popeseasons

10:50 am: Blessings
Gaia, Flora, Cerunnos...Pan laughing in the Spring.

Bless the land that we do cherish...bless the hands that tend it. This day we renew, as Spring renews, your good now is ours.

Gaia, Flora, Cerunnos...Pan laughing in the Spring.

Wood and water, field and sky. We will step lightly and with loving hands help heal. Help us teach all to see ourselves as Earth's children, not her master. Help us all to heal.

Gaia, Flora, Cerunnos...Pan laughing in the Spring.

09:25 pm: Shameful treatment of wounded soldiers.
Don't know what rock I've been hiding under, but today's news of Maj. Gen. George Weightman's removal as head of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center --and why -- was the first I'd heard of the substandard care given to wounded soldiers. While Bush & Co bleat "support the troops", the ugly truth seems to be that cannon fodder is just that -- and apparently this living, breathing "fodder" isn't worth caring for with dignity, honor or even decent cleanliness.

Why? What is there but shame for a country that won't even care properly for the soldiers it sends to enforce it's will?

I think outrage is too small a word. I know I don't want this war, never have and will keep calling for it's end. But regardless of that I will demand even louder for the best possible care for those soldiers who have paid for Bush's war with their blood and bodies.

04:12 pm: hope all are safe
Terminix closed early and one of the office girls kindly dropped me off at home. I was able to call CatLord and tell him he wouldn't have to come get me when he's done at work. (Normally his getting off at 5:30 and me at 6:00 works well with just the one car, but this storm has made driving rather horrid). So here I am hoping he makes it home alright.

I'll have to refill the bird's dish out on the porch in the morning, as even with the snow still falling, the sparrows and junkos are flitting in and out to pick and peck their seed. Something larger -- jays or mourning doves -- has also been by, as most of the snow has been brushed off the dish.

So this is our winter. Bah. I'm too old to play in it and not old enough to stay home out of it. But since it's February, hopefully there won't be much more of it (Are you listening, Mama?) And hopefully everyone else here on the US East Coast will manage to weather this storm safely. Is everyone okay?

Also, here's a link to the World Wildlife Fund's Valentines Day ecards. There a bit different than the usual hearts and flowers

http://www.worldwildlife.org/ecards/send_card.cfm

07:22 pm: Sometimes useful things come along
I wish I knew who wrote this excerpt from today's Daily OM essay. It's been one of those weeks when things have seemed harder than usual. Can't put my finger on why, so I'm just concentrating on plugging along. Hopefully y'all might find this as heartening as I did...

"""""Some of our goals and dreams come to fruition so easily that it is as if an unseen hand has done much of the work for us. When this happens, we say it must have been meant to be. On the other hand, when dreams and goals require a tremendous amount of effort, we may interpret this to mean that our dream is not meant to be. However, difficulty is not necessarily a sign that our hopes and plans are ill-fated. On the contrary, difficulties and challenges along the path can be important parts of the project's overall meaning.

When everything goes smoothly, we feel blessed by the universe, as if a fleet of angels is guiding and supporting our every move. When things are rough or ambiguous, we sometimes feel that we have been abandoned. And yet, the truth is that we are blessed in both cases. Our angels and guides are always present. They may choose at times to back off and let us figure something out for ourselves, and this is when things seem difficult. But when things are difficult, we learn and grow in specific ways. There is a unique satisfaction that comes to us when we succeed at something that has been a challenge. Our sense of self-reliance expands, and our ability to endure and keep the faith is stronger for having been tested.""""""

08:44 pm: been awhile
Just a auick look in this evening. Things have been well with us, although they almost weren't due to work.

Me and the other inside sales person (Jason) were told that Terminix would be switching to call centers for inbound sales by Samhain last year. That meant that we'd be laid off. Then right before Samhain they told us that maybe one of us would be kept on to coordinate the outside sales staff's schedules, which meant getting them appointments for their sales inspections. Since that was already part of my job, I didn't mind, especially since it meant staying on there. I like the business, the pay and the fact that my office is only about 5 minutes from home.

If they decided to have a coordionator at the branch, the number of appointments we got that resulted in sales would determine which of us was chosen. The day before Xmas weekend, we were told that I'd be kept and Jason laid off. He'd been there about a year longer than I and was an affable, crippled fellow, so I had to deal w/some attitudes over his being let go. But at Terminix, like most other places, numbers rule, so since I had what I wanted, I just let the attitudes deal w/it.

Sounds a bit harsh, eh? Well so is being unemployed and so is losing a job less tban a year after getting it. And so is having our lives fucked over financially yet again. C'est ca. So we're both busy and glad to be so.

On the fun side, we're looking forward to spemdimg a weekemd in Philly, kind of a combination ammiversayr-my birthday-Valentines celebration. I'm gonna find us a hotel with a hot tub and we'll relax. CatLord wants to visit the museum, which I haven't seen in years and we'll also look up some old friends, etc.

Hope everyone is well - gonna cruise now and see what everyone is up to.

06:48 am: today's grats
I'm grateful to the Wheel. Besides variety and movement, there's the hope that those moments that one wants to move on will do so. Bless the Wheel!

08:47 pm: The Gratitude Project
Thanks to our Estara and to all who've reminded me, especially Matrinka. Let's see if I can do it this year.

The Gratitude Project runs from Lammas to Mabon and you find something to be grateful for each day between those Sabbats. No repeats - you can be grateful for your spouse/kids/job/friends, but the reason for the gratitude needs to be different for each entry. Join the Gratitude Revolution! ;-)

I'm very grateful to be back in sales. It's one of the best ways to have a job and play a game at the same time. Each time one makes a sale, one wins. And when one no longer finds that a game, one knows it's time for a career switch. Grateful correllary: It's still a game for me.

Reverse of grateful: the current heat wave. Seasons doesn't do dog days.

08:14 pm: Had to chuckle when I saw this
.
.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/5166462.stm

"Scientists have proved for the first time that sperm grown from embryonic stem cells can be used to produce offspring...."

Made me wonder now if men will truly be superfluous...

,.,.,.,runs very fast,.,.,.,.

09:50 pm: Popping in
Just a quick surface before another week takes over. Thank our good PJ for reminding me how long it’s been :-).

Despite somewhat slow weather Spring has been glorious. Last week we met up with Hoyden at Faerie Fest on Sunday rather than our usual Saturday because I had had to work one of my several Saturdays this month. Faerie Fest was wonderful – not too hot and not too overcrowded. It was grand to be out in the air and fields, feeling what for me is usually Beltane’s public climax. The vendors were fun as usual, as was the music. At the very end of our day we found ourselves with the drummers. CatLord unfolded a chair for me as I picked up a drum no one else was using. I hadn’t drummed with a group in ages, and it was magickal. The dancers stomped and undulated, some occasionally trilling and singing out as the rythmns pulled and pounded. The energy verged on the wild, but enough folks were there who knew how to channel it. The God was there, drawn by those of us who honored him and lending, at least to me, enough stamina to drum to the end and end in joy and laughter.

Yesterday we met up witb Dragonfairie and her good Fava at the Landis Valley Herb Faire. Despite a couple of showers, it was another grand day in the air – not to mention a chance to get a few goodies for our garden. We got some yellow coneflowers and mullein for the assualt on the weed bed, a “blackberry” daylily for the sunny bed and a nice lemon verbena for the porch. I got to show Dragonfairie a couple of my favorite vendors, including a wonderful potter who uses dark glazes to show off her PA Dutch motifs. Dragonfairie looked great…must be the upcoming nuptuals, eh? During one shower, we sat and chatted in the tavern while the fellas went to see the gunsmith’s shop. The tavern was warm because of the cookfire where a chicken was roasting, suspended on a string that was kept spinning so the bird would brown evenly.

Today we planted our booty as well as some cosmos and marigold seedlings that were more than ready to leave the seedling tray. Gotta get a new seed tray next year, as this one was all but totally held together with tape. Our experiment with the stolen indigo seeds was a nonstarter. Guess I’ll have to steal more next fall. We’ll be getting a few more things, some mints, kitchen herbs and dittary of crete in the next little while. Given my schedule and health, the garden won’t be expanded much this year, but we’ll be able enjoy what we have.

12:31 pm: Happy B-Day PJ!!!!
May all the good gods bless you with a year of wonder and delight.
Yay PJ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

11:49 am: Planting stolen property
Since my job requires me to work several Saturdays a month, I get an occasional day off during the week. Today is one of those days and I'm spending part of it doing the little odds and ends I've not gotten round to recently.

One of those odd and ends is planting a seed pod of an indigo plant. I swiped the pod last fall from a stand of native Pennsylvanian plants at the Hawk Mountain wildlife refuge. Hubby, Hoyden and I visited the refuge last fall during the raptor migration. Normally I wouldn't swipe anything from a protected wildlife zone, but the docent who gave us a tour of the native plant garden was so insufferably politically correct and so woefully lacking in knowledge of the plants she was supposedly guiding us through, that I couldn't resist swiping the seed pod. The joke is that indigo (Indigofera tinctoria) is not a local native. It's originally from India.

CatLord already has a fine planting of woad, which looks like a prolific wild mustard bush when it blooms. If the indigo sprouts, I plan to plant it near the woad, which is in the weed bed that separates our yard from next door's garage. It's a good day to plant. Warm, sunny and a couple days away from April's full moon. Since the nights are still cool, after I soaked the seed pod in a bit of tepid water, I planted it in a small clay pot and put a clear plastic container over it to help conserve warmth. For me, gardening is sacred work, so it was easy to ask Luna's and Flora's blessings as I worked.

We're enjoying lots of daffs, both established returnees and new ones from a mixed bag of bulbs we planted last fall. The johnny jjump-ups have hopped out of the back bed into the grass where they look grand. One highlight is the return of the iris, which I dug up and split last fall since it didn't bloom last year. Both the yarrow and the columbine are doing well, as are the two hycinths that have come up each year since we moved in. Herbwise, the lovage, spearmint and catmints are greening back from last year. And best of all, the berrybush that seeded itself into the shadybed last year is up and green!

The sunnybed that looked so sparse when DragonFaerie and her good man were up the other weekend is waking up too. While the evil bunny munched my poor tulips, they've let the poppy grow in peace. I rooted out those blasted japanese lanterns that invaded last summer, but never bloomed because they were crowding the hollyhocks and the young clematis that's just started to twine back up the trellis. My perenniel dasies have started back too, as have some oddities that I've forgotten the names of. Fingers are crossed for a good year of lavendar because my supply has run low.

It's grand to have a day during the week to just putz around my home and garden. It's nice to just breathe too.

04:11 pm: 'Ello
What brought me back is the horrible aftermath of this weekend's tornados in Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and Arkansas. Do we know if Lark and everyone else is okay?

I think I might be able surface here now and again. The job continues to be a grand challenge. Since "bug season" is underway, I have to work most Saturdays, so I get a day off during the week. Not doing too badly as a Death Merchant, although cold calling still remains to be conquered. My boss, who shall be henceforth called Himself is the autocratic kind of boss. But he's good at it and he also knows how to challenge me into working smarter. We like Himself. Most of the rest of the folks there are decent too. Only a couple of jerks, so I can't complain too much.

The office (Bug Central) consists of Himself; the Office Manager (an excellent one of the gutsy tough broad type -- a farmer's daughter with a strong work ethic) and her minions two other admin/service women. One is a bitch and the other is a Wiccan that I worked with several temp jobs ago); and two Service Managers who ride herd on about 20 Service Techs (the Bug Men, most of whom are a riot and damned good at what they do).

The sales team consists of two parts. There are we three Inside Death Mercbants: me, the Trauma Queen {TQ}, a moron who was hired when I was and who, while fairly decent, although slow, at sales, cannot remember how the computer or much of anything else works. Her normal response to stress and challenge is to cry or threaten to. I've made no bones about despising her, shame on me, but anyone who presumes to include me in her ideal of womanhood as a 1950's stereotypic, pathetic, sex-a-phobe Christian spinster deserves my disgust. The other Insider is a dear fellow, a 20-something lad who has been more than generous with his time and knowledge in getting me at the TQ up to speed. He's 85 lbs, under 4 feet and suffers from several ailments including rheumatoid arthritis. He's also in the throes of needing a girlfriend, so since he's pagan-friendly, I'm helping him. Anyone kind enough to spare some energy for an engaging little man to discover the delights of a fun and decent girlfriend is most welcome to. The other part of the Sales team includes three Outside Death Merchants, a Commercial Death Merchant and a Death Merchant-in-Training.

In other news, CatLord is well, my garden is waking up and we had a grand visit from Dragonfairie and her good man. They came Saturday and were originally supposed to stay overnight, but Fava had to work on Sunday morning so they just drove up for the evening. I made quiche, Dragonfaerie brought some killer gingerbread and we rented Harry Potter 4. As part of our rather quiet Ostara festivities, I hung colored eggs from Tree off the porch. Wind and weather permitting, I hope to keep them there until Easter. Many folks around here do egg trees, but few have them at the 2nd story level.

It may take me a bit to catch up with everyone, but sooner or later I just might :-)

04:32 am: Bug school
Okay PJ, I'm present & about to account for myself ;-}

The new employer has a fantastic training program for all new employees. First the usual company video thing, some general ones and then more which are geared to one's job. Then all sales and tech newbies ride out with service techs. Despite some COLD mornings, I found it fascinating and, as it was probably intended to, got excited about our services. I also gained a huge measure of respect for the techs. Also had to admit I could NOT do that job. Between houses built on steep hillsides and the augers used to drill through concrete, that's a job for a fit and healthy person.

This week I went to Bug School. It's taught here in Mechanicsburg and 20-some new tech, service and sales hires from PA and NJ gathered at a local Holiday Inn to learn the basics of bugs, insects, rodents, etc., from their zoology to their control. Fascinating. Even the stuff I'd have normally found revolting was interesting. It was also interesting to see how he presented each critter first by it's place in nature and the food chain and only then moving on to why it's a pest and it's control. We've only 2 species of termite to worry about in our territory, 2 species of rat, 4 species of cockroach and about 6 of ants. Very glad I don't live in Florida.

Our instructor was a fellow who had started as a tech, moved into sales and management and then on to training and bug research. He had some great stories and did his job well. He went out of his way to make sure each tech had been issued all needed paraphenalia by their managers and that each of us sales folks had a smattering of useful anecdotes and patter to use. We had divided up into 5 person teams for some of the testing and quizzes, and I'm pleased to say that my team, Team Sparticus, earned the most points. Won a darling little set of magnifying glasses on he strength of it.

Next week I'm to learn the 'puter system and (finally!) get down to selling. With the busy season about to start (termites will begin to swarm and other insects wake up as well), I'm not too worried about not being able to snag new customers.

In about a week or so my schedule will settle and I'll be around a bit more. Hope everyone is well and behaving.

06:57 pm: Kids today
I'll echo our {{FF}}'s question, "Whatever happened to young kids going around offering to shovel for money?" I've not seen any kids going door to door for shovelling, leaf raking, lawn mowing, etc. since we moved here back in '98. And we live in a small town where folks settle to raise kids, so there's certainly no dearth of them.

I know many kids work fast food as soon as their old enough -- with many of them having Mom or Dad chauffer them to work, just as they'd been driven to music lessons, play dates and sports practice. But whatever happened to entrepreneurial initiative? Was my generation the last of the leaf rakers?

05:43 pm: just call me the terminater
Remember back in the old WitchWare days when you gave the slugs a home in an old FedEx box so I wouldn't eradicate them, Bludolfyn? Well that was just practice. I'm starting a JOB on Monday with a bug killing company.

Finally a job. And I finally get to walk away feom customer service and phone rooms. This job is inside sales, back where I want to be. Salary plus commission so we won't starve while I get my sales legs back. It was the first interview I had after losing the last job, and when I called the fellow to follow up this morning, he laughed as he was just getting ready to call me in to make an offer. He's the branch manager of the M-burg branch office of this national firm. Emerson is an old sales dog himself, so I ought to be able to learn some new tricks as well.

08:46 pm: Non-meme
I rejoice in the many wonderful folks whom I've met via the internet and laud them. But it seems utterly sheeplish to copy and paste that awkward and cumbersome sentence into my LJ.

After all, I'm a pagan Pope and I don't have to b/c I love most of you already.

08:00 pm: Calling for some perspectives
I challenged of the most recent spate of newbies at The Wiccan Collegium to speak up about where they've come from and what's drawn them to Wicca. In the responses, a few have raised a number of questions and one of the regulars also spoke up saying she's got some issues as well.

I'd love for them to have some other experienced perspectives besides mine, so if anyone is feeling generous or "teacherly", please feel free to cruise over to WC and help out:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wiccan_collegium/messages


Forgot to add: the conversations start with message 5959 and on from there.

Thank'ee :-)

10:41 am: Back from erehwon
The downtime has been good. As was a reading my Reiki master gave me last weekend whilst CatLord wasa fixing her 'puter. (Amazing how much better most electrical appliances work with a power cord than without). Talk about getting slapped upside the head by the cards. When she threw the spread we both looked at each other and burst out laughing, as the cards made no bones about what kind of changes are needed.

Applied for unemployment, but haven't heard yet. I'm going on interviews for inside sales jobs. I've had it with customer
service crap -- I'm tired of being a docile doormat. Time to be in a more aggressive line of work. Fingers crossed that I get re-employed very, very soon. I liked the interview I had yesterday -- very much a team approach with the inside sales person (hopefully me), also coordinating with 2-3 outsides reps besides doing my own stuff. There's another interview on Monday. Both jobs would be close by, which is important for me.

Tomorrow I'm going to sit in on one of my Reiki master's Reiki One classes. Lady C encourages her newer masters to do so, so we can gain experience in passing the attunements and help the newbies learn how to give treatments. She's expecting about 6 people, so we'll each supervise a table after they've been attuned and everyone will get a group treatmemt and take part in giving several.


I kept busy this week making catnip mousies. Despite the neuropathy, I can still do them, althugh the hand sewing at the end after they are filled goes slowly. S. took about 30 for Rosemary House in return for store credit. That works out well, as I like to buy my candle oils there and CatLord gets some of his herbs there for mediciments too.

02:33 pm: This is getting old
I got fired yesterday. It was just one day short of my four month anniversary with EUR. The reason I was fired is because a manager from another department walked by and saw me asleep at my desk and because I "challenged authority."

The fact that my pain meds tend to make me drousy didn't matter to EUR. They said I was welcome to apply for unemployment. Given that I wasn't given much formal training until last month, I was encouraged to ask questions. But then the trainer who they finally got to give me a few hours of training complained because I challenged her by asking questions. Basically they wanted me gone, I guess and it's easy for an employer to find reasons to fire folks. Besides, even though work was tight they'd just hired two part-time folks. Why keep me then and pay full-time benefits?

While I didn't know they were going to shitcan me, I'd been worried about this job for awhile now. I rather liked it, as far as work goes, and it was good to not be temping. But my real worry is what am I gonna do next? Can't seem to keep a job, and the issue boils down to my health. We need my income, and while it might be time for me to go for disability, that process can take over a year and supposedly one needs a lawyer to get it successfully. We can't afford a lawyer and certainly can't afford to not have me bringing something home.

Don't mean to sound melodramatic, but I have to wonder if it's not time to just bag it. I used to think that it wouldn't be fair to CatLord to take the easy way out, but mightn't it be easier for him in the long run to not have me to worry about and to be an expense? I was raised with a work ethic and found it good. I also used to believe that if one paid into the system, one ought to be helped in need. I've been working since 1977 or so, but now, with my spotty health it seems whatever safety net there might have once been is full of holes.

08:32 pm: Thundersnow tonight. Second time this winter. I can't remember the last winter that had thundersnow even once. Things are getting weird.