End of Sabbatical

It was 4 months to the day since I left my job.  Next Monday I begin a new job with Time Warner Cable, sort of going back to where I started.  I have greatly enjoyed my time off.  Over the past 4 months, I have observed many things personally and in current events.  One item has stuck with me as a new learning.  It is not an original thought, but once I heard it, it really resonated.  It can be proven true by looking back on recent events, and watching tonight's nightly news.

Americans have become too comfortable with thought control.

I'm not referring to the soft kind that advertisers use - buy our stuff and you will look cool.  Instead, I am referring to the full blown Orwellian 1984 kind where government and the media combine to control the way people think.  Just look back at the past few months.

Did you think a year ago that America has a problem with white cops shooting black men?  The idea cannot be substantiated with facts, but many people believe it anyway.  We hear the chant of black lives matter.  Yes they do, but why specify black lives? Don't all lives matter, white, black, brown, and police?  Hands up, don't shoot became a rallying cry and was completely based on a lie. Yet the media reported it, political figures repeated it and many people to this day believe it.  If you do not agree, you are racist.  It's thought control.

Five years ago an overwhelming majority of Americans believed that marriage is an institution between a man and a woman.  Even current champions of LGBT causes supported traditional marriage a few months or years ago.  But since then a massive media campaign has portrayed gays as lovable characters on TV shows, and courageous public representatives of a legitimate lifestyle.  The media campaign changed how gays are perceived, which by itself is not a negative.  But a majority of Americans still believe that same sex marriage is not natural and do not personally support it.  Yet, the judicial branch has forced same sex marriage irrevocably into law while the media plays a narrative that if you do not agree, you are homophobic.  It's government and media practicing pure unadulterated thought control.

Climate change has become the new religion of progressives.  The basic theory of carbon in the atmosphere changing climate has not, and cannot be proven, yet it is considered settled science.  The term "settled science" should be enough to discover the underlying thought control.  Is any science settled?  The climate change theory that came with a predictive graph showing future average temperatures has been a complete bust, yet the practitioners of the climate change religion continue to have faith.  Government labels those who challenge the theory as deniers and troglodytes, while the media provides cover for temperature data contamination, outright falsification, and alternative theories. It's thought control.

In just over a year, we will elect a new president. The media won't directly tell us who to vote for, but will enforce a bias that provides an unfair advantage to their candidate.  You will not need to look past the evening news to see certain candidates reported with a negative slant while another positively.  Video clips and still pictures will be carefully selected to portray friendly, caring shots of the desired candidate while others will look grim, unhappy or mean.  Harsh, inelegant quotes from unfavored candidates will be repeated during the 24 hour news cycle without consideration of the truthfulness of the quote.  Spectacular lies from the favored candidate will be ignored.

How was the Confederate flag changed from a Civil War symbol to the logo of racism?  Americans have become too comfortable with thought control.

God Things

Earlier this month, I read a blog post by a friend of a relative named Kelly Levatino.  That post can be accessed here.  In her well written and entertaining blog, she describes how God had provided her with a job opportunity that fit her skills and met a very demanding list of personal must-haves.  As I read the post, I realized that I too had the beginning of a very similar story.  That story is now ready to be told. 

2014: I was stuck in a job that I hated, working for a company that fostered bureaucracy and a toxic work environment.  Many times I wished that a job would fall into my lap and rescue me from the daily grind that was sapping my spirit and leaving me stressed out and possibly a little depressed. Beyond wishing, my prayer became "show me an exit and I will take it".

December 2014: I completed a regular and depressing manager duty of selecting the team members that I would lay off during the next cost cutting exercise.  This exercise had become a regular event over the past several years and never got any easier.  This time, we were planning the layoffs for January, February and at mid year.  The goal was to reduce the onshore employee ratio from 60% to as low as 20% in 2015.

This lay off was conducted much like previous lay offs.  As a manager, I would learn of impending layoffs months before they were executed, make my lay off selections, and then live with the knowledge of who was losing their jobs as I worked with them daily.  According to company policy, I could not share the information with anyone, especially the victim, lest they find other employment and bolt before the predetermined time.

The company would plan the layoffs as one might plan a surprise party - extreme secrecy right up until the victim was invited into a conference room where I would surprise and shock them with the news they were no longer employed.  It was an especially cruel and unusual way of ending someone's employment.  This is one tactic used to foster a toxic work environment. 

During the planning for the early 2015 rounds of layoffs, the company leadership made a late request to increase the number of people we would lay off in February.  This led to a late request of all managers to bring one more name to a meeting that would determine the final list.  I was already in a foul mood having selected 2 contractors and a 35 year veteran employee and friend for the January and February lay off lists.  Then it struck me.  This is the exit.  My prayer became "tell me if I this is not my exit".

That evening I spoke with Terri.  She was painfully aware of my unhappiness (such a weak word) and that I wanted out.  While concerned about things like health insurance and my ability to find new employment at 58 years old, she did vow to support my decision.  I would offer my name as the one more name for the February lay off list.  I felt comfortable with the decision.  This is the first in a series of God things.

January 2015: I let my two contractors go.  While depressing, contractors live with the knowledge that each day, even each hour, might be their last working on any contract, so as lay offs go, this one was fairly easy.  I still held on to the knowledge that my friend and coworker of the past 12 years, a person well liked and respected by my entire team, would be let go in February.  The anxiety was lessened somewhat due to the fact that my friend was in his 70's, and that once I laid him off, I would also be laid off.  I had become at peace with moving on.

February 2015: Violating a specific Human Resources directive, I turned the lay off of a friend and colleague into a retirement celebration.  He agreed to announce his retirement and the team was then able to celebrate a long career and relationship with a very nice guy.  The HR team had informed me to not handle the lay off in this manner since it might disclose the coming layoffs and ruin their surprise party.  I opted to do the right thing and ask forgiveness later if needed.  Fortunately it wasn't.

March 2015:  Because I was a manager with diverse responsibilities that would be difficult to absorb by another manager without a hand off, I was asked to transition my role during the month of March and "retire" on March 31.  On March 6th I announced my "retirement" to my internal and external customers via email.  As part of that email announcement, I listed who members of my team would report to after my departure.  It seemed like a courteous thing to do, and fit right in with the transition duty I was asked to accomplish.  But at a company so dedicated to secrecy, it was a mistake.

On Sunday evening, March 8th, my boss called to inform me that my email caused a security concern and was being investigated internally.  It see,s that I had disclosed organizational structure to an external customer. Until the investigation was complete, I was suspended and should remain home awaiting a call. He informed me that he understood the intent of my email and that it was quite innocent, but the outcome could range anywhere between coming back to work later in the week, to termination and loss of my separation package.  Without the separation package, I would lose health insurance the following Friday, and would need to find new employment quickly.  This is not how I envisioned walking though the exit.  I began to question whether the exit was really a God thing, but I could not go back.  The door had slammed shut.

On March 10th the call came.  The investigation concluded that my last day worked would be moved from the March 31 date to the 10th.  The planned separation package would be provided.  The net effect was that I "retired" 3 weeks earlier than planned.  Later I learned that powerful executives had wanted my separation package revoked, while my boss and a Human Resources manager (the same one who directed me to not turn a lay off into a retirement) argued that pulling the package was unjustified by the facts and would tarnish the "retirement" of a 19 year veteran.  Looking back, I would have never expected my boss and the HR manager to win that argument, but they did.  Another God thing.

So I had walked entirely though the exit without knowing what lay ahead.  My departure was called a "retirement" for the benefit of my team.  They needed to believe that I was leaving by choice and not as part of a lay off.  I would have loved to retire, but knew that I needed a least a couple more years to make the retirement financial plan work.  But I now had some time to find a job I felt competent in, and wanted to do.  I had no idea what that job looked like.  My plan was to take some time off and not accept a job during the first 3 months, unless a really nice one fell into my lap.  Since nice jobs rarely fall from the sky, I guess my plan was to take 3 months off.

I spent most of this time tackling huge jobs that I would not be able to complete while working a full time job.  Tasks such as painting my house inside and out, and helping my daughter remodel her bathroom and ready their house for sale.  It sold in one week.  Another God thing.  The buyers wanted to close before the end of June (less than 30 days) which seemed impossible since my daughter and her family did not have a place to move to on such short notice.  But their rental home had just become available and could serve as a temporary residence while they built a house.  It just needed to be completely renovated to be livable for a family of 5.  It needed new paint, new garage door, new floors, and a lot of clean up inside and out.  Since I was unemployed, I offered to help by painting and doing a few other odd jobs.  I thought I had until the end of June to finish, but things were moving much faster.  Let's review.  House goes on the market May 19th or so, a contract is signed on May 27th, entire family goes to Florida for vacation on May 29th and return June 6th, work begins on rental house the following week.  They move into restored rental home on June 20th and close the sale of their house the following week.  It still seems impossible.  God things.

With those tasks completed, I returned to my plan which was to begin to seriously look for work upon returning from vacation on June 8th.  I was either going to start submitting applications on every job that looked interesting, or attempt to make a living as a handyman. The later had appeal to me as it provided a great sense of accomplishment and gratification.  I was able to land a few jobs, but not enough to make a great living.  My prayer since leaving my prior job was "open the door" and smack me in the head if I didn't recognize  what it was.  On June 10th, I receive an email via Linked In from a former Sprint executive that I had worked for 7 years ago.  We had not communicated since he left Sprint in 2008.  He was now a Senior Vice President at Time Warner Cable.  He asked me to call him when I had a few minutes.

I called and we caught up on the past 7 years.  He asked me what I was doing and I responded that I had left my job voluntarily in March.  He was not aware.  He wanted to start a program at Time Warner similar to one I had work on at Sprint.  He wanted to know if I was interested.  Yes, a door was opening.  I flew to Herndon, Virginia on June 18th and 19th for what were called interviews, but actually weren't.  I met with several managers and executives who gave me their thoughts on the new program.  I left my location and salary needs with the SVP and returned to Kansas.

A job was posted at Time Warner on June 24th and I was encouraged to apply for it.  I walked through the open door.  On June 26th I was contacted and informed that I had been selected. The offer met my salary needs and would be located in Kansas City.  God things.

My scheduled start date is July 13th. I will be building a team and establishing a program that is roughly the same as a team I had built and managed at Sprint. 

My story is not as witty or as entertaining as Kelly Levantino's, but it is more wordy and just as supernatural.  

The Feel-gooders are Back

A feel-gooder is a person who will react to a problem in a manner that cannot possibly solve the problem, but since they are "doing something", they feel good.

Dylann Roof kills nine people in a Charleston church and predictably, the feel-gooders come out of the woodwork.  The shootings were no doubt a tragedy for the community and the families, but what happens next is just as much a tragedy.  This time we see the feel-gooders attempting to score political points on two fronts.

First is a new pointless feel-gooder demand - eradication of the confederate flag.  I am a Yankee and don't fully understand the devotion some southerners have toward the confederate flag.  To me it is a symbol that says "we lost".  But I understand that those whose ancestors fought and died for the confederacy might have a reverence that escapes me.  I also suspect that most who fly the flag do so more as a personal statement and not out of respect of Civil War dead.  It's a red neck rebel thing.

It is however, free speech.  Even red neck rebels have that right.  Inexplicably, the feel-gooders believe they would be doing society a solid by removing the right to fly the confederate flag by those who want to for whatever reason.  And how would fewer confederate flags flapping in the breeze bring healing to the families of the Charleston victims?  It wouldn't.  The feel-gooders are attempting to punish a group of people they do not agree with simply because Dylann Roof choose a symbol that group also associates with.  In the end, the demand is pointless and only diminishes free speech for all Americans.

Second, the well worn and predictable gun control discussion surfaces from feel-gooders libs and those who would blame the shootings on the NRA, the gun, or another scapegoat, anyone or anything but Dylann Roof himself.  Their gun control mantra is illogical and unnecessary.  To prove the idiocy, let's assume they are correct, that by outlawing guns, mass murders will end.  Let's pretend that gun ownership is now against the law.

There are millions, maybe billions of guns on earth.  Just as the guns didn't actually commit the mass murder, neither can they be expected to turn themselves in for destruction. So we are left with a world full of guns, regardless of how hard the feel-gooders wish it were not true.  It is reasonable to assume the next Dylann Roof will be able to obtain one of the millions or billions of guns and commit the next mass murder.  My question to the feel-gooders is "what would you do next?"  Since outlawing guns is as effective as emptying the ocean with a tea cup, maybe they should begin with whatever comes after gun control.

A reasonable approach to curbing gun violence and murders must start within society.  Guns and flags have never killed anyone.  Only humans have the ability and the will to kill another.  The deterioration of families, schools, churches, and morals are direct contributors to the conditions that led to Charleston, Newton, Aurora, Virginia Tech and others.  Until the feel-gooders are willing to do the politically incorrect and demand that morals be reinforced in schools, that government cease supporting programs that weaken the family, that God through the church again becomes the moral compass of the nation, and that life be held as sacred, there are many more Charlestons and Dylann Roofs in our future.

Chilling

Obama: I think that the effort to suggest that the poor are sponges, leeches, don’t want to work, are lazy, are undeserving, got traction. And look, it’s still being propagated. I have to say that if you watch Fox News on a regular basis, it is a constant venue. They will find folks who make me mad. I don’t know where they find them. They’re all like, “I don’t want to work. I just want a free Obama Phone, or whatever.” And that becomes an entire narrative that gets worked up. And very rarely do you hear an interview of a waitress, which is much more typical — who is raising a couple of kids and doing everything right but still can’t pay the bills.  And so, if we’re going to change how Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) and Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) think, we’re going to have to change how our body politic thinks, which means we’re going to have to change how the media reports on these issues, and how people’s impressions of what it’s like to struggle in this economy looks like. And how budgets connect to that. And that’s a hard process because that requires a much broader conversation than typically we have on the nightly news.

I like to Watch - HBO Now

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Terri and I have become fans of HBO's Game of Thrones.  Season 5, episode 1 premiered last night and I had inconveniently cancelled our HBO subscription just two weeks ago.  We had been on a 3 month free demo from DirecTV that expired.  We have watched prior GoT seasons on bootleg web sites.  I have always been willing to pay for quality programming such as GoT and Homeland if an option was provided that did not include bundles or subscriptions.

We switched to DirecTV in December due to the cable company's confiscatory and increasing monthly rate.  DirecTV is more economical, but still requires you to bundle if you want the best price on premium services.  I refuse to pay $50 a month for all movie services, or $19 a month for HBO standalone.  I have been waiting for an option that allows a' la carte, economical and non-contracted subscriptions.

HBO brilliantly released HBO Now the same weekend that Game of Thrones began their new season.  I decided to trial this new risk-free option.  The first 30 days are free and a monthly rate of $15 follows for access to all past and new release HBO content.  I suspect I was one of millions who signed up over the past weekend.

I expected to be able to subscribe over Apple TV, but could not.  Instead, I found the simpliest way was to sign up by downloading the HBO Now app on an iDevice, and setting up an account.  You can then go to Apple TV and use your new credentials to sign into the HBO Now app already present on the Apple TV home screen.

Once you are in, you are presented with a slick Netflix-style navigation menu where content is grouped by series, documentaries, movies, watch lists, etc.  It looks like all the good stuff is there going back to The Sopranos, Oz, Band of Brothers and other classic HBO series.

I sort of expected an option to view HBO live, but that isn't how it works.  HBO Now is not HBO Go that allows HBO subscribers to watch living streaming HBO programming.  Instead, content is made available on HBO Now simultaneously with airing on commercial HBO.  GoT season 5, episode 1 became available for streaming on HBO Now at the same time the program was aired on cable TV.  I think I like it this way much better.  There are no series recordings.  The content just appears when released.  Accessing the latest episode of GoT is as simple and straightforward as accessing the first episode of Tombstone.

I suspected that video quality could have suffered if the GoT premiere had enticed millions to sign up for HBO Now, but was pleasantly surprised.  The video was delivered on time, in HD and there were no problems with buffering, stalling or pixelating.  HBO seems to have gotten it right the first time.

New Loves

It's been 4 weeks since I became unemployed.  Yesterday I had lunch with a good friend and former co-worker.  He asked me if I had any regrets.  Within 2 nanoseconds I answered NO!  It has been a great 4 weeks of acclimating to a new calendar. 

My new calendar has Sunday followed by 6 not-Sundays.  The reality is that 2 of my not-Sundays are days when Terri works.  On those days I get up with her to make the bed and the coffee, and help her get out the door.  I am a swell guy.

During the 4 weeks off, I have developed a love for things that I once hated or took for granted.  One of those things is coffee.  I always liked coffee, but now I love coffee.  Getting up in the morning and fixing a steaming cup of Seattle's Best in the Keurig is something that I look forward to.  My coffee intake has not increased, but more than ever, I really enjoy the 2 cups I drink each morning.

I have also learned to love Sunday evenings.  Formerly, Sunday evening was the official end of the weekend and the unofficial return to the work week.  Anxiety and stress would slowly return starting just after Sunday noon, and build the rest of the day.  Now, the relaxed stress-free feeling of Saturday evening continues all day Sunday.  It's a great thing.

My not-Sundays continue to be busy.  I have completed about half the honey-do's on the list and taken on new tasks that were not on the list.  I have also entertained doing a side job for one of Terri's customers.  Last week I received great news from the realtor for my mother's manufactured home.  We always knew that selling the home without owning the lot would be an uphill struggle and it has been, but we received and accepted an offer.  Closing is scheduled for the end of May.

Missouri law governing manufactured homes seems to be ambiguous at best.  I learned yesterday that we could not get a duplicate title for the home because it was never titled 11 years ago after it was sold to my parents.  Having the time to develop personal relationships with the staff at the Missouri Department of Revenue has been a blessing.  I have spent the last two afternoons there and will need to return at least once more. One thing I will never learn to love is the bureaucracy of government. But at least now I have the time to navigate through it. 

I Like to Eat - Guy and Mae's Tavern

Today, Terri and I enjoyed good food and good company, traveling to Guy and Mae's Tavern for some of the best ribs in the KC area.  We have been there before.  We first went to Williamsburg, Kansas to eat at Guy and Mae's - (there is no other reason to visit the ghost town) - maybe 20 years ago?  From Overland Park it is a 45 minute trip.  From Basehor it is north of an hour.  It has been around 8-10 years since our last visit when we dined with Tom Watson - true story.  We were sitting at a table in Guy and Mae's one Saturday afternoon and a couple of hunters walked in.  As they approached, I thought that I recognized one of the individuals.  As he neared, I became certain it was Tom.  I can call him Tom because I once ate lunch with him (well I ate lunch within 20 feet of him).

From the outside the tavern appears to be a deteriorating building along a row of dilapidated structures in a town that hasn't seen much action in years.  The first visit, I hesitated before entering.  I expected there to be a gang of bikers or hillbilly rednecks gulping their long necks and waiting for the next city slicker to walk in so they could go all Deliverance on them.  Instead, I opened the door and was greeted with a couple of pinball machines and a pool table where two 11 year olds worked on their skills.  It's a tavern in a country town.  No reason to be concerned.  It's probably safer than at a mall in the golden ghetto of Johnson county.

 

The tavern is long and narrow with a seedy bar running half of the length.  A recent addition to the dining area are the hundreds of messages written on dollar bills and hung or taped to nearly every surface.  A nice touch that actually added class to an otherwise gloomy dining room.

Once seated, don't expect a waitress to stop by with a menu.  The menu is conveniently thumb-tacked to the wall at each table.  If you have a taste for French fries, pulled pork or burnt ends, too bad.  The place was built on ribs, so get the ribs.  They do offer a ham, beef, turkey and/or polish sausage sandwich, but trust me, get the ribs.  For sides, choose from a rich selection of slaw, tater salad or beans, each a buck and each served in their very own Styrofoam cup.  Want a coke?  They got those too, served in an authentic Coke can.  Draft beer is served one mason jar at a time.  Whatever combination of sides and drinks you decide on, get the ribs.  They are why you travelled to the back of beyond.

The ribs and sides come quickly.  They are wrapped in heavy foil and served on newspaper.  In the 20 years of so that I have gone to Guy and Mae's, the ribs are consistently flavorful and tender.  The meat falls off the bone - bad in a BBQ competition, but great for regular people dining.  The smoky flavor is not overwhelming, but a distinct hickory flavor is evident.  I have had better tasting ribs, but not many or often.  The sauce is typical Midwestern tomato-based, but much thinner than most others in the area.  It is served in a sealed mason jar with holes cut into the top.  The idea is to flood the ribs and surrounding foil with sauce and push the meat around in it before consuming.  I am not a great fan of the sauce, but I suspect the sauce was not intended to be the star of the meal.  The ribs are.  And the ribs definitely are.

With the rich selection of BBQ joints in the Midwest, Guy and Mae's is often forgotten.  Not because the ribs are easy to forget, but the drive is.  A full slab cost $19 and at least 2 hours of your life.  That is still a pretty good deal.

For a little history on the place, take a look at this recent KC Star article.