left there in 1980 to 
go to college. One thing that strikes me each time I return to my hometown is how little has changed. Sure, a few businesses have come and gone, but the essence of the city has not changed much in at least two decades. The Original Pancake House is where it has always been, at the intersection of Mack Avenue and Lochmoor. Pointe Cycle and Fitness is also still in business. My father purchased all of my bikes there and it remains the place to purchase a bike if you live in Grosse Pointe.
my chores were done, my father and I grabbed some lunch at Little Tony's Lounge in the Woods. Little Tony's has been around since dirt was invented and they serve perhaps the best hamburger in town. I enjoyed a cheeseburger, fries and some iced tea, while my father had a burger and a Labatts. Since were were going to drive to Selfridge Air National Guard Base, I was not about to have even one beer before driving onto the base! We zipped up there and I used my retired military ID for the first time, since I had to show the card to the gate guard. I stopped at the Class Six store to purchase some hooch, and I filled my car up with fuel. I think that my father enjoyed getting out of the house and running a few errands.
in our midst. There are two nests in our backyard, which can only be seen in the winter when the leaves are gone. The hawks seem to prefer to build their nests at the top of the oak trees in our yard, perhaps to survey their domain and look for tasty morsels like squirrels and other birds. On Wednesday, I left the house to take Samson for a walk and I noticed a hawk in the tree across the street from out house. I was hoping that the hawk would still be there when I returned from my stroll with Handsome Boy. Luckily, the hawk was in his same perch when I got back from my stroll with Samson. I quickly let Samson into the house, grabbed Dee's camera and started to take some pictures. The quiet elegance of this raptor is something that needs to be seen to truly appreciate the beauty of this creature.
the street from our house. After grabbing Dee's camera, I quietly walked to a position where 
I could best capture the hawk in his perch before he flew away. He remained on the branch for a few minutes, then he took flight, circling around the area a few times, gracefully flying along a few thermals, soaring up and down silently. After making a few circuits around the tree, he headed west, no doubt looking for a snack. His graceful flight was inscribed against the sky, and his wings were clearly outlined against this blue and white pallet. As quickly as he was here, he was gone. I hope to catch a few more images of him again, soon, before the leaves return and his nest is once again hidden from view.
for the arrival of the installers from Window World on Thursday morning. Deb had been planning on replacing her windows for a while, but when she saw the results of the fantastic installation of our new windows, she decided to
use Window World. Not only did I have to remove the window treatments, but I also had to move some furniture, too. Deb is still not terribly ambulatory, so my strong back and weak mind worked to my favor as I moved a couple of beds and a few dressers in preparation for the window replacement evolution.
is ready for the installers to arrive today. I know that she is going to be happy with her new windows. Following the replacement of 6 of our windows, we have decided to replace a few more this summer. Full report on that evolution to follow.
of a few maintenance issues. Just before her injury, Deb purchased five new Kwikset door knobs for her interior doors. While Deb had the knobs, she was lacking the technical skills needed to install the knobs. I, on the other hand, have the technical skills and experience to change the knobs as I had changed a couple of door knobs in our home. I told Deb that once things settled down at her house that I would be happy to come out and install the five knobs. I spoke to Deb on Sunday and I told her that I would be by on Monday morning to install the knobs. Well, on Sunday the father of one of her friends came by to visit and he spent about two hours replacing one of the knobs, and according to Deb the installation was a bit rocky. I arrived at Deb's house a little after 8AM and I set to work to install the remaining four knobs. The old knobs the original knobs and were Dexter, which is a company long since purchased by Schlage. I quickly removed the first knob and I discovered that the opening in the doors would not fit the new knobs. Undaunted, I looked at the new knobs and determined that all I needed to do was drill two small holes in each door and the knobs could be easily installed. In a matter of a few minutes, I completed the first installation and proceeded to work on the remaining three knobs. I also looked at the knob installed on Sunday and realized that it had been improperly mounted. The latch on the door was hitting the striker place on the door frame, which meant that the latch was not properly installed. I removed the knob, made a few quick corrections and I am happy to report that the knob is now functioning nominally. I completed the installation of the four knobs and the repair of the other knob in a little less than two hours.
pick up her meds. I told her that I would be happy to do drive her wherever she needed to go. We took her car as it needed to be started and driven (Deb is still not able to drive). Deb used her scooter to get to the car, she got in on the passenger side, and I loaded he scooter into the trunk. In order to help Deb, I picked up a temporary handicap placard for last week as I felt she would need one until she recovers from her injury. We drove her pharmacy and for the first time in my life, I parked in a handicap spot. I unloaded her scooter and Deb was able to easily wheel her way to the pharmacy and pick up her meds. This placard will come in handy for Deb as she recovers from her injury. I have always been a big fan of handicap parking spots for people who need them and the parking spot worked as advertised for Deb.
that he could paint the bathroom this weekend. Weeks ago I promised Henry that I would be happy to give him a hand painting the bathroom when the time came. This morning at 1000 I went to Henry's house and we set right to work. Yesterday Henry primed the walls and ceiling, and he was also able to get a couple coats of white semi-gloss on the ceiling. Our task was to paint the walls. I was assigned to do the cut-in along the ceiling and the edges by the trim surrounding the door. In a matter of about two hours, we were able to complete our task and not only paint the bathroom, but also four pieces of trim that Don will apply along the baseboards at some point this week. The bathroom remodeling project is really shaping up and by the end of the week Henry and Jan will have completely transformed the space.
day or spring, as the Vernal Equinox for 2008 has come and gone. Yesterday we had our first precipitation of Spring. Usually, precipitation at this time of the year comes in the form of water in its liquid state. However, in a cruel twist, the first precipitation of this season came in the form of solid water, also known as snow. Yes, snow. You can see the the snow falling in our backyard yesterday if you look at the dark area to the right of the grill. Those white streaks are snow flakes, falling to the ground.
Thus, a little after 8AM I opened the garage door, 
fired up the snowblower and set to my task. I almost ran the snowblower dry of fuel last week as I thought that we would not have any more appreciable snow this month. I am glad that I did not run the snowblower out of fuel as this power tool came in handy. I used the snowblower to clear the 6 or so inches of snow that fell yesterday. Normally, I remove the date and time stamp from my photos, but for emphasis I toggled date stamp to "ON" to document the date: 22 March 2008. Yes, spring is upon us, as is a fresh blanket of snow. Yes, winter still has its grip on the Enchanted Mitten.
the point where Dee and I need to spell certain words like "w-a-l-k" or "p-u-p-p-y t-r-e-a-t" or "d-i-n-n-e-r." He is also developing a very sweet and loving personality. He will plop himself down right in the middle of us and observe whatever we are doing. One of his favorite things to do is to take a spot in the kitchen when we are preparing dinner and wait for something to fall off the counter. Samson seems to love most everything we make, but one treat he really likes are green beans. Yes, those green beans. See the photo to the right for an example of him establishing his presence in our kitchen and patiently wait for a snitch of green beans.
common to all German Shepherd Dogs. Like Allie, Samson likes to look out at the backyard and chase any creature that happens to wanted into its confines. He also likes to herd us when we are walking around the house, as if we do not know where we need to go and he needs to guide is from one room to another. Much like Allie, Samson enjoys his sleep and in particular he likes sleeping on our Stearns & Foster bed. Again, much like Allie, Samson prefers to take his half of the bed right out of the middle of the bed.
Larry showed up and escorted me to a conference room where we got to know each other and talk about the job responsibilities and my fit within the organization. Larry and I spoke until about 8:30AM when his boss, Hank arrived. Hank is the person who is leaving for California tomorrow, and it was because of his tight schedule that Larry was able to arrange for such a quick interview. Larry said goodbye to me, wished me well and left to get back to his projects. Hank escorted me to the office of his boss, a man named John, and the tow of them started to ask me a few questions about my background and experience, and then they started to "sell" me on the benefits of working for GE, as well as about the responsibilities of the position and what they were expecting. A few minutes after 9AM, John excused himself as he had another meeting. I thanked him for taking the time out of his morning to meet with me on such short notice and in return he said, "Paul, thank you for coming in so quickly."
Navy, that he served for about 6 years from 1971-1978, stationed aboard USS AMERICA (CV 66) and ashore at the Submarine School in Groton Connecticut. Al spent more time talking about the corporate culture at GE then he did asking me questions. At about 9:30AM, Gil arrived to continue the interview. I thanked Al for his time and he left. Gil spent the next 15 minutes looking at my resume, asking a few questions about where I had been stationed, but not much more in-depth than that. My conversation with Gil was pleasant but we really did not talk too much about what I might be doing at GE. I think he was asking questions to see if I might be a a good fit in the Engineering Services Group.
County Courthouse. I parked across the street, walked over to the courthouse and went inside. I passed through the obligatory metal detectors, and proceeded to the Third Floor where the 61st Court is located. I checked in with the receptionist, and a moment later Amy (she is the one who called me last week) came out and she handed me a form to fill out, along with a benefits list. She said that she was getting the judges together and that it would be just a few more minutes. I was early, and I was in no position to complain!
For the next hour or so, I was asked questions about my abilities and capabilities to do the job as Court Administrator. One of the judges said to me, "You do not have a lot of judicial experience. What makes you think this woould be a job that you can do?" I then went through the job description, making correlations between the duties of the Court Administrator and what I had done in the military. The judges spent the next 45 minutes or so asking me about what I did in the Navy, how I handled problems and stress, how I managed budgets and people, etc. The judges had pretty much run out of questions, and then the Judge B said to me, "Paul, do you have any questions for us?" I had prepared about 25 questions for them, ranging from what are the day to day responsibilities of the position, to how is the position evaluated, to what did they see as the criterion for success. My questions took about 30 minutes, and the last question I asked was, "So what do you like about working here?" Each judge said to me that they liked making a difference in the lives of the people.
I felt that the e-mail I received from Larry yesterday was to set up a second interview for the technical manager position I interviewed for a couple of weeks ago. Larry called me at 9:30AM and he immediately asked me questions regarding my program management experience. I started to explain my background and experience in program management, and then I asked Larry, "Is this a follow up interview following my first interview a few weeks ago?" The silence on the phone was deafening for a few moments.
I spoke to the end of February. Larry said to me, "Oh. I am calling about another position we are trying to fill. I know Carl, but I do not know the other people you met. Can you tell me what the position was they brought you in for?" I told Larry the job number and he said, "You applied for the position of Engineering Manager, job number 800845 a few days ago. Are you still interested in this position?" I told him that I was, and I was simply waiting to hear back from somebody at GE regarding my first interview, as I had been told that the entire division was being re-structured, and that once the re-structuring plan was determined that I would be told whether or not there was a place for me with GE.Paul,
Thanks for sending your resume in response to our position. I would like to talk more about the position with you. Please let me know some times that you are available.
Regards,
I am happy to report that I have a second interview with GE on Wednesday morning. I am also preparing for my interview for the position of Court Administrator for the 61st District Court on Thursday. I am excited about both possibilities and I think that my job search and interview preparations will soon yield some results. As ever, I will keep the blog updated as these interviews progress.
our friend Deb who is back following a week of recuperation at her sister's house. Deb looked well and we went over a some paperwork that she needed to complete before I take her to her first follow up medical appointment tomorrow. Deb's looked great and she was looking forward to her first check up.
both stationed at Parks Air Force Base in California. They married and moved back to Michigan where I was born and raised. 
Well, my mother is quite proud of her Irish heritage and when I was growing up, St. Patrick's Day was always a cause for celebration. We would go to the annual St. Patrick's Day Parade in downtown Detroit, we would wear green clothing and sometimes put on silly hats and pretend to be leprechauns. One part of the celebration was the evening meal, which invariably was Corned Beef and Cabbage. For the life of me, I think that the reason why so many Irish left the Emerald Isle is because like me, they could not stand this vile cut of seasoned meat.
pepper, perhaps some celery for flavor. How one could ever flavor shoe leather is beyond me, but she would try nevertheless. The aroma of this dank cut of meat would fill the house, so I would try to spend as much time as possible outdoors whenever this "dish" was being prepared. After my father came home from work, the table would be set and the the carcass of beef would be removed from the pot, along with the soggy vegetables and potatoes. My siblings would rejoice at the thought of the meat, while I could barely keep myself from retching at the stench of it.
stomach the smell, taste or appearance of corned beef. I will probably have a beer or two, maybe even a green one. I will leave the consumption of corned beef to the peasants.
Whatever the bug was that managed to infect me really took me down. I had a hard time sleeping and when I did fall asleep, it was not that restful. I am still coughing a little, but no where near as much as I did a few days ago. Also, beer is starting to taste good again. Deirdre can now cancel the order for the head stone. Woo hoo!
an understatement. I had applied for this position in early January and I never heard a peep back from anyone. I figured that the Court had thrown my resume and application into the circular file a long time ago. I had completely forgotten that I had even applied for the job.
that "Corporate GE is directing a reorganization of GE Aviation in Grand Rapids. Until the regional vice presidents know what the structure is to be, they will not be able to pair a job requisition with a particular person." What my friend Stan was telling me was to be patient and that as soon as the organizational structure for whatever GE Aviation in Grand Rapids will be, that he will be able to speak with more clarity about my prospects for employment. I told Stan that there were two other engineering manager positions that were recently posted on the GE careers website, and he encouraged me to apply. I think that if Stan had the authority to hire me (clearly it is his boss who has the hiring authority) I would have a job offer already. In the meantime, I applied for the other two positions and I will see where this leads me.
him off the bed. Ever defiant, Samson sat down at door to our back bedrooms, guarding the door for my eventual return. I got up around 8:40AM as the coughing was back with a vengeance. I got up, put my robe over my jammies and went to the kitchen to hydrate and check my temperature. Yesterday, each time I checked my temperature it was the text book temp for a homo sapien, 98.6F. However, this morning I am not so lucky. My temperature was 100.7F, so I am definitely fighting something. I am going to have a little brekkie, take some more meds and go back to bed. And for the record, Nurse Deirdre is doing a fantastic job taking care of me. Updates to follow as conditions warrant.
that I am not allowed to be crabby when I am not feeling well. To be honest, I am feeling better as I type this, but my overall feeling has been like riding the crest of a sine wave. I still have to determine the period of this wave, but I think that it is about 4 hours. Right now I am on the top of the wave. Let's hope it stays that way for a while.
Soon after the professionals from Window World of West Michigan were done installing our new windows, I went to see how Deb was doing. I am happy to report that each day she is a little better than the last. I held some training with one of the other caregivers, informing her the difference between meds every 6 hours versus meds every 4 hours. I also checked on Deb's recent pain dosage and all is on track for her. Deb left the house today for the first time since she was discharged from the hospital and her right leg reminded her just who is the boss. Deb ran out to some auction house where she won a bid on some door knobs. Well, I should say that she was driven to this auction house, which was only about 10 miles away, and she was clearly uncomfortable after her trip. I told her that the biggest mistake I made following my knee surgery last year was that I overdid things too soon following my procedure. I reminded that we were not 20 year olds any more and that these middle aged bodies need more time to recover. That is the trouble with youth: it is wasted on the young!
of the company (and helping him with a few IT issues), I found out that he also owned a window replacement company called Window World of West Michigan. Dee and I have known that we needed to replace a few of the windows in our house for a while, but we were just waiting to find the right time and company to do the work. Needless to say, after the fantastic work Dave's company did with our bathrooms, we decided to have his people replace six of our old windows.
windows in the house were Pella. 
The house underwent a major remodeling on or about 1970 according to the tax records, and that is when we think the windows where last replaced. At the time of installation, the windows were probably some of the best on the market, but time and technology had clearly made them obsolete. The windows were drafty and difficult to clean. It was clearly time to replace them.
from the windows, as well as to remove all window treatments. I removed a few of the treatments yesterday, but the majority of the 
treatments I removed this morning after I had Princess had left for work. Removing the treatments was fairly straightforward and I finished my work by 8:30AM. I was able to get all of our treatments down without damaging any of the mounting hardware, an accomplishment for which I am quite proud! Brent and Steve were early and they arrived a little after 9AM. The immediately started their work and within a few minutes the old window in our bedroom was removed.
each one in aluminum coil, which is essentially flat aluminum, bent and shaped for a custom fit. Of course, 
Samson was quite interested in what was going on. He was very friendly with Brent and Steve. He also wanted to inspect the progress of the work. Already I am noticing the difference in the warmth in the rooms. We replaced a window in our bedroom, two windows in our guest bedroom, both windows in our main bathroom and the window in our dining room. Each window is a double hung with the inert gas argon in-between the panes of glass. After experiencing the brutally cold winter here in the Enchanted Mitten, which is still going on, these windows will really help cut our heating bill next winter and help keep the house cool next summer.
Manager Eco bank Ghana
Ring road Branch,
Ghana.
My name is Mr.William Imo, I am the regional manager of the Eco bank ring road branch in the Western Region of Ghana. I am 50 years of age and married with 2 lovely kids. It may interest you to hear that I am a man of PEACE and don't want problem, I only hope we can assist each other. If you don't want this business offer kindly forget it as I will not contact you again.
I have packaged a financial transaction that will benefit both of us, as the regional manager of the Eco bank Ghana it is my duty to send in a financial report to my head office in the capital city Accra at the end of each year. On the course of the last year 2007 end of year report, I discovered that my branch in which I am the manager made Four Million five Hundred and Fifty Thousand Dollars only [$4.550.000.00]. Which my head office are not aware of and will never be aware of. I have since place this fund on what we call SUSPENSE ACCOUNT without any beneficiary.
As an officer of the bank I can not be directly connected to this money, so this informed my contacting you for us to work so that you can assist receive this money into your bank account for us to SHARE. While you will have 30% of the total fund .Note there are practically no risk involved, it will be bank to bank transfer, all I need from you is to stand claim as the original depositor of this fund who made the deposit with our branch so that my Head office can order the transfer to your designated bank account. If you accept this offer to work with me, I will appreciate it very much. As soon as I receive your response I will details you on how we can achieve it successfully. Pls This Transaction needs very much Urgent attention, we do not have to delay pls and I wait to hear from you As soon as possible.
Best regards,
Mr.William Imo
