Two days ago, my uncle passed away in the Philippines. He is my mom’s brother, and she is quite saddened by the news, as are we all. He and the rest of my family in that part of the world live so far away that I very rarely get to spend any time with them. I wish I were wealthier so that I could travel to the Philippines more often, and spend time with this side of my family. Everytime I have visited (of an age that I can remember), I have always had the time of my life. They are always so hospitable and go out of their way to make sure you have a nice time. Tito Junior (my uncle), used to show me how to shoot banana leaves. For the life of me, I can’t remember how to do that now. He used to carve me swords made from bamboo, so that I could play pirate while I visited out there.

Towards the end I know he was in a lot of pain, and I’m not sure of the actual disease he had. I know it was affecting his lungs pretty bad. He only had a very small portion of his lungs left. He was on oxygen all the time. His death was not a surprise to any of the family, but that’s hardly a comfort. I’m sure everyone over there will miss him terribly and I’m certain that I will miss him.

Arturo Lo, Jr.

1950 – 2002

Well, I’d love to tell you all what life in Happyland is like, but it’s been years since we’ve been there. :) I can tell you all about life in Unknown Future Poor As a Monkey’s Uncle Wanna Bang Your Head Into a Wall Land. In a nutshell, it sucks! Don’t get me wrong, I am greatful for the job I found, but my stability there has yet to be proven. I’m not too terribly worried, but after spending years in Management, who knows how much my brain has rotted. It’ll be nice to switch modes from stratician to frontline grunt for a change, however.

The doctors say Shirley is doin worse now than when she was brought in. However, to look at her you couldn’t tell. She does have a feeding tube now, and the breathing tube is still in. I can’t help but remember what it was like for my dad. The progression seems to similar for me to keep my hopes up. She has a pretty bad infection that they cannot locate, so that is working against her right now. It’s horrible watching the people you care about suffer like this. Sure makes one consider their own mortality. Damn, I gotta quit smoking…

Our finances are still in a storm of a condition. But, we are getting a foot hold slowly but surely. The new paycheck will help out a lot. But, Heidi is still considering getting a job. Ugh… I hate it when she gets a job… I know she doesn’t mind, but I hate to see her feel she “has” to get a job. I’m still a bit old fashioned, I guess…

Well, that’s it for now, kids. More to come — that’s for certain.

So, after a few weeks of free fall in the hell that is the US Job Market, the Angel of Mercy has broken my fall and layed me down on solid ground again. Not as cush of a paradise that my last job was, but infintely less stress, and hopefully I wont have to take my job home with me. Yes, I’m back at “Spacely Sprockets”, and thankful that I am. Well, this has been quite a learning experience for me, and I’ll be better equipped to deal with this situation if it happens again.

My new job will find me in the technical jungle where I aimed to go many years ago before being sucked into the whirlwind of management. Here we go down a new road; who knows where it will end up?

I tell ya, if we get another bomb dropped on us, I think we’ll just give it up. We found out this weekend that my mother-in-law is in the hospital with COPD (water on the lungs). It doesn’t look good, as she is on a breathing machine, and not awake and alert. It reminded me of my father. The docs said that when a patient is intubated it is never a good sign. If they don’t extubate her soon, I don’t think she will pull through. But, she is a fiesty ol woman, so if anyone can pull out of this it’s her. It’s just a damn shame to see her like that. She’s only 50 years old. ::sigh::

Today I fired off some resumes to various places around town, and to some headhunters. Man, let me tell ya, it’s ugly out there in the job market! I really hope this opportunity to get back with “Spacely Sprokets” works out. I’d be able to keep the awesome bennies, and even get some much needed tech training. We’ll see what happens. I should know by the end of the day — so I’m told. I’m not holding my breath, but I am crossing my fingers. :)

So, I got a call from “Spacely Sprockets” today. From a higher up who I happened to work with long ago. In fact, we started there together (he has advanced far beyond my levels in the company, however). Anyway, he wanted to know if I was interested in a job with him. I explained that my severence package — which I already signed and mailed — stated that I am not allowed to work for “Spacely Sprockets” ever again. He said that we might be able to work around that. Anyhoo, the gist is that I may have a job, albeit with the same company I just left, still a job. I will send in my resume tomorrow and have it ready for the hiring manager on Monday. I am looking forward to getting back there (wierd huh — I’m fickle as a pickle). Actually the department I’d be going to is much better than were I was at in terms of stress and burnout. But, it is worse in the respect of pay… Beggars can’t be choosers. Wish me luck, gang!