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Read it and be thankful

Earlier this week, the Wall Street Journal had an article about people who have been laid off for months and are coping, readjusting... and blogging about it. These people all have MBAs and you can tell by some of their stories that they are used to big bucks.

Reading it made me so thankful that my job is secure and that I don't even think about getting laid off.

One of the MBA's ended up taking a job which paid 20% of his old salary! Ok... if you're used to making an ample 6 figure salary, then I guess 20% is still well above poverty. But, it must be rough out there for job hunters, especially those who were at the top.

Many have moved, have become the primary at-home parent, have gotten into volunteering, have taken pay cuts and have re-thought their career goals. None of them is just sitting around! Hopefully, they'll all come through this stronger!

But, one thing's for sure: I've been a little more pumped to be at work this week!

Here's a link to the blog: http://blogs.wsj.com/laidoff/2009/07/30/making-a-career-switch-during-a-down-economy/

A positive spin

I really like Carolyn Hax's advice: she knows how to cut to the chase when necessary and pump people up when that's the ticket. Her advice today was to a lady who is feeling a little depressed that her friends seem so successful and they're all married and expecting babies, and their lives just seem perfect to this down and out friend whose career is struggling too. Well, Carolyn counters to the LW (letter writer) that maybe some of her "perfect friends" are struggling too or maybe some of them are wondering themselves if there is more to life than what they've got. The point is: things aren't always as they seem. Here's the link to the column: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/26/AR2009072602579.html

This is uplifting to me, not in a nay-nay-na-nay sort of way, but just in the thought that everyone in this world is struggling with something, no matter how rosy their life seems to be, and that we should be attuned to that and ready to help when the time comes. I'm not negative or pessimestic here, just open to the hurt and pain that others may be facing, and hoping that I can be a source of hope or comfort.

Only in America

There's a funny article this month in Readers' Digest entitled "Bubble Babies".

The article talks about all the inventions that are out there to protect babies and to keep them comfy. Here are just a few the author mentions:

1) knee pads for crawling
2) a seatbelt for the little red wagon
3) a helmet for when baby learns to walk
4) a little plastic turtle that you put in the bathtub with a "hot" indicator
5) a wipe warmer so that baby never gets a chill "down there"

Wow! We sure were deprived, weren't we? How did we ever survive?

The author has a tongue-in-cheek writing style. You should read the article: It's on page 146.

It reminded me (in an opposite sort of way) of a story my friend who adopted a child from Russia recounted: in the Russian orphanage where they got their child, if baby drops the bottle on the floor during feeding time, that's it! The bottle stays there.

Anyway, can't there a happy medium out there these days for raising children?

Another good book

I just finished reading another good book by Wendell Berry: The Memory of Old Jack. Berry has written a whole slew of books about the inhabitants of Port William KY and the impact that living in a closely-knit community where most everyone depends on each other; everyone knows each other's "good, bad and ugly", and they still support each other. Most of the community are farmers, and no one is perfect, but everyone is endearingly human. The community reminds me a bit of William Faulkner's Yoknapatawpha County, but Berry's characters are way less dysfunctional and a whole lot more believable.

In this book, Old Jack is about at the end of his life and spends a lot of his time recollecting past events. The book shifts poetically between the present and the past. For example, seeing his nephew Mat reminds him Old Jack of a scene several decades earlier when Mat was a youngster and Old Jack himself was still relying on the wisdom of Mat's father.

Jack's life was far from perfect, and he was the source of many his own hardships, but he's just so darn likeable! And, he accepted his hardships like a man. Oh, and the ending is, well, let's just say it's emotional.

I read Hannah Coulter, another book by Berry last month, and I believe my next book of his will be Jayber Crow.

What's up with that?

My doctor prescribed Detrol LA last month, on a trial basis, so the prescription was only for 30 days, as opposed to the usual 90-day supply that you can get if you take the medicine on a long-term basis. I got it filled last week and about had a cow when the charge was $107! (That's over 3 dollars a day.) After doing a little research on the web, I discovered that this drug would cost $94 for a 90-day supply if ordered through my insurance plan's designated mail-order supplier. Very confused, I printed out this fact and returned to the drug store. The pharmacist was a little confused too. He did a little research himself and discovered that their store would also charge $94 for a 90-day supply.

Thankfully, the pharmacist was able to process my prescription for 90 days, so I got the cheaper price. However, how can 90-days worth of medicine cost 3 times less than 30-days worth of the same medicine? This is baffling and just one more incentive for me to stay healthy and thereby stay out of the way of our crazy and unpredictable health-care system!

Up!

Up is a very emotional movie. I saw it today and teared up during the beginning montage, at the end and a few times in between! There are these sentimental scenes along with some sad, funny, suspenseful, and simply beautiful ones. The animation is exquisite and the music lyrical.

I thought it was going to be a more light-hearted "up" movie than it was. It took the whole movie to give me that uplifting feeling... but it was a powerful feeling when it did come! The main character, Carl, travels to South America to fulfill a lifelong dream that he and his wife had. He accidentally takes an over-eager Wilderness Scout who is trying to earn his final assist-the-elderly badge before becoming a Senior Wilderness Scout. This little boy is a cutie-pie, which Carl literally drags along at some points in the film. They meet a very interesting chocolate-loving bird down there and lots of dogs. Carl also runs into his childhood hero who has turned old, disillusioned and is now a villain. 

It takes the adventurous and sometimes perilous trip for Carl to realize that his life before going to South America was already a pretty good adventure in and of itself. The cute little Wilderness Scout sums up my main take-away when he muses to Carl, "Sometimes, it's the boring stuff I remember the most."

(If you haven't seen the movie... the few details that I describe above is just the tip of the iceberg of this movie! There is so much more to it.)

BY the way, I think Up is more for adults than children.

An AAA bonus

I have been so impressed with the AAA travel agency. They have helped me get a handle on our trip to Montana and have passed along some good deals. The literature and maps that they hand out are free, and the agency has good hours, but the best thing about them is the nice travel agents. I've been to our local agency twice in the last month: the first time Ebony helped me scope out our trip, and yesterday Mary helped with the rental car and our first few nights of hotels. Both exceeded expectations!

If you're going on a trip to a place that you don't know a lot about... you should try the AAA travel agency! Their advice alone has paid for our annual card at least a couple of times over.