I wil blog more about this in another month or so when I get to Chicago and have internet connection, but here it is in a nutshell:

I was called into HR at 2 p.m. today to be told that it is my last day, not April 23. Their reason: I'm leaving eventually, and the company is going through major financial distress (they froze positions and pay raises about 2 weeks ago), and they have no plans to rehire for my position.

So, this is my last post until my access to the internet.

Since I won't have internet access, I still have my phone and would love to hear from y'all. 806-252-4654

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Jeremy:

Damn, I'm sorry. So you got screwed over by Morris, too, when you left? I got f**ked over when I left too, because initially I thought I had 17 days of vacation/PTO to burn, then come back one day and do the exit interviews. WRONG! Those days "are there based on a promise that you'll work the entire year, so you accrue only a few days." I got shafted out of pay I needed, considering I only got paid for a 1/2 month at the end of January at KSU. (You get paid an annualized salary with the university system, payable once a month on the last working day of the month--so you have to be VERY good with budgeting and not spending a bunch of money all in one fell swoop.)

They're not rehiring my position either at The Chronicle--it was posted internally, very briefly, then it disappeared, according to those still enslaved at Billy's farm.

No I ain't gonna work on Billy's farm no more....

Me: I stick to the general rule of never speaking ill of the employer, but damn, Morris is ________(fill in the blanks). I tell you what, I'm glad those of us who got to get out did. Can you imagine toiling for the corporation till you're ready for retirement?

Christina: Jeez, Ling, I am so sorry this happened. As you told me the other day on the phone before we got rudely cut off (I was driving into a rural part of the County that is lucky to have electricity, much less cell phone access!) Proof positive that newspaper companies truly SUCK! In the long run you are better off rid of them!

Snowstorm in Lubbock

I'll preface the pics by giving some context, though. Southwest Texas was slammed by some cold spell over the weekend. While in house arrest, I took some pictures. The link is here:

http://spotted.lubbockonline.com/pages/gallery.php?gallery=317377

Forget the 3-second rule

And always wear shoes outside. While we are at it, gloves, too.

First of all, thanks to Christina for the advice pertaining to the critter blog. (Frankly, do you guys check back to see if your comments are answered? I do! Yeah, I need validation and a life.) My shoes will be thoroughly shaken to rid them of any pestilence.

Speaking of which, another set of critters were delivered to us, courtesy of our fearler predator Bubba.

I awoke this morning to find that our small patio table was shifted away from the wall. Since I told myself umpteenth times not to sweat the small stuff anymore, I let it be.

Now, my morning ritual involves lugging an array of supplies to bring to work, like my copies of the local paper and the WSJ, bills, sometimes, the travel coffee mug, my jacket etc. (and you fellas thought we stop at handbags), I flung today's offerings, the papers, on our bigger patio table.

The slam it made on the metal table would hardly serve as a wakeup call to one's neighbors but M jumped, and told me to essentially cool it, and take a chill pill. I'm paraphrasing, of course. But few things cause my husband to be jumpy and I asked what the big deal was. He asked if I didn't hear a sound, a squeak essentially. And I calmly said: Oh, is that what that sound was. What is it?

Now, most of you are pretty wise by now where the story is going. But trust me, if you were me this morning and you're not a morning person, you can be oblivious to a lot of things.

He said Bubba caught a field mouse. And he, M, rescued it, which explains why the small patio table is pulled away from the door cuz our clawed cat was flicking it about. I've seen him done that before. That cat is so sadistic, I love it!

Now, why the hell would you want to do something like that, I asked him. Just kill the damn pest. Yah, and I'm born Buddhist. He said there's no reason for a mouse to be subjected to such torture and he used my decorative tealight candle holder to store it for the time being.

Urghhhhh, I feel so contaminated. I know it's no big, mean rats but they are all in the same family. I don't feel so good living in the country all of a sudden. And I'm real proud of my cat who is serving us well in return for his maintenance and lodging.

As we were getting ready to head out, M noticed a limp gray matter on the deck and we recognized it to be another field mouse. A dead one. My cat managed to get to it in time. Good for Bubbs, I say. Frankly, sometimes, I'm really glad my eyesight isn't that great to see all the details.

So, this finally brings me to my point that I will never ever abide by the 3-second rule again. If any food, utensils etc fall anywhere in and outside the house, it goes right to the sink.

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Melissa: LOL!!! After that story, I'll probably think twice about abiding by the 3-second rule too! ;-) Along the same lines, when I was still living at my parents house (so, if memory serves me correctly, this took place some time during high school), a mouse somehow became trapped beneath the floorboards in my bedroom. All night long, I would hear it clawing and chewing. *shiver* I tried to convince myself that it was a 'friendly' mouse by naming it Fievel (from "An American Tale"), but it didn't work! LOL!!! Every night, I had visions of this monster mouse chewing its way through the floorboards and carpet, and then running across my pillow!!! ... We don't know whatever happened to Fievel. One day, the noises just stopped. We don't think he met his demise down there, because we never smelled anything. He must have just finally decided to turn around and go back out the way he came in! *shrugs*

Christina: We thank God have never had a problem with mice in our house here in Columbia although a few others have. What we HAVE had in the neighborhood, however, which is worse...is...(scary horror movie music inserted here)....RATS. This is because we have a lot of manmade lakes in the area with drainage pipes and spillways and etc. and unfortunately these are areas which tend to attract....rats. They thankfully rarely come up into houses but just to see one running around in any proximity to your dwelling is unnerving. This is why I am also thankful the lakes provide us with plenty of snakes to keep the rat problem under control. We also have red-tailed hawks from the nearby Fort that fly over and practice rodent control so that is a help. As for ever seeing one even near my home, I'd probably have a coronary.
As for field mice, I could probably handle them okay. and I'd rescue them too. However, any rat who ever came near me would get a shovel to the head!

Where the Wild Things Are

Since being in my home in the country for a little over a month now, the creatures are coming out of the woodwork. I only wish I have photos taken, but they won't look sightly next to the toilet paper floating in the toilet bowl where I tossed them. Gotta flush those suckers away.

First sucker: scorpion
Yup, not your typical dark shelled stinger. The 2 I've found so far are translucent white. They still have that curled tail.
The first time I found one, it was on my bathroom sink.
The second time I found one, it was on my bathroom floor.
They were both discovered in my groggy, almost-blind morning state. I could've stepped on it.

Second sucker: centipede
Before I had a chance to research on these babies, I picked it up and sent it to the porcelain bowl. Now, I found out that house centipedes are good controls for spiders and other small insects. Still, how am I to know if this centipede was a house or outside one. Apparently, outside centipedes cannot be controlled. Since I live out in the country, and surrounded by desert fauna, I better be safe than sorry.

Now, I add another routine to bedtime, flipping the covers, checking all surfaces. And to meal time, washing all cookware to make sure there ae no evidence of creepy crawlies.

This is the country lifestyle I've to compromise for being surrounded by beauty. Small price, I guess, until I'm stung or bitten by one of these creatures.
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Patrick: Oh wow, and to think I got worked up over mere camel crickets and cockroaches. I can handle big spiders too, but scorpions? Aw hell no!

Christina: Ling -- had no idea you were in scorpion country. Rule #1: CHECK YOUR SHOES. If you have closed toed shoes or slippers sitting around shake them out before you put them on in the morning. Scorpions love dark moist environments, especially shoes. This was the first lesson taught to me when I visited friends in Mesa, Arizona a few years ago. They were still freaked out by the scorpions having just moved there but I told them I'd trade scorpions in exchange for no humidity, no mosquitoes and no palmetto bugs anyday!

Good thing you're checking cookware because for some reason certain lizards like to curl up in teaputs, kettles and pots. Again, I wouldn't mind doing that in exchange for never having to see another three inch palmetto bug!

Melissa: Wow!!! Scorpions!!! And inside, no less! Ewww! *shivers* I didn't know there was such a thing as a tranluscent white one!

A Tale of Sweat and Tears

"Thank you for choosing Bank of America. It is our goal that you be highly satisfied."

Yeah, try again. But not with me. Cuz you aren't getting my business ever again.

It's cliche to say I never thought the day would come to close on the house in Lubbock, but it certainly felt that way for since the beginning of July.

I did my homework by calling on a few financial institutions for preapproval and eventually settled on the one with the lowest interest rates and up to $2000 in closing costs covered by them. That would be Bank of America.

When the ordeal begins I don't rightly recall. It's definitely in the first week of July. But I do remember the process very well.

First, the rookie refused to give me anything in writing, not even a Good Faith Estimate, to show that my rate has been locked. I had asked him for 2 earlier for other houses we were interested in. We got those. But the final one, he said he wouldn't give because the "confirmation number" we got would be null and void and we would have to go to the back of the line, and that would slow the process down. But he assured me he will relock it in a few days' time at the same rate.

Well, in a few days' time, he called me and said we got the same rate but we also were hit with discount points. That's the money (roughly $500) we have to pay in our closing for relocking at a later time. I told him that I shouldn't be hit with those points due to his relunctance to lock the rates when I told him to, and that I am really furious with him for misleading him. I took the issue to his boss, who later reimbursed me with a credit to my savings account.

Second problem: the loan is now carried to the corporate BOA lenders who are checking for every detail in my past credit history. One of them called me and asked if I own any property. I told her I still own a house in Augusta, Ga., which I am currently renting. She indicated that is going to slow the process down as it wasn't "disclosed." I told her it wasn't "disclosed" because I wasn't asked about it, and wouldn't it be the local loan officer to ask me for every document (which he didn't ask for a single one) before sending my file up to corporate? They tried to pin it on me that I was "hiding" information. She said I told Bill the rookie I'm renting. I said, of course, I'm renting. I'm renting right now in Lubbock. But that doesn't mean I don't own a house somewhere, too. Bill the village idiot didn't ask the right question. And I can't think of providing every detail of my life as there's too much of it. The loan officer needs to ask the right questions. That's what they are paid to do.

Third problem: Another call from corporate. And they said this is the last one and we can close in a day or two. They need proof of my savings. That I have enough money in my bank account for the last 3 months, my paycheck, and my W2s from the last 2 years. I printed my bank statements from the computer as the paper version has not arrived. And I marched into Bill's office to have him copy and fax them to corporate. I got a call later that day saying they cannot accept the most recent statement as it doesn't have my account number on it. I told them the last "statement" is not a real statement as the month is not over yet. But if they use common sense and see that my name on it matches that from the 2 before it, it should work, right? But, no, they won't accept it. I called my bank and had a manager there fax me their copy with my SSN, name, account number.

Fourth problem: They called me that night (around 7 p.m.), and told me that they ran into another problem. The W2 shows a different name from the place of employment. I tried to explain to them that Mr. Morris, the man who owns the Augusta Chronicle, does not own only newspapers, but ranches, pecan farms, horses, tourist publications, radio stations, magazines, and they fall under the umbrella name that's on the W2s. They can google it and find out. But that took about 15 minutes of explanation and they said they'll do it tomorrow morning.

Oh, you'd have gathered the closing is not happening by now. But they said that should be last problem and we can close by week's end.

Fifth problem: They called and said the whole company name thing checked out OK, but do we know we are buying a leased land property? Now, this property works differently from most houses y'all would come to own, if you haven't already. We are on a state park. The house you buy belongs to you once it's paid for, but the land is yours for only 50 years. We don't care what happens after 50 years, personally, cuz we don't plan to be in Lubbock forever. But the bank is fretting over that. I told them I'm aware of it and am surprised they are not, since I asked every lender (3 if you recall) if they will lend for this particular venture. They all said yes. Bill the rookie said yes. Apparently, Bill the rookie didn't inform them that. Now, corporate is freaking out cuz this is something new to them.

Sixth problem: They need an appraisal. I told them they can get it from the seller who already has them. No, they need a new appraisal since they found out it is a leased land. We said fine, let us know when the appraiser is showing up.

Seventh problem: "Ling, why aren't you employed for 6 months?"
"Err, because I had to move and I can't find a job that fast. And I wanted to take a break."
" Can you write a letter explaining that?"
"Sure."

Eighth problem: "Ling, we can close tomorrow. But you have to pay PMI because you were unemployed for 6 months." Basically, the bank doesn't think I have the money to pay my mortgage.
"But I'm working now, and I'm not making any less from before."
It didn't matter with them. And they said the PMI is no big deal and I can pay it off fast.
I told them, I am still paying my PMI and it is not easy to shake off. Besides, the most important thing is, I told Bill the village idiot, when I decided to go with BOA, that I want an 80-10-10 loan so I won't have PMI, and that I also didn't want discount points.
Now, they try to hit me with both, one of which I managed to get out of.
They still insisted my 6 months of unemployment put me in an unfavorable light (that in spite of my near-perfect 750 credit score, and stable employment now), hence they can't give me an 80-10-10 but a 90-10.
I told them I need to talk to my husband about it but we are very likely not going to go with them if they insist on the PMI and 90-10.

Now, this is 3 weeks of ordeal, and 2 days before this final straw, we met with a local lender recommended by the Realtor. He went through all my papers, drew up a Good Faith Estimate, and basically told us all he needed was a letter explaining my 6 months of unemployment, a new appraisal and we should be able to close in 2 days' time. Oh, he had no trouble with Mr. Morris vs. Shiver Trading Co. vs Morris Communications. He googled it on the spot, and said it's no biggie.

And we closed on Friday, the last day of our vacation, with this local lender. BOA has cost me a vacation out of town when we were trying to close the week before.

So, BOA, you have a bunch of people not knowing the process, not communicating with one another. You basically have lost my business for life.
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Melissa: Ohhhh, Ling!!! Bless your heart!!! If it makes you feel any better, I understand how you feel! I went through almost the exact same thing when I recently refinanced my house. What should have taken a few weeks took several months. It was an absolute mess. And just like with you, the mortgage company wouldn't accept an online bank statement b/c the printout didn't have my bank account number on it (even though my name and address were!); they asked for pay stubs but then dragged their feet so long that they made me resubmit pay stubs again - not once, not twice, but THREE times; the loan officer quoted me a wrong estimate *and* told me if I accepted the estimate that he would pay off my credit card, but in the end when he couldn't do so, he waited to reveal that piece of information *after* I'd signed the papers, so now I'm locked into a piggy-back mortgage with exorbitant payments as well as the credit card debt... And on and on and on. They even screwed up the closing paper work so that in the middle of closing, we had to stop, have the company fax in the correct paperwork and then it was a week after *that* before I was able to close. Then it was 2 weeks after that -- and took a call from my lawyer -- before they deposited the money they owed me from the "cash back" into my bank account. It was unreal. I honestly considered going to the Better Business Bureau over this company. Their name is Eastern Residential Mortgage, by the way! Everyone, steer clear of them!! ... Anyway!! I'm so sorry about your fiasco!!! There's a special place in hell for those people! Bah!

Christina: Oh mY GOD Ling. I am so sorry you had to go through this with BOA, but from what friends of mine have gone through with them plus what I have read about them on various financial and credit-related forums, I can see you too have been a victim of the BIG CORPORATE MONSTER that is BOA. STAY AWAY PEOPLE.

Let me warn everybody about something else that can happen even IF you go with a local bank. I got my mortgage for the condo I own in North Myrtle Beach through a Columbia-based bank. Great experience. THEN three months later they made the "business decision" to sell their condo mortgage accounts to a huge corporate conglomerate, GMC Mortgage. This made me very unhappy but I didn't bother to complain. This is something smaller banks often do. And I have nothing really bad to say about GMAC except God help any of you if you deal with them and God forbid a check in the mail goes one day astray because of a holiday. GMAC's collections folks could summon the dead. They ought to call them to find Jimmy Hoffa.

But really, yes, Ling, it was the best thing to go with a local lender. Trust me I am only dealing with local banks and credit unions for the rest of my life. And I"M SORRY you had to go through this!!!!

Things nobody ever told you about house-buying Part 1

If you're ever going to buy a house, you'll find there are plenty of sites out there soliciting your money (Lendingtree brokers, etc) but very few that offer real-life advice. Here are a few of my humble tips if you are so inclined to pay heed to:

1. Do not bank with the big dogs
Especially Bank of America. It has consolidated so many banks that now it cannot even keep track of what it's doing. Saving that $2000 in closing costs is not worth the angst and ill preparation they put you through. Suck up the closing costs and negotiate on them if at all possible.

2. Do not have a rookie loan officer service you
In Texas, instead of having an attorney to handle the closing, we have what they call a Title Company. The title officer told us he asked the rookie for a most fundamental request and the rookie had no idea what he's talking about.

3. Save. Save. Save.
At least up to 20% of the house you're going to buy. For instance, if you think you can afford up to a $140,000 house, you need at least $28,000 for a 30-year conventional loan. If you cannot afford 20%, then go with an 80-10-10 loan. That means you pay 10% in closing cost of THE HOUSE (not all the closing costs that include fees, tax, insurance etc), and you are left with 2 loans at 80% and 10%. The 80% loan is lower in interest for 30 years, and the 10% loan is higher in interest for 15 years. You will now have 2 mortgages - 80% and 10%. But this will save you money in terms of not paying PMI.

4. PMI
It's the obscene interest you pay the bank for lending you money since you don't have 20% of the house price towards closing costs. The bank will try to tell you it is easy to get out of but it is NOT. Especially after they sell your loan to a different company, they do not have to deal with you anymore. That different company will require you to jump through lots of hoops to clear that PMI

5. Discount Points
What a misnomer. It's no discount. It's a fee the bank charges you to relock a rate. Be sure when you apply for a pre-approval that you specify you don't want discount points and PMI.

These are the lessons we've learned so far in our home acquisitions. I'm sure there'll be more growing pains to come. If you have any advice for me, I'm all ears.

Home on the ... canyon

Hi all, we have moved AGAIN! This time, we bought a house. What an ordeal and one that's still ongoing.

DO NOT BANK WITH BANK OF AMERICA. Too much bureaucracy, and if you're unlucky like us, you'll get a freakin' rookie handling your business. AAARRRGGGHHH.

Here's our new address should you plan to send a housewarming gift or even a Christmas card. I'm joking. No gifts, please. We are getting rid of shit we don't need.

223 Chuckwagon Rd, Lubbock, TX 79404.

Oh, here's the pics, and video to come once this craziness is over. Pray for us.

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John Sinclair: Holy crap, that looks beautiful. How many bedrooms? You taking visitors?
But Ling ... WHAT ABOUT THE MOSQUITOS???

Me: Not too many mosquitoes cuz the breeze is almost omnipresent. We have enough sleeping areas. Besides, there's always the camp ground! yup, you're welcome to pitch a tent!
Be sure to come soon b4 we leave Texas in the dust in a few years.

Christina: That looks gorgeous, Ling! Congratulations!
and I couldn't agree more on Bank of America.

House News 2

Remember the good news of the house we got? Well, we cancelled the contract. We are taking a risk by buying a house on the canyon, with a great view of the lake. It's one of the few water sights you'll get in this arid place.

Yah, it's messed up. Thing is, we could sign a contract and get the paperwork going right now. But I got locked into this other contract with that first realtor that's called a Buyer's Agent Agreement. NEVER EVER SIGN IT if you can help it.

When I first signed it, we thought that the first house is it. We were told this lake/canyon house is already sold. However, a runaway bride cancelled the contract and it's back up in the market.

Since I'm bound in this present Buyer's Agent Contract, which expires on June 30, the realtor of the canyon/lake house refused to go into any paperwork with me. (Note, she says it's HER listing. In other words, she doesn't wait to share her 6% commission. Greedy bastard. BTW, she lives in that area and thinks she is the grand po-bah of the listings there. Ego.)

Anyway, we decided to take our chances by taking her word that she will wait for us. Come July 1, which also is my b-day, we can get a contract going with her (that is IF SHE KEEPS HER WORD). Otherwise, it'll be a horrible b-day.

But is all lost? Not really, there are other houses shown by realtor 1 that appeal to us as well. So, we'll have a place to move into. But with time not being on our side, we may have to move stuff into storage, stay in an extended stay for a week, and move.

Housebuying is one difficult lesson of life.

Are you pregnant?

This is a question, women or men, should NEVER EVER ask a gal.

And it is this exact question I was stumped with at work in an e-mail today.

The question came from a colleague who's about 50 something years old, old enough to know better, and being a woman at that.

I know I'm not the hottest shite around. I know I've packed on a few pounds since my Myrtle Beach, Wichita, and Augusta days.

The point is such a question serves no purpose except to get around the real question -- are you packing on pounds?

For the uninitiated, even if you genuinely suspect a person is pregnant, don't ask her. Wait for her to share the good news. Preggies love to gush about it.

I know you men must be rolling your eyes now and saying I'm making a big deal. That hardly matters. What matters is I'm more confused than hurt that she, having had so much more life experiences than me, should know better.

Another side item, I received several compliments today about my green dress and jacket at work. And her comment was "You have a flower up your butt." What gives!?!?!?!

Oh, one more thing about this lady. She introduced me to an intern the other day. And she could have left it at my name, dept, and what I do. Instead, she decided to add that "Ling is also sleeping with the online director."

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Patrick: Wow, talk about someone to steer clear of! Even I know you don't ask someone that kind of question, for the exact reason that there's always a chance that she's not. I mean, that should be as embarrassing for the person asking the question as the person being asked.

As for the other questions, maybe she's just one of those people who when they get to a certain age, they decide that conventional manners don't apply to them anymore?

Me: That's what Mark thought - that she fancies herself old enough to not adhere to social mores. But he wasn't as sympathetic as you. Thanks, Pat.

Melissa: Wow. Nice or not, there's such a thing as "tact", and this woman definitely doesn't have it. I'm so sorry! But you know what? It also sounds to me like she's jealous of you!!! From her actions, she seems very insecure and possibly a tad bit threatened by you. But that's *her* problem! Acting so childishly certainly isn't going to endear her to anyone! Baaahhhh! LOL! Ya know, let her play this out. I've noticed that most people don't enjoy being around women like this. So eventually, she's only going to ostracize herself and end up miserable if she keeps doing this! Hopefully she'll change her tune when she notices that people aren't responding to her!! ... Of course, at the same time, I'm not saying to sit back and not stick up for yourself either! Next time she introduces you as the person who's "sleeping with the online director," just grin and say, "Why yes ma'am, I am! I'm a very lucky girl! ... And I'm not sharing." ;-)

Me: You know, other girls said the same thing as you -- that she's jealous? Of what? My youth? I do a different job from her. I have to play nice cuz we still have to work together, and she still has to return a pair of pants I had her alter. grrrrr

Christina: Wow...this heifer has just been inducted into my All Time Hall of Fame of Rude Idiots in the Office. My God. The pregnant question was bad enough. Yep, that's hugely tactless. But the other stuff? Either she's jealous or so insecure that she's trying desperately to mask her insecurity with inappropriate humor! My advice? Engage only in office-required civilities with her, and if needed, use the clever remark ala what Melissa suggested to make her shut up.
Truly, however,I thought I'd met some of the all time no-tact heifers at The State. But this one beats 'em!

Jeremy: O M G. I think she was born without a filter. Either that, or she's off her meds.

In the nick of time

We made an offer on a house and was accepted.

Surprisingly, we manged to find a house, with the help of an agent, over the weekend. We made the offer this Monday afternoon, and was accepted after the expected counteroffer.

And all in good time, too:

Our current landlord will be returning to our rental on July 22.

My in-laws (mom and 3 kids in tow) are coming to the Southwest for 2 weeks beginning July 14.

I'm going to training next week in Augusta.

And we are closing on July 13!!!!!

How close did we cut it?!?

There is a God. And the house is nice, too. It's in the neighborhood I want to be in - near a good supermarket, a park with tennis courts, pond, children's playground. And it has TREES!!!!!

Also, we believe property will be desired in the near future as there are lots of development coming up near it.

Oh, the floorplan is lovely, as well.

The process is a blur

It has started again -- the ordeal of home purchase.

I've been through it once, and it is still an ordeal. Particularly so when it has to happen when I have a full-time job. Ah, the irony. Kinda got the money but no time. And the only one with great credit (can anyone beat 750?)

But it hasn't gotten clearer. I swear these loaners are nickle-and-diming us to the state of confusion, agony and possible thougths of separation! Evilllllllll

Just got to get it out of my system. That's what you guys are here for!

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It's a Good Thing

I was asked to take donations via the phone lines for the Children's Miracle Network today. It's an event that's televised live sprinkled with national programming about the CMN. It's interesting how some people are so enamoured by local TV newcast celebrities. Don't get me wrong. This veteran news team is professional and you got to admire them for thinking fast on their feet, and being so undistracted by all that's going on around them. The event is enlightening. I only fielded two calls in 1 hour, and most donations only came in after viewers were courted by the hosts, and personal story of this local kid who appeared with his family. He was the victim of a teenager's driving. Poor thing, his face and eye were disfigured from the accident, and they had to mend the area by taking skin grafts. Anyway, I did my good deed for the day, and it feels good. Oh, I definitely don't have the face nor hair for TV. Next time, put moonface on the back row, PLEASE. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amy: You are such a good girl. And isn't Moonface a Chinese dish. I like mine with shrimp, extra spicy - no MSG! And quite frankly Miss Ling, most TV news people suck ass. You know that and I know that. They are girls with pretty faces but often little else. Oh wait, they have good hair. I have suffered through way too many of their "interviews" waiting to ask real questions to have much real respect for them.

If you're sick, stay in and be sick ...

especially if you value your work status and reputation. An employee of M's called in sick on Monday (hmmm, being sick on the first and last day of a work week always rouses suspicion, Confucius said) and at the last minute, on top of that. Fine. What can you do? The way the U.S. work laws are set up, you don't question them, and there's no reason to bring in a doctor's order, unlike Singapore.The whole workforce dynamics is built on trust and accountability, which lend itself to horrible abuse of the system. On a side note, I say bring back the authoritarian, and none of that "I-Feel-You" Franklin Covey management psychology. The day had to go on with or without this bloke, who unfortunately, is one of the better workers M has. It so happened that was also the day that the WWE was going on, and at the last minute, we got the OK to go shoot pictures of the event and the fans. On our way there, M commented wouldn't it be funny if we catch said worker at the event. I found out that said worker is a fan. And I was more gleeful than M at the opportunity to catch him red-handed. You see, I have what experts call a revenge gene. Alas, I didn't catch him with my lens. Later that night, we returned home to process the picture. M stayed up all night to finish them. The next morning, he told me he thinks he spotted sick worker in the crowd shot inside the arena. Sure enough, sick worker with the stomach flu is it in the pic.We recognized his shirt, his features, and being a golfer, was wearing a notable golf cap. Before you knew it, word spread like wildfire in the office and everyone who knew him had a good chuckle, as I found out at a team meeting last Friday. Now, what would you do if you found out you were caught? Well, this bloke called in that morning and pronounced himself "still sick." Wow, the gall. We suspect he must be using his days off to conjure up excuses. Come hump-week, and he showed up with a doctor's note. I find that a most uncommon practice in the States. Like I said earlier, there never was a requirement to do that, but his guilty conscience obviously was working OT to cover his lies. Not a real good coverup as that note was FAXED IN! Like M said, if only his workers were as diligent about their work as they were about other people's job and covering their lying tracks, he would have no issue. His story went like this: he was really sick but since he had already spent that much money on his front-row seats, he couldn't possibly stay home. But he didn't have that great a time cuz he threw up the nachos at the person in front him. Now, I've had stomach flu before. It's not pleasant and I couldn't go into the torrid details of the agony. Suffice it to say you better stay near a waste receptacle and not be eating nachos. Pedialyte and antibiotics made up your diet, baby. So the advice is this, dear readers: stay home if you claim to be sick cuz you just don't want to come to work. Just don't leave the house. Murphy's law always works against you --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bob: Why do you want Singapore style "guilty till proven innocent" brought to the US??? Lying with a doctor's certificate is still rampant in Singapore anyway! Mark's colleague should have been more discreet! Explains why there are some characters who cover their faces with the newspaper or files when there are camera crews around Orchard road! Anyway, I am also saving trees now. When Doctors ask me if I need an MC, I say, no need, I am self employed. So they save on their medical chits, but I get the sympathy of Doctors going "MAKE SURE you rest! You can't work if you don't get well!" Well, and YES, I do buy their expensive Anti-biotics. (That explains the courtesy)

Slamming bodies and almost-rabid fans

I never thought the day would come when I would go to a WWE event. M dragged me to it (like he does for a lot of events) to photograph fans for the Web.

I didn't exactly kicked and screamed on my way there. But I was quite ticked off that I didn't have the foresight to dress appropriately (and I knew this was coming up. I just forgot when). So there I was in a suede skirt, sheath sleeveless top and a cotton casual jacket. Oh, and high heels! I was unfortunately, the most overdressed idiot in the crowd.

The "assignment" was easy enough. Each armed with a camera, we would be taking posed shots of the fans. The sight of those eager fans were enough to validate my purpose. These fans are traditionally the undercovered in our newspaper biz -- hispanics and a relatively low-brow "sport." And by far, they are the most fun to photograph in all my time spent asking people to pose for me. (Not fun when the stiffs give you a half-hearted "hmm".)
These fans came with their amateurly-made signs, fake gigantic belts, tacky T-shirts, and were the most willing to be photographed. It made my "job" a lot easier.
The biggest surprise of the night came when we were allowed to go into the arena and photograph a few fights.
In we went along the tunnel like we were hot shots (and we saw some wrestlers), and led to the "press area." It was essentially the floor in front of the USA network cameramen who were stationed on the rows of seats. Now, my photographic endeavor just got a little trickier. I have no where to sit but the "floorboards" at the first row of seats. And since I had the short lens, and M the long ones, my task was to shoot more pics of the fans. So there I was, sprawled so precariously on the floorboard or the floor, depending on the angle I needed to be, hoping that a stray camera will not expose my fragile state for all of wrestling fans at home.

I gave up after a while and decided to watch the show. While I still don't quite appreciate WWE, the spectacle and crowd made up for my lack of enthusiasm. It was such a giddy experience watching grown folks and young kids chanting and screaming. And those signs. Wow. K, you are so right about that. If I knew this was the legit thing and they were going to show it on TV, I might have made one myself. And fill it with all kinds of Singlish gibberish that only few of us would understand.

Dog-walking paraplegic and his bird

I've been too busy in my 2nd week at the job to post any blogs.

Besides, I'm not so sure my anti-illegal immigrants stance is popular, either.

In spite of my mental fatigue, I just got to blog this run-in we had with our "neighbor." We often drive by this apartment complex on our way home, and often seen this giant of a man walking his little llhasa apso. What a sensitive guy, right?

Well, Mark remarked to me one day if I noticed this "gentle" giant's greeting? I told him no and that he must have been mistaken.

Lo and behold, I had the good fortune of being greeted by him this evening. We laughed so hard and decided that since we had our cameras with us, to return to the site to document it for posterity.

It's not a great picture as I was shaking from nerves and the sun was setting behind him. But you get the idea. BTW, he also shouted a verbal greeting as we drove by the 2nd time. We've no idea what. And we've no idea if we were the only couple on the receiving end or why. We suspect perhaps, he was hit by a VW.

*Update: he does it to practically everyone. ** Update Deux: M has a name for him. From now on, we'll call him "Flipper"

Ah, the irony

I just completed my first work back in the job circuit. I also had my first training of three so far.

Newsroom folks will know the cruel joke of our profession and our reason for choosing it -- and that is we are lousy at math, and excellent at sentence construction.

As my new job will have it, I'll be interpreting lots of columns and rows of numbers and percentages, and making correlations out of them. Sure brings me back to my college sociology major where I had to take 3 credit hours in statistics. That turned out to be the only college course I opted for the pass/fail option.

To my Singaporean friends, that option means I won't be receiving any grades, hence my overall grade point average (GPA) will not be affected.

It's been interesting so far, especially to have the privilege of a few to possess these figures of the marketplace and consumers' habits.

But it has also been frustrating cuz there's so much to figure out and so much unknown of the job to brace myself for.

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Amy: What are you doing??!!! Journalists can't do math!! you crazy girrrrlll!

Bob: the more you are scared of something...the MORE it comes to haunt you! Anyway, you need help with the spreadsheets, you know where to find me! I'll gladly help.

Melissa: Ohhh my! Just the mere mention of a college statistics class is enough to illicit sheer panic in me! LOL!!! I had to take a Psych Statistics course at USC (many, many moons ago!), and it would take 3 hours - and I can't remember how many pieces of paper - just to do one statistics problem! But I know you can do this new job! In no time, calculating those rows of numbers and percentages will be old hat for you! And then I'll be calling you for help with all my math questions! :-P I'm so glad the job has been interesting!!! Yay!

I like them dogs

There are so many of these prairie dogs out in the plains and they are too adorable. Here's a link to more:

http://spotted.lubbockonline.com/pages/gallery.php?gallery=73609

I'm that neighbor that's a disgrace to your hood

So I just returned from setting up my booth at the citywide garage sale that's held at the fairgrounds tomorrow. And I have the sorriest setup compared to my neighbors.

These guys are pros, with arrangements that rival those at consignment shops. And it appears I also priced my items quite high. Yikes.

It's a claustro#*!& Talk about not having a theme or a sense of spatial design. And I had a soon-to-be colleague ask me "Aren't you a designer?"

Thank goodness I was glib enough to say I deal with two-dimensional design in newspaper.

How embarassing.

I hope I am able to clear as much crap that I'd accumulated and grown out of, to justify my paying $35 and spending 8 hours ALONE at my booth. Oh, I have to there by 7:30. And I was told by M we may be going to a party where we hardly know anyone that night. I'm so not looking forward to Saturday. And I don't know why I keep doing these darn things (I've held 3 to date).

Going to the Dark Side

I accepted a job offer Thursday as a research sales analyst.

The role is newly created and from what I gather, it's to assist the sales reps. with presentations and making research data on the local market understandable for them to present to advertisers.

I'm extremely nervous and excited about this position.

Nervous cuz I've been in the editorial aspect of the newspaper for 12 years and now am venturing into sales.

But my goal this year is to learn about sales and marketing.

I think this is a step in the right direction.

Job SHITuation

Does this happen in your corner of the country where every job, be it professional degreed or blue-collar, commands the same level of commitment yet pays the same? Something just doesn't sit right here.

I have interviewed at small publications, advertising agencies, even as a non-interior design required decorator at a furniture store, and have been offered the same pathetic low pay. I'm the queen of 2nd interviews or callbacks. I told the same earnest truth of the level of expertise and dedication that I will bring to the job. They all seem impressed. But all they could "afford for the position" is an insulting $xx,xxx.

I'm too ashamed to list the figures. I would hate for word to get around to my old colleagues and be either sympathized or worse, mocked. (I love you all but I know about 'em loose lips around the beer garden.)

It appears there is no consideration for "commensurate with experience" nor a college degree nor the knowledge of various computer programs. They want the talent but they won't pay for it. Which may explain the generally appalling work ethics and quality I've witnessed around here.

I truly am giving up. I felt I'll be better off with a relatively stress-free, 9-5 vocation than pursue my passion for the same pay. Afterall, the quality of life will be better. I won't be bringing work home with me, and how to schedule my vacations around it.

Seriously, Chronicle folks, the pay there is NOT shabby at all.

News folks, don't let the daily grind get to you. You know it's just going to repeat its cycle.

Just roll with the punches and let the stress go like water off a duck's back. I've been there and I'm here. I know what I'm talking about.