That nice big surge protector we got for the fridge is resting on the floor behind the fridge, and I'm wondering if I should mount it on the wall.
I can almost hear you saying: The what for the huh?
That's what we said, too, originally. We ordered the fridge when we were still in Utah, staying with our friends, the Andersons. Sis. Anderson said to be sure to get a surge protector. Umm, okay, we said, but then we didn't.
But remember the oven ordeal? It had a fried control board, which is what caused the trouble.
Then, exactly one week after we got the oven fixed, the heater stopped heating. Brrrr! The temperature fluctuates wildly around these parts, and that happened to be a cold week, in the 20s. Fortunately the repair guys came just a couple of hours after I called them, and scouted around.
Turned out, the trouble was a fried control board. Really, it had this one scorched spot, just like the oven's control board. Hmmm, I see a pattern developing here.
In fact, the oven repair guy had mentioned that the city had recently (within the past couple of years) worked on the electrical lines up at this end of town because they'd had trouble with power failures, power surges, and other power issues. Great. But if the city fixed the problem, why are things breaking down now? And, what else in the house has a control board with potential for frying?
So we remembered our friend's advice and put in some protection for the fridge, anyway. Can you get a surge protector for the whole house?
Friday, February 27, 2009
Thursday, February 19, 2009
The ax falls
On Tuesday the company held their promised town-hall meeting. And yes, they are going ahead with the move, forthwith, relocating 250 positions out of town this year and 500 more over the next two years. Now it's real.
In the three-and-a-half months since they dropped their bombshell last November, announcing they "were reviewing" these 700 jobs, I think people were starting to relax. One, you can't keep up that flurry of anxiety and uncertainty for such a long time. We said all there was to say, and no additional information was forthcoming.
Then, two, the financial indicators took such a sharp turn south: the company's stock prices, oil prices in general, the whole global economy (perhaps you heard about that). About a month ago, the CEO announced the company would be laying off 1300 jobs across their global operations.
You can't push through a project as expensive as this move will be, people said, when you're forced into layoffs. Sure, they'll move us, but after a while, maybe two or three years, when the economy picks up. As if to confirm this line of reasoning, the company postponed their follow-up announcement, originally scheduled for the end of January, claiming they had to recalculate given recent economic developments. See? everyone said.
Apparently the economics made the move even more urgent. I'm not sure how, that's just what they said in the meeting. The first wave of 250 will move during the second quarter of this year. Doesn't the second quarter run from April to June?
In all our well reasoned speculation, we didn't know that the company had taken a write-down on their facilities here. From what I understand, that means the company removed all these buildings from the assets on their balance sheets and taxes, listing their worth as zero. So apparently they're legally obligated to stop using the facilities, and maybe demolish them.
The town-hall meeting wasn't really open to the whole town, just the employees. But even so, it was hot. The employees didn't need spouses or anyone else to ask tough questions or express anger.
Part of the anger came because the company didn't offer options--no voluntary buy-outs, severance packages, or early retirements. No matter what your situation, you move or resign. Period. Another source of the anger was the perception around here that the so-called merger was actually a hostile take-over by a company that despises this company and this town. Much like in-state rivals in college football. Uchenna says it was a good thing the meeting wasn't held outside, or some people might have started throwing rocks at that Sr. VP.
Anyway, we're not moving with this first wave. We wouldn't mind, though. It's better to just get it over with, and it's not like we have roots here. The initial 250 will be those who only have to move offices, not labs and pilot plants, which take much more time and money to set up. We'll stick around for another year or two, witnessing the further decline of the town. Out of 700, 250 doesn't sound like much, but the bulk of company employees in our ward fall into that group. Nuts. Uchenna worries that he'll be the one turning out the lights and locking the door behind him.
In the three-and-a-half months since they dropped their bombshell last November, announcing they "were reviewing" these 700 jobs, I think people were starting to relax. One, you can't keep up that flurry of anxiety and uncertainty for such a long time. We said all there was to say, and no additional information was forthcoming.
Then, two, the financial indicators took such a sharp turn south: the company's stock prices, oil prices in general, the whole global economy (perhaps you heard about that). About a month ago, the CEO announced the company would be laying off 1300 jobs across their global operations.
You can't push through a project as expensive as this move will be, people said, when you're forced into layoffs. Sure, they'll move us, but after a while, maybe two or three years, when the economy picks up. As if to confirm this line of reasoning, the company postponed their follow-up announcement, originally scheduled for the end of January, claiming they had to recalculate given recent economic developments. See? everyone said.
Apparently the economics made the move even more urgent. I'm not sure how, that's just what they said in the meeting. The first wave of 250 will move during the second quarter of this year. Doesn't the second quarter run from April to June?
In all our well reasoned speculation, we didn't know that the company had taken a write-down on their facilities here. From what I understand, that means the company removed all these buildings from the assets on their balance sheets and taxes, listing their worth as zero. So apparently they're legally obligated to stop using the facilities, and maybe demolish them.
The town-hall meeting wasn't really open to the whole town, just the employees. But even so, it was hot. The employees didn't need spouses or anyone else to ask tough questions or express anger.
Part of the anger came because the company didn't offer options--no voluntary buy-outs, severance packages, or early retirements. No matter what your situation, you move or resign. Period. Another source of the anger was the perception around here that the so-called merger was actually a hostile take-over by a company that despises this company and this town. Much like in-state rivals in college football. Uchenna says it was a good thing the meeting wasn't held outside, or some people might have started throwing rocks at that Sr. VP.
Anyway, we're not moving with this first wave. We wouldn't mind, though. It's better to just get it over with, and it's not like we have roots here. The initial 250 will be those who only have to move offices, not labs and pilot plants, which take much more time and money to set up. We'll stick around for another year or two, witnessing the further decline of the town. Out of 700, 250 doesn't sound like much, but the bulk of company employees in our ward fall into that group. Nuts. Uchenna worries that he'll be the one turning out the lights and locking the door behind him.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Patience may pay off
I have a working oven. Yay!!
The repair guy called on Friday and said, "You wanna hear something funny? The part just showed up on my doorstep." I didn't think it was funny; I thought it was about time. He thought it was ironic because two weeks earlier he had turned the whole thing back over to the warranty company. I don't know what that means, "turned it over," although I guess it involves telling them, basically, "I can't get this part. You try;" and maybe it also involves him giving up his fee.
"So what do you want me to do with this?" he said.
What a silly question.
He meant, I guess, are you pursuing other solutions, like getting the oven replaced. But the only option the warranty people had offered so far (only if the part was not delivered by Friday) was sending the defective bit somewhere to get rebuilt. Who knows how long that would've taken.
So I said, "How about if you come fix it."
He came about 10 minutes to five on Monday. At two that afternoon I had called him to say, "Was I supposed to call you about setting up an appointment time? Or were you going to call me? I forget." Turns out he was dealing with some legal difficulties involving back child support, and it was taking most of the day. He told me all about it when he came that evening to replace the erstwhile control board--which took very little time once he actually had it in hand.
I baked chicken for dinner (a lovely recipe that involves shaking the chicken in crushed cornflakes and ranch dressing mix) with baked potatoes (although, since I couldn't start dinner until almost 5:30, we still had to finish the potatoes in the microwave). That night I baked cookies. Mmmm, warm chocolate chip cookies. And I have to say, making my weekly menu list yesterday was unbelievably easy. I made menues for the next TWO weeks, and none of it involves rice (we love rice, but enough is enough).
One thing I do find funny, though, is that my sister-in-law's oven has been broken for four years. They don't miss it, since Nigerian food doesn't involve baking. They use the non-functioning oven for storage.
That's one patience test successfully completed. As for the other, we're still waiting to hear about our future. Will we stay here, will we move? When the company's self-imposed deadline came, at the end of January, they did put out an announcement. It said: We have to recalculate given the current economic conditions. We'll have a town hall meeting in a couple of weeks to announce the plan.
One guy in our ward claims that at this alleged meeting all the employees should sit on one side and all the spouses should sit on the other side. That way the administration won't know which spouse goes with which employee. Then the spouses should speak up and let them have it.
I was trying to remember, have I prayed for patience recently?
The repair guy called on Friday and said, "You wanna hear something funny? The part just showed up on my doorstep." I didn't think it was funny; I thought it was about time. He thought it was ironic because two weeks earlier he had turned the whole thing back over to the warranty company. I don't know what that means, "turned it over," although I guess it involves telling them, basically, "I can't get this part. You try;" and maybe it also involves him giving up his fee.
"So what do you want me to do with this?" he said.
What a silly question.
He meant, I guess, are you pursuing other solutions, like getting the oven replaced. But the only option the warranty people had offered so far (only if the part was not delivered by Friday) was sending the defective bit somewhere to get rebuilt. Who knows how long that would've taken.
So I said, "How about if you come fix it."
He came about 10 minutes to five on Monday. At two that afternoon I had called him to say, "Was I supposed to call you about setting up an appointment time? Or were you going to call me? I forget." Turns out he was dealing with some legal difficulties involving back child support, and it was taking most of the day. He told me all about it when he came that evening to replace the erstwhile control board--which took very little time once he actually had it in hand.
I baked chicken for dinner (a lovely recipe that involves shaking the chicken in crushed cornflakes and ranch dressing mix) with baked potatoes (although, since I couldn't start dinner until almost 5:30, we still had to finish the potatoes in the microwave). That night I baked cookies. Mmmm, warm chocolate chip cookies. And I have to say, making my weekly menu list yesterday was unbelievably easy. I made menues for the next TWO weeks, and none of it involves rice (we love rice, but enough is enough).
One thing I do find funny, though, is that my sister-in-law's oven has been broken for four years. They don't miss it, since Nigerian food doesn't involve baking. They use the non-functioning oven for storage.
That's one patience test successfully completed. As for the other, we're still waiting to hear about our future. Will we stay here, will we move? When the company's self-imposed deadline came, at the end of January, they did put out an announcement. It said: We have to recalculate given the current economic conditions. We'll have a town hall meeting in a couple of weeks to announce the plan.
One guy in our ward claims that at this alleged meeting all the employees should sit on one side and all the spouses should sit on the other side. That way the administration won't know which spouse goes with which employee. Then the spouses should speak up and let them have it.
I was trying to remember, have I prayed for patience recently?
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Let me explain. No, there is too much--let me sum up
Before I go two months without a post, I'd better fill you in on what's been filling up my time and attention. Or at least I should make my excuses and move on.
1. For about a month (from the day after Christmas until last week) we had house guests.
A good friend of ours from Nigeria was starting a Master's degree program in Chicago. So our house provided a sort of a landing/launching pad for his family. He came with his wife and two little boys (ages 4 and 1 1/2 years), then after a week he headed up to Chicago to start school, find an apartment, and so on. The family stayed with us until he got set up, because you know how it is getting an apartment. Why keep your family in a little hotel room during that time if you have any other option?
Having guests, especially kid-guests, was a lot of fun but also all-consuming. If kids around me are upset, bored, or acting up, my best solution is to engage them directly, like play with them or read to them or get them going on some kind of activity. Otherwise I just get more and more frustrated listening to them acting up. But that does take some time, energy, attention--all those things. These boys were really well behaved, but, c'mon, all kids act out sometimes. Plus we all, adults included, needed to get out of the house now and then, so we had to plan that into our day; plus conversation takes time . . . .
I found that during afternoon naps, when we all retreated to our own quiet corners, I felt completely productive just watching a movie on the computer in my room because, hey, I had guests.
2. As the new Enrichment counselor, I pulled off my very first ever Enrichment a week ago Thursday.
Granted I've been to plenty of Enrichment and Homemaking nights, but I've never been involved with putting one on. I'm not sure how I've avoided it so long. And let's face it, I'm not much of an Event Planner. That requires thinking through logistical details and calling people to give them assignments. Eww! Plus, with our little ward, I don't have a committee.
Thinking back, I didn't put tons of active time into it, except the last two days, but all that worrying, gearing myself up to call people, and second-guessing myself took a whole lot of time and energy. Like Grandpa says, you've got to schedule in your preliminary procrastination. But somehow, it all came off alright. Next time, even if it kills me (and it just might), I'm delegating out more responsibilities.
3. My oven still hasn't been fixed.
Whirlpool has the part on backorder, and they keep changing the estimated shipping date--one week, another two weeks, okay, now another two weeks. After being strung along for ten weeks, I still don't have an oven. It's not a tragedy; it's just an annoyance. But annoyance somehow takes energy. Also it takes time to call the repair guy and home warranty people to see what's up and what else can be done, to crack your brain for dinners that don't require baking, and just to stew in frustration. Grrrr.
4. I've taken over a week to recover and catch up on all the stuff I put off while I had such great excuses. Come to think of it, I still need to clean the little fingerprints off the closet door mirrors.
1. For about a month (from the day after Christmas until last week) we had house guests.
A good friend of ours from Nigeria was starting a Master's degree program in Chicago. So our house provided a sort of a landing/launching pad for his family. He came with his wife and two little boys (ages 4 and 1 1/2 years), then after a week he headed up to Chicago to start school, find an apartment, and so on. The family stayed with us until he got set up, because you know how it is getting an apartment. Why keep your family in a little hotel room during that time if you have any other option?
Having guests, especially kid-guests, was a lot of fun but also all-consuming. If kids around me are upset, bored, or acting up, my best solution is to engage them directly, like play with them or read to them or get them going on some kind of activity. Otherwise I just get more and more frustrated listening to them acting up. But that does take some time, energy, attention--all those things. These boys were really well behaved, but, c'mon, all kids act out sometimes. Plus we all, adults included, needed to get out of the house now and then, so we had to plan that into our day; plus conversation takes time . . . .
I found that during afternoon naps, when we all retreated to our own quiet corners, I felt completely productive just watching a movie on the computer in my room because, hey, I had guests.
2. As the new Enrichment counselor, I pulled off my very first ever Enrichment a week ago Thursday.
Granted I've been to plenty of Enrichment and Homemaking nights, but I've never been involved with putting one on. I'm not sure how I've avoided it so long. And let's face it, I'm not much of an Event Planner. That requires thinking through logistical details and calling people to give them assignments. Eww! Plus, with our little ward, I don't have a committee.
Thinking back, I didn't put tons of active time into it, except the last two days, but all that worrying, gearing myself up to call people, and second-guessing myself took a whole lot of time and energy. Like Grandpa says, you've got to schedule in your preliminary procrastination. But somehow, it all came off alright. Next time, even if it kills me (and it just might), I'm delegating out more responsibilities.
3. My oven still hasn't been fixed.
Whirlpool has the part on backorder, and they keep changing the estimated shipping date--one week, another two weeks, okay, now another two weeks. After being strung along for ten weeks, I still don't have an oven. It's not a tragedy; it's just an annoyance. But annoyance somehow takes energy. Also it takes time to call the repair guy and home warranty people to see what's up and what else can be done, to crack your brain for dinners that don't require baking, and just to stew in frustration. Grrrr.
4. I've taken over a week to recover and catch up on all the stuff I put off while I had such great excuses. Come to think of it, I still need to clean the little fingerprints off the closet door mirrors.
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