PeopleareParked.com

In this economy where money is short and so are jobs, sometimes we need a refresher on work ethic. All the experience in the world doesn’t make up for the lack of it. Here are some tips that might help get or keep a job:

1. Show up on time or early.
2. If you can’t show up, you might want to let someone know, just a thought.
3. Leave your problems at home.
4. Have a positive attitude.
5. If you aren’t the boss, realize you aren’t the boss.
6. Don’t bite the hand that feeds you.
7. Realize you are replaceable, just like everyone else.
8. If you want to be the boss, then work for yourself.
9. Make an effort to do more than you were asked.
10. Give praise and take praise well.
11. Say “Please” and “Thank you”.
12. Do your part to keep the working space livable.

Pretty much common sense.

If you’ve been reading this blog, you know that we’re avid Patriots fans - the football team that is.  Well, today is a different type of Patriots Day - the one that’s celebrated in MA.  The most significant event for today is the Boston Marathon, not any parade or anything patriotic.  Heck, I even had to work today on the holiday.

Another sign that it’s Patriots Day is the return of the tourists and the re-opening of all the seasonal restaurants, mini-golf courses, etc.  It’s actually been great weather this spring, which is very unusual here as we usually go straight from winter to summer.  So, along with the good, we have to accept the not so good - traffic.  Ah, the return of right turns only and confused drivers.

Oh well, it’s still early in the season and we still have our patience.  And no complaints about the weather, since we are enjoying it right along with the out-of-towners.  Enjoy!

Only a guy who thinks he’s above it all could have these kinds of regrets.

1. He regrets the “bitter” remark targeted on working class Pennsylvania voters being “bitter” about their economic lot!
2. He regrets the 20 years of attending, listening and participating in Reverand Wright’s church!
3. He regrets not paying his parking tickets in Cambridge, MA for 20 years!
4. He regrets taking 27 years to pay off an old excise tax bill in Somerville.

What kind of “regrets” will he have if he becomes President?  How many of us could get away with not paying some of those “regrets”?

No further comment needed.

This Wordpress blog needed to be upgraded probably 2 versions ago. I must admit, I was a little skittish about doing it, mainly because I didn’t want to mess up the files or lose data. It took several months and conversations with encouraging co-workers, who kept on telling me how easy it was. I also checked out the Wordpress site and found the three step process at http://codex.wordpress.org/Upgrading_WordPress, then an even more complicated process at http://codex.wordpress.org/Upgrading_WordPress_Extended. The last one being pages long, scared me even more with it’s length and warnings.

Today, I finally got up my courage and went for it, basically following the three step process. It actually took a few more than three steps, but wasn’t hard at all. Now, I can proudly say that PeopleareParked.com has graduated to version 2.5. We’re not parked anymore.

A friend called me tonight and pointed out that we’ve been friends for 30 years now. I couldn’t believe it and said, “Can’t be, I’m not even that old.” Of course, I couldn’t fool her, but the number startled me. It also reminded me of how special the friendship really is to have lasted this long. We both have spouses and live in different states, but have shared many of life’s ups and downs over three decades.

Knowing her as well as I do, we can say anything to each other, no matter how difficult and tonight, I knew something wasn’t right in her voice. A few months ago, she had finished her third round of chemo for melanoma and was given a clean bill of health. The cancer had totally vanished and not a trace was seen on her scans. Of course, there was always the possibility that it would come back. A couple of days ago, she felt another lump in her leg and will be returning to the doctor later this week for who knows what kind of news.

My friend is not parked, but the damn melanoma is.

Did you ever have an ex-girlfriend or ex-boyfriend, who can’t break the ties? I am still being contacted after repeatedly telling my ex to stop. We broke up about six years ago and she just doesn’t get it… that I don’t like her as a person and never will. Some exes just don’t make good friends. She’s the kind that if you let her in even a little, she’ll latch onto you, and won’t leave you alone. Besides that, she’s a manipulative liar, a drama queen.

After my explicit emails to leave me alone about 2 years ago, I set up an email rule in Outlook to automatically delete anything with her name or email address in it. Well, tonight I had to go into my Deleted Folder to check for an email thought to be deleted by mistake and saw one unopened from her, sent last week. Part of me didn’t want to open it and part wanted to know what the weirdo wanted. With the encouragement of my wife (yes she knows the whole story), I opened it. Her words were her usual fake niceties and she wanted to hire me for professional services. No, I’m not going to respond, but added it to the Stalker folder I set up just for her for documentation, just in case.

The crappy part is that she now works in the same building complex as me, so I have to see her car every week. We haven’t run into each other yet and I’m not sure she even knows I work there.

I just call her PSYCHO to myself and laugh! Parked beyond parked.

What’s up with the Red Sox playing a couple of regular season games in Tokyo, then coming back to the states, playing more exhibition games, then restarting the regular season again? What up?  Yes, it was cool to see them play in Japan and the different culture and it must’ve been a thrill for Dice-K hurling in his homeland.  He did hurl and it wasn’t pretty, but that’s another story.

I supposed they needed some travel days in between to rest, but come on, end the pre-season before the regular season starts.   Parked planning!

Nothing more to say on this one.

A few weeks ago, I wrote an article comparing Norton antivirus with the free AVG antivirus software. Still happy with the performance of AVG on my work computer. It scans for viruses everyday and I can see it scanning every incoming email, so it seem to be doing its job.

Another positive aspect of it is that it is catching all my spyware, which I didn’t have with the Norton. Using Spybot Search & Destroy, I’ve scanned my computer roughly 3-4 times over the last couple of months and no spyware was found. It was amazing, since I used to have at least 20 instances before. And it’s free, people! I’m going to definitely use it on my home computer also and spread the word to friends.

Taking a break from politics for a rant on the road.  There’s always parked people to find or find me while driving.  On my way home from work on a single lane highway, another driver wanted to get up close and personal.  Behind me was a woman in an SUV only inches away from my bumper.  She was so close, I could see her hair color, facial features and that she had her cell phone glued to her ear, so really driving badly one-handed!

Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t travel any faster because of cars in front of me.  At one point the cars in front of me braked, as did I, but the idiot behind me almost didn’t slow in time.

So, what does it really accomplish?  Do you think you’re really intimidating me into going faster - nope.  Do you really think you’ll get there faster - nope.  You might accomplish an accident and then you’d be crying “poor me” after you get hurt or have to pay a higher insurance bill.  You probably wouldn’t care if you hurt someone else, since you’re so selfish.

(Deep breath)  OK, now I feel better, thanks.