INTERIOR MOTIFS

The world in which I work is populated by cynics and I'm certainly included among them. News people tend to be skeptical at best, and radio people in all forms are usually not members of Optimist clubs.

I came into work the other day and noticed my top local boss had started having motivational signs put up around the building. They all have a similar message along the lines of "Do your best...smile...make someone's day...etc." We also found bowls of communal goldfish snacks in the break room. We were later informed the goldfish treats were to remind employees to have fun, not to help spread disease by everyone reaching in with their unwashed hands.

I have to admit it did make me laugh, primarily when the fun memo was followed by another saying "Please don't steal the goldfish bowls when they're empty."

*

Do these tactics really work? I mean are there companies where disgruntled workers trudge into the office carrying the burdens of the world on their shoulders, feeling underpaid, overworked, and under appreciated, and then they see a poster reading, "Do your best, because good is no longer good enough!" and instantly they are transformed?


This particular boss -I have a lot of bosses- is a wonderful guy, but he really has no clue as to what I do, or what most of the people on the programming side of radio do. Not too long ago I was in his office when the press liaison from the local FBI office came by. This boss introduced me to the agent with a job title that isn't mine, and he mispronounced my last name - yes, that is tough to do. As it happens, I have spoken with this particular FBI agent on numerous occasions, but we had never met in person. He smiled politely as I handed him my business card to reassure him that he hadn't been calling me by the wrong name all these years.

If bosses truly want motivated employees there are better methods than platitudes and goldfish.

Knowing who your workers are and what they do is a good first step.

It's amazing how much respect you can earn, when you give it too.



*posters from Despair.com

WHAT'S MY LINE?

Since Amy was released from the hospital in late January she's been for the most part relegated to the couch, which we've dubbed "Camp Amy".

Monday Amy will be readmitted to the hospital to have her central line removed. That's the line she uses to give herself various medicines as well as what she hooks up to the ever popular feedbag. Her body has been fighting this line, which has been in for a number of months, and so a new one will be put in on Thursday. That means she'll be spending all of next week in the hospital.

This is all a minor procedure and is really designed to get the infection under control so hopefully we won't have to be dealing with that when we go on our vacation this summer. She could probably have the line removed at home, but since we've already maxed out the deductible on our health insurance it's not going to cost us anything more to have her hospitalized. There's no sense taking chances.

On Monday we break camp.

PASSING THE HUG ALONG

I work in radio news, but in reality I miss a lot of news stories because they are of a visual nature. I saw this story and picture on the Dappled Things blog.



I didn't want anyone else to miss it.

AND THE COW SAID, "BUH BYE."

We can't afford to go on vacation this year. That's the honest truth.

Each year we go to Ohio for almost two weeks to spend time with family. We cram ourselves for a week into a house on Lake Erie...kids, in-laws, nieces, nephews, et al. It's cramped and the love is unconditional.

We have a family website with a counter on it that literally counts down the minutes until we all meet again. It is the highlight of our year and has been every year since Amy and I got married.

This year, it's not in our budget.

It reminds me of the story I heard once of a small impoverished farming family. Every year they struggled to survive. Every year they made sacrifices simply to have enough to eat. They had virtually nothing besides the farm, the family cow, and each other.

It's not like there were a lot of things to spend money on anyway. The biggest thing that ever happened was the State Fair, and no one in the family had never been...they couldn't afford it...it wouldn't be sensible.

Today, Amy booked our flights and we will fly to Ohio in July for nearly 2 weeks. We have plenty excuses not to, but none are good enough.

We have airline vouchers that are going to cover most of our costs to actually get there and back. We have our tax refund and still have hopes of selling Amy's van. Most of all we have faith that the rest will work itself out.

Admittedly, some creditors are going to have to be put on hold a little longer. It won't kill them to learn a little patience. God constantly drives home that lesson for me, I think I have almost a biblical obligation to share it.

Certainly the sensible and frugal thing to do would be for us to use the small stash of money we have tucked away to prepare for more rainy days which are inevitably ahead, but sensible and frugal only go so far.

Sometimes you have to sell the family cow. Sometimes you have to go to the Fair.



See you at Lakeside!

I'M NOT A SWAMI BUT....


Okay, so my prediction for the score of the Lakers-Spurs game wasn't dead on. I said 87 to 81...it was 95 to 85. I said Hedo Turkoglu would have to step up. He ended up only making two shots, but one of them was possibly the most important shot of the game.

I said I'd be groggy this morning...that prediction was dead on.

The Spurs won...that's what really matters.

Bring on game three!

SPURS VS LAKERS- PART DEUX

Tipoff is about 90 minutes away. I will be groggy in the morning (what else is new?) but I plan to watch as much of the game as possible tonight.

My bet is that the referees will be a determining factor tonight. There's a little professional wrestling in the NBA and considering the huge ratings for game one of this series, the little bit of conspiracy theorist in me wouldn't be surprised if the NBA encouraged calls that might lead to a seven game series.

Keys to the game: Hedo has to remember he's a basketball player. Kobe has to keep forgetting he has other players on his team. Gary Payton must keep pretending he can keep up with Tony Parker.

Prediction: Spurs 87 Lakers 81


Of course remember, if I were psychic I'd be in Vegas.

I ALMOST MISSED IT

It's an anniversary and we almost forgot to celebrate.

It struck me the other night how something was absent from our lives these days. Besides money and sanity - Amy and I have arguably been lacking those for our entire married life.

It's something that until the other night I hadn't even realized was happening.

Here it is late spring and Amy and I have haven't been to one school concert, graduation related event, awards ceremony, or banquet. We haven't had to deal with a sudden crisis involving prom dates or a prom dress. No one in the house has been flipping through magazines looking for ways to glue their hair into some unnatural arrangement for a night. We've actually been able to watch the end of season television shows we wanted to see on the nights they aired, instead of taping them.

The Spurs are making their playoff run and I haven't had one night where I've pretended to be paying attention to someone giving a speech while wishing I was watching the game.

Uncomfortable chairs, looking at my watch while listening to someone stutter thru a poorly written speech, and using a plastic "spork" to try to dissect information about the true nature of the food in front of me despite being told repeatedly that even though it's unrecognizable it truly is chicken...we're missing out on all these things for the first time in 11 or 12 years.

There's got to be a bottle of champagne somewhere in the house...