neunundfünfzig

while raking leaves...
man walking dog:  "Do you know who's cat this is?"
me:  "No.  It's weird.  I don't like it"
man walking dog:  "Yes.  It acts odd.  I don't like odd cats."
me:  Pointing to a house.  "There's a nice cat that lives there."
man walking dog:  "That cat is a lot of fun."

We all like the cat that is fun.  All of the neighbors like him.  We disregard the "on a leash" regulation because he's just a nice cat, even when he climbs in the car or walks into your house uninvited.  The weird cat is owned by some weird neighbors.  How appropriate.

at Menard's buying doors...
me:  "I could use some help with doors."
geezer employee with cane:  "OK.  What doors do you need?" Grabs cane an starts hobbling toward doors.
me:  "The cheap ones.  The ones on sale for $29.  The six panel with the fake wood grain.  I'm confused about rough openings."
geezer with cane:  "Show me what you have."
me:  We go over the size and swing side.  He immediately memorizes the 8-digit part numbers and calls for assistance an rattles off the part numbers to two Asian guys on a fork lift.  "Are you sure those are right?"
geezer with cane:  "Yes.  That's what I do.  Let's go back to the desk and I'll give you an invoice.  You can pick up the doors at Door #2."
me:  After receiving invoice..."How do you like working here?
geezer with cane:  "It's great.  John Menard sends every employee a give on every holiday.  He knows that he asks people to work on days they would prefer to have off.
me:  "That's pretty thoughtful."
geezer with cane:  "It is thoughtful.  It's not normally an expensive gift but he has at least 10,000 employees.  He has nine employees working full time just to manage the gift program."
me:  "That's great.  How long have you worked here?"
geezer with cane:  "Sixteen years.  Home Depot wanted me to manage the Woodbury store when they opened it.  They had a phone interview system with their headquarters in Atlanta.  After doing that interview I decided they could never pay me enough to work there."
me:  "Menard's must be happy with you.
geezer with cane:  "They put up with me now.  I have all sorts of leg problems and work part time.  They are good to me."
me:  "That's a good relationship to have.  You have a good weekend and thanks for your help."
me:  At Door #2 picking up my doors.  I'm staring at them.
forklift Asian guys:  "Would you like help with those doors?"
me:  I could handle it myself but ... "Yes, that would be nice."
forklift Asian guys:  They make two quick trips each.  I thank them.
me:  I drive to the renovation location.  I break a ceiling fixture in the lobby when carrying in the second door.  When taking the third door up the elevator I accidentally pop the suspended ceiling out of the elevator and am clueless how to put it all back together.  I pondered just throwing it away in the onsite dumpster.  Finally I get it to stay in the ceiling but it's definitely not right.

at Marianne's Kitchen...
patron:  "So, John, how are you and have you decided what you are doing next?"
me:  "I had planned on taking off the month of October.  I did that and I took off November, too.  I'm feeling now like the transition is in process.  Early on I don't thing I had let go."
patron:  "It takes a while."
me:  "I'm going to re-focus on this after the first of the year but I am going to make a trip to Denmark in late February or early March."
patron:  "That sounds like a great plan.  You should use the time when you have it."
me:  "That's what I'm thinking.  Some of the things I was focused on initially are morphing a bit and I thing giving that more time will help bring things into focus.  I want to market myself with clarity not because of loss or recent departures or changes."

at the computer...
Thoughts & plans continue, but right now I am going for a taco.  After the taco I'll work on my marketing plan again.  I would also like to make progress on Ruby on Rails.