the cranes
and the bees


One of B-girl's reading assignments this past week was to bring a book home

from the school library and read it to her family,

that being me.

She read the book, titled Cranes, very well.

She read the part about cranes, their tall bodies and where they live.

She read the part about cranes and how they sleep.

She read the part about cranes and how they eat.

Then she stopped at the part about cranes and how they communicate when they are ready to mate. (yes second grade).

"Mom what is mating?"

(Oh great another B-girl inquisition is about to begin)

"Well it is what the cranes do when they have decided to have baby cranes."

"Do all animals mate?"

"If they wish for their species to rock on."

"Do people mate?"

(Oh how I knew this was coming. Okay age appropriate...age appropriate... what did my friends with older kids tell their kids? Wait just one minute...I have no freakin' idea what my friends told their kids.)

"Yes honey they do"

"What kind of people mate? Are they boys and girls?"

"NO NO NO. They are not boys and girls. They are grown men and women who have finished college and have their careers established who fall in love, GET MARRIED, spend five years traveling and getting to know each other and then decide to have children once they are financially stable. "

"Huh? Mom that is dating and getting married but what is mating?"

"Mating is when the married people decide to have children."

"Do people mate before they get married"

"No absolutely not"

(You will do as I say not as I have done)

"What do they do when they mate?"

"We can talk about that when you are older."

"Okay but do the cranes get married before they mate?"

(I suppose I have be logical here, but I know this kid and there is only one answer that will suffice. And she's still only seven so...)

"Yes they have big crane weddings, usually at the lake and invite all their relatives and friends for the big wedding party"

"Oh that's good. Do they mate after the wedding?"

"Most likely, unless they are too busy looking at all the gifts"

"Do all animals have wedding parties before they mate?"

"Yes. Yes they do"

"That's nice."

"It sure is."


So now my child will attend school convinced all living things have big wedding parties, by the lake, before they mate.

Anybody got

a parental guidebook

I can borrow

for the next

eleven years

or so?

dead
president
is one
loonie

For the first time

in more than thirty years

this

and this

are worth the same amount.

The value of the Canadian dollar has increased

while

oh

you know the rest.

Now I have a headache.

Anybody got a 222?

happy friday!


That is my standard Friday morning greeting to coworkers.

And isn't it a day worth celebrating,

if you don't have to work on Saturday?

In my younger days, Fridays were brimming with possibilities

clothes, friends, dates, etc.

Now they are about family time:

B-girl has a dance class and then we just have fun .

Not this week though.

I have to attend a PR event in a neighboring city

and B-girl is spending the night at Mgirl's house.

Tonight might

feel like the old days

just a little!

Michigan,
we have
a problem


In case you haven't noticed, whole companies are moving their North American headquarters out of Michigan

There was Comerica

then Phizer

and now the lastest to hit the road...

Volkswagen

All in less than a year!


We have watched as our state leaders jet around the world on the taxpayer dime in an effort to lure foreign businesses to our soil.

A noble effort...

to a point!

Our leaders need to spend more time

with the leaders of the companies that are already here.

Call it a Preservation Project.

The fact is that Michigan is no longer competitive

for many reasons including notoriously high taxes,

higher healthcare costs than other areas,

a K-12 education system that is mediocre at best,

a state budget in crisis that leaves no funding for infrastructure (or anything else)

and a spoiled workforce (sorry folks but the truth sometimes hurts).

It time to stop the spin

and move this state forward.

Wake up people

and smell the coffee before two men pack it in a truck.

Nobody wants to move to Michigan.

People are leaving in droves.

This state is amazingly beautiful but economically it is neither vibrant nor competitive.

We can't keep our own educated and creative young people in our state.

How do we expect to the be kind of area that

families would want to move into?

Mission trips to China, Europe and the Middle East to

find more companies to come here have their

place in our global economy and

conference after conference on saving our quality of life

have produced some good ideas,

but real change needs to begin at home

through action and hard work.

Yes that's right. Lots of work.

Michigan is no longer entitled to anything.

We've got to work for it.

And if we don't, we are going to experience

a decline in our community

like we have never seen before.

Let's face it

There are three types of people in Michigan right now:

Those who are working to make changes that will improve the future

Those who are waiting for some great miracle to bring us back to the glory days of plenty of high-paying union jobs

And those who are

making plans

to

leave.

hoops


Finding a job that pays you what you are worth isn't so easy in Michigan these days.

Check this E-mail...


Dear MG

Thank you for your interest in the Marketing Specialist position with #### located in ###, Michigan. Please be advised that I’m working on behalf of our client, ####, to handle the prescreening of candidates for this position to which you applied.

After reviewing your resume, I have decided that I would like to further consider you for this position.

Yippee ky ya!

To complete the application process, please complete the attached Job Qualification Questionnaire and return to me electronically at ##### dotcom.

Well alrighty then!


Also, you will receive an invitation to complete a Predictive Index© online survey.

Is the invitation embossed or in cursive?

It will contain a username, password and directions to another web site. There, enter the password and username exactly as given.

Exactillactilly? I am not sure I can handle that one!

Follow the directions

Will the yellow brick road take me to the wizard?

and take a few quiet minutes to complete the two checklists.

There's no freakin' quiet in single working motherhood!

The Predictive Index© is not a test and does not measure intelligence, training, experience or values.

That's a cryin' shame!


It does help us understand a candidate’s work needs and gives us information about how to optimize individual and team performance.

It really tells you whether or not I have a kid or various other dependents that may demand some of my time!


Once I have your PI and JQQ,

I suppose you need that PDQ?

I’ll be in a position to compare your information with the other qualified candidates

You mean the less qualified younger ones

in an effort to schedule phone interviews.

Hope my kid doesn't answer.

Thank you for your cooperation and we look forward to reviewing your information.

Recruiters

are the new

GESTAPO!

confidence
is
high

First Day of School.

New outfit.

New High School Musical Backpack.

A seconder grader now

Full of life and promise.


No really,

this kid loves school.

Couldn't wait to get back.

Perhaps it's the "only child" syndrome

and she is glad to be back with her friends.

Whatever it is,

I am glad

she embraces

this day!

football
weekend


Those of you who have known me for a while already know

that I changed back to my original blog colors and profile photo

(yesterday morning before the games)

because it's college football season.

And, most of us already know the true nature of college football in Michigan,

We know the history, the rankings, and the realities, so let's just say

I won't get ahead of myself.

For those of you who don't know, I attended a school that

has always fared better in basketball, hockey...and Rhodes scholars.

Yet I will simply say that Spartans everywhere are savoring

this special Labor Day weekend.

When the Spartans won their opening game with a new coach

against UAB I had to smile and say a word of thanks.

BUT when MICHIGAN LOST TO

APPALACHIAN STATE

(does anyone know where this school is located? I must send the team a letter!)

I realized this weekend is one for the record books!

Why is this loss of any value you ask?

You have no idea how badly it can get around here every fall with my

friends and coworkers who went to Michigan

or those who are just fans of the Big House.

They are merciless at times.

They have even brainwashed my own child into their maize.

Sometime soon I have hire a deprogrammer.

Or maybe just give her the Saturday scores!

It may be fleeting

but let's face it

this one

is truly

a weekend,

no let's make that a week

to savor!