. I did see the instruction book (which I've also got) selling for $25. Strange. The instructions are worth more than the camera? Go figure.

This particular model was only available for about a year, back in 1990-91, and is the only Canon EOS with a power zoom.

I just invested $25 in getting a new battery, lens cap (I had "borrowed" the other for my previous camera), and some film. We'll see what quality of pictures it takes.

I can't see going to Peru and Ecuador (including Machu Picchu, Nazca Lines, and the Galapagos Islands!!) next year without a REALLY GOOD camera.

I'm also going to save my pennies up for a digital SLR.

The Ventriloquist

A young man was performing a ventriloquist show in a small town in Minnesota. With his dummy on his knee, he starts going through his usual dumb blonde jokes when a blonde woman in the front row stands on her chair and starts shouting: "I've heard enough of your stupid blonde jokes, What makes you think you can stereotype women that way? What does the color of a person's hair have to do with their intelligence and worth as a human being? It's guys like you who keep women like me from being respected at work and in the community and from reaching our full potential as a person - you and your kind continue to perpetuate discrimination against not only blondes, but women in general!"

The embarrassed ventriloquist begins to apologize, and the blonde yells, "You stay out of this, mister! I'm talking to that little &*@% on your knee!"

Halloween Plans

The kohl and eyeliner Jeannette mentioned in her blog reminded me of my planned Halloween costume.

I'm going to get a tan shirt, add the letter "p" on the front (sort of Laverne-ish, I hope), put on loads of black mascara, eyeliner, and shadow, and go as a black-eyed pea!

It's cool - all the punk black makeup can be found really cheaply. I got Jane brand from the drugstore - everything only $1 or $2 each. I looked at false eyelashes, but those get awfully heavy as the day goes on.

The trouble with auto-pay

I forgot that I auto-pay my phone bill, so was reviewing it this morning to see how much it was going to be ... and discovered I've got voicemail service. Never ordered it; don't want it!

I just called to have it taken off. Looks like once they credit me with nearly a year of billings (at $14.95 per month), I won't owe anything at all for a couple of months. The name of the person who signed up for it was completely unfamiliar to me - we're guessing she transposed a couple of digits her own phone number, which happened to then match mine.

A quote I like

I always wondered why somebody didn't do something about that, then I realized I was somebody.

-- Lily Tomlin

Political Meanderings ...

While we were standing in line to disembark the ferry from Martha's Vineyard, there was a gal expounding at the top of her voice as to what a horrible, evil person Sarah Palin is: "She Doesn't Believe in Evolution! This is the 21st Century!" Good thing she was in Massachusetts. Imagine how that would play in the Bible Belt! I expect there were liberals who were shifting from foot to foot with discomfort due to her wild-eyed maniacal manner.

Speaking of powerful political pundits, apparently Lindsay Lohan via her MySpace blog has blasted Sarah Palin for being a "narrow minded, media obsessed homophobe." Coming from a narrow minded, media obsessed lesbian, those words carry great weight.

Signs of the times

There are certainly places I can really see where the state of the economy is affecting folks. I've not taken a huge hit, personally. I’m only supporting a couple of people, and I make a pretty decent wage, so I haven't had to make any truly dramatic changes in my lifestyle.

But ... when I go out for coffee or to lunch or dinner, I see far fewer people doing the same than this time last year. I know that's an easy way to save money when times get tight. It definitely is less expensive to fix food at home!

Another place I notice the difference is when I go to my favorite nail salon (Village Nails). I'm a "walk-in" person, and the only time I’ll make an appointment is if I'm trying to get squeezed in right after work. Used to be, the place was nearly full, there were three or four technicians working, and I always had to wait. The last several times I've been in, there might be one other customer the entire time I'm there, and often the owner is the only person working.

Today, there was a gentleman getting a pedicure when I got there, but the rest of the time – however long a pedicure and getting some facial waxing takes – I was the only customer there. At least an hour, maybe longer.

Movin' Day!

I helped Cat move yesterday. It's amazing how much one person can accumulate in one bedroom in one year! She moved from a second floor apartment to the second floor of a townhouse. Lizzie had helped her move the big stuff on Friday, so we were just getting boxes and bits and ends. Two car loads full.

Her new bedroom is considerably smaller than the previous one. 8' x 9'. My sisters have walk-in closets larger than her room! We got her a loft bed last year when she moved, because that room was smaller than hers was at home. Thank goodness for IKEA! This time, we got her a wardrobe, so she'll have some storage space. The closet (such as it is) attached to the room is also really tiny.

Too bad we didn't video ourselves putting it together - I'm sure THAT would have made an excellent addition to youtube, since we both speak blonde quite fluently (being natives, and all): "Could you give me two of those little black plastic thingies?" "Okay, now I need six of the little wooden peggie thingies..."

It was fun hanging out with her, but it was a long, long, long day. We started about 11am, and I threw in the towel, er, I mean, handed off my tools, when Zack showed up at around 20 minutes past Midnight.

I think all that was left to do was finish tacking down the backing, install the doors (hinges and knobs, oh my!), and put in all the inside shelving and stuff. Oh yeah, and carry all the boxes we left in the living room upstairs and put everything in them away.

Coco View - August 9-16

Moon over ... cabana


Post check-out dive parade



Hawksbill Cay from the bar



The lovely and talented Miss Chiquita



Seas are finally calm. Must be Friday!






This dance had quite a story, which started with these two young ladies doing laundry.








I flew "second seat" on the seaplane

All my bags are packed...

Not!

However, those who know me will be surprised that I've already packed most of my stuff for our August trip. The big challenge will be fitting everything into one checked bag. Continental now charges for the second checked bag, and we plan to avoid that. My really big bag is just within the size limits, but it weighs nearly 30 pounds already and is only a little more than half full. My goal is to have it weigh around 40 pounds, so there's 10 pounds leeway for souvenirs and such. And dirty clothes do weigh more than clean!

I've got to measure my little rolling bags to see if any of them fit within the dimensions for a carry-on, so I can bring one instead of my usual backpack.

P.S. Big anniversary today: On July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin became the first men to walk on the moon.

Life Stinks

Terrific Mel Brooks movie! I'd never even heard of it, but stumbled on it in cable's "free movies" section. We split it over two evenings, because we're lightweights when it comes to staying up late.

Change of season

Cat & I visited Alex & Jem last weekend. It's a totally different season there! Lovely, lovely cool weather was a pleasant change from our mid 90s. And whoever did that survey on most expensive gasoline missed a town - we paid $4.79 for regular! Ouch!

Being out of town was a good thing. Got back Sunday evening and heard there'd been a shooting IN OUR PARKING SPACE Saturday night. Nice.