Here we are again, on December 1st. There's shopping to do, Fawn's birthday is this month, Christmas is almost here. It is looking like busy should be the word for Decmber.
Well, I have to say what a year it's been! I had a terrific trip to England and Wales with my good friend Rhonda in March/April, then went to Oahu in June with my son and husband, and then on a cruise to Alaska in August for a week with just my husband. In the midst of all of that I was laid off from my job at the end of May. Having the time off has been huge for me. I completed numerous landscape projects, helped clear out some trees and used the wood chipper to make a great mulch for my gardens, and organized most of the interior of my house. The most signigicant benefit has been not having to stress or worry about going back to work. That alone has resulted in a more rested, relaxed, and contented me. I made homemade jam, started sewing, and started baking and cooking things that I have not attempted in the past. I spent time working out, shopping, making trips to the library, and going out to lunch with friends. I was basically doing all of the things that I normally would only have had time to do on the weekends and even then would have felt rushed. So, while the unemployment dollars are not what I was used to making, the fact is it helps and we're doing ok enough for hubby to tell me that he really doesn't want me to go back to work until after Christmas. And that is ok by me. I do still have to look every week, which I am doing, but since I'm not finding anything it does give me time to do other things. Which will bring me to my next post about how when you have the time, you can find yourself getting wrapped up in unproductive and nearly addictive computer programs. See you on the next post!
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Brrrrrrr - Fall is here
When Jim left for work this morning at 4:30 it was 31 degrees out and the ground was frosty. I dug up the last of my pepper plants and am working on completing my mulch project in the circle garden. It's already making a big difference. When this project is done I will no longer have to weed whack or mow in that area and won't have to worry about those nasty weeds. Maybe it will help with the slugs as well.
I will post pictures of the progress tomorrow.
I will post pictures of the progress tomorrow.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Amazing connections
I was thinking the other day, about how many years it's been since I started in the electronics industry and how many people I have met and known. Sometimes it is just mind boggling. It was 1979, I was not yet 19 and here I am at almost 50 years old. Yikes! Where did the time go? My first gig was at Almac/Stroum in Georgetown. That one didn't last even a year but I still remember almost everyone's names and faces. Of course through out the last 30 years there have been people I wish I didn't remember or even have met for that matter but hey, life doesn't give you mulligans so oh well. Conversely though, there are people that I really wish I would have kept in touch with over the years. Some of them I really miss. Now that I'm so much older, most definitely wiser, and have my priorities in this world pretty straight; friendships, relationships and associations are so much more important to me.
When I was at Almac there were probably at least 50 people there that I remember and sadly I am not in contact with any of them. The next place was Spectro Acoustics and there are a few from there that I keep in touch with. The next was SGC where I was the purchasing agent and I soon met tons of distributor sales people. The next stop was Arrow Electronics where I spent the next 4 years. One of those years was spent in southern California and another was at the corporate office all the way over on Long Island. At Arrow I met people from all over the country since I was supporting the branches and distribution hubs as a corporate product manager. I had the opportunity to do some traveling then as well. However, New York was not my home so child in tow, I came home with no job lined up and no prospects. It took awhile to find something when I got back home but along came Western MicroTechnology, then ES/Chase, followed by IEC, then Shannon, and most recently OutBack Power.
I think I could say that the number of people that I crossed paths with is well over the 1000 mark and is probably more than that. Like I said, it is mind boggling at times. When I first started, alot of the people I knew were at least 10 to 15 years older than I was. Some of the people I knew early on have passed away, retired, or sucessfully left the electronics industry to pursue other interests. Others are still plugging away at their respective distributor, OEM, or rep jobs. I've worked in all aspects of electronics; distribution, manufacturing, rep company, contract manufacturer and I would say that my favorite environment has been in manufacturing.
I would go back to any of those environments however, at this point because I want to work. I will also work outside of the industry, for the government, or pretty much anywhere for that matter. The thing about it is that I like diversity, I like meeting new people, I like learning about new things. Hey, on this last go around I learned a ton about renewable and alternative energy and since I had never been a facilities manager before, I gained an enormous amount of knowledge and skills doing that. Learning new things and having new experiences is what keeps you growing as a person.
Well, that's probably enough for tonight. Tomorrow I'm making homemade blackberry jam and blackberry pancake syrup. Yep, it's good stuff.
See you on the next post!
When I was at Almac there were probably at least 50 people there that I remember and sadly I am not in contact with any of them. The next place was Spectro Acoustics and there are a few from there that I keep in touch with. The next was SGC where I was the purchasing agent and I soon met tons of distributor sales people. The next stop was Arrow Electronics where I spent the next 4 years. One of those years was spent in southern California and another was at the corporate office all the way over on Long Island. At Arrow I met people from all over the country since I was supporting the branches and distribution hubs as a corporate product manager. I had the opportunity to do some traveling then as well. However, New York was not my home so child in tow, I came home with no job lined up and no prospects. It took awhile to find something when I got back home but along came Western MicroTechnology, then ES/Chase, followed by IEC, then Shannon, and most recently OutBack Power.
I think I could say that the number of people that I crossed paths with is well over the 1000 mark and is probably more than that. Like I said, it is mind boggling at times. When I first started, alot of the people I knew were at least 10 to 15 years older than I was. Some of the people I knew early on have passed away, retired, or sucessfully left the electronics industry to pursue other interests. Others are still plugging away at their respective distributor, OEM, or rep jobs. I've worked in all aspects of electronics; distribution, manufacturing, rep company, contract manufacturer and I would say that my favorite environment has been in manufacturing.
I would go back to any of those environments however, at this point because I want to work. I will also work outside of the industry, for the government, or pretty much anywhere for that matter. The thing about it is that I like diversity, I like meeting new people, I like learning about new things. Hey, on this last go around I learned a ton about renewable and alternative energy and since I had never been a facilities manager before, I gained an enormous amount of knowledge and skills doing that. Learning new things and having new experiences is what keeps you growing as a person.
Well, that's probably enough for tonight. Tomorrow I'm making homemade blackberry jam and blackberry pancake syrup. Yep, it's good stuff.
See you on the next post!
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