Yesterday, we lost a water main for our building.
With no running water, we also lost use of all of the restrooms in our building. No flushing, no washing hands, no rinsing out my bowl after finishing breakfast- nothing that required water. Many of my coworkers visited the local McDonalds over the course of the morning for a cup of coffee (the cafeteria was also closed) and the promise of working facilities.
By lunchtime, we had contracted with an outside service to drop off several port-a-potties inside the building, along with manual hand-washing stations. It was somewhat ironic that on the same day our CEO was ringing the bell at the NYSE, the employees in our building were just looking forward to having running water again. As crews worked to repair the damage, my coworkers and I found ourselves questioning why we were working under such conditions.
The reality is that that's the business we're in. Our job every day is to help keep other businesses, schools, hospitals, etc. up and running even when things happen unexpectedly. For us to do anything else in our own situation just wouldn't make sense. In retrospect, I'm glad we have companies like us around.
Today everything seems to be back to normal. The water is running, the toilets are flushing, and we're all quite relieved.
NOTE: The postings on this site are my own and not the Company’s.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Some Time Passes
Very little has happened since my last entry, except that college football has ended and the NFL playoffs have begun. With all of the teams that I care about eliminated, I will probably end up watching the Super Bowl for the commercials, like most years, laughing at a few and making sure that I know all of the new slogans and catch phrases when people in the office start quoting them in the days that follow.
It occured to me that today is only the 11th day out of the last 26 that I have worked, thanks to a combination of holidays, vacation days, and sick days going back to December. Tomorrow will be the first time since the week before Christmas that I have been in the office on four consecutive days. I know it's only been two weeks since New Year's, but that already feels like a long time ago.
Allie and I had a discussion a couple of nights ago about why anyone would buy books today when our library has such a good selection. We came up with three reasons, and the first one doesn't really count:
1. The book is a classic and it looks good to have on your shelf.
2. The book is one you plan on revisiting several times.
3. It's a book you plan on loaning to friends.
On the right-hand side of my blog, I've added a short list of books that I have enjoyed reading or plan to read soon. I realize I may not be breaking any new ground with C.S. Lewis and a couple of children's books, but they're all good if you can pick up a copy at your library. I'd buy all of them.
It occured to me that today is only the 11th day out of the last 26 that I have worked, thanks to a combination of holidays, vacation days, and sick days going back to December. Tomorrow will be the first time since the week before Christmas that I have been in the office on four consecutive days. I know it's only been two weeks since New Year's, but that already feels like a long time ago.
Allie and I had a discussion a couple of nights ago about why anyone would buy books today when our library has such a good selection. We came up with three reasons, and the first one doesn't really count:
1. The book is a classic and it looks good to have on your shelf.
2. The book is one you plan on revisiting several times.
3. It's a book you plan on loaning to friends.
On the right-hand side of my blog, I've added a short list of books that I have enjoyed reading or plan to read soon. I realize I may not be breaking any new ground with C.S. Lewis and a couple of children's books, but they're all good if you can pick up a copy at your library. I'd buy all of them.
Monday, January 7, 2008
A day unlike any other
One day each year, and only one day, I root for Ohio State.
Tonight is Ohio State's annual trip to a bowl game. *Sadly*, three out of the last five years this event has been the BCS National Championship game (2003, 2007, and 2008). I have to keep reminding myself that what's good for Ohio State on the national stage is good for the Big Ten, so, "[Sigh] Go Bucks."
Having grown up in Ohio, many people naturally assume that I grew up as an Ohio State fan. Short of reminding those people what happens when you assume, I've come up with the short list of reasons that I am NOT an Ohio State fan, except in January.
1. My parents and extended family are from Michigan. I may have been born in Ohio, but my roots are in Wolverine country.
2. The John Cooper era. During my formative years, John Copper was 2-8-1 against Michigan, making it much easier to root against Ohio State than for them in the big game.
3. I attended Northwestern University.
4. Over the last three years, Ohio State has outscored Northwestern 160 to 24.
5. Ohio State has a completely unrespectable mascot. "Look out! It's a... Buckeye?"
6. Nothing fails to inspire confidence in an academic institution like emphasis of a definite article. "THE" Ohio State University. Players on athletic scholarship must be able to correctly spell it before graduating or entering the NFL draft.
7. Seriously... a Buckeye? I hate to say it, but even Wisconsin wins in this department.
I wish Jim Tressel and company the best of luck tonight. More than that, I hope that they show up to play instead of falling flat on their face like they did last year. Please, Ohio State, bring one home for the Big Ten.
Tonight is Ohio State's annual trip to a bowl game. *Sadly*, three out of the last five years this event has been the BCS National Championship game (2003, 2007, and 2008). I have to keep reminding myself that what's good for Ohio State on the national stage is good for the Big Ten, so, "[Sigh] Go Bucks."
Having grown up in Ohio, many people naturally assume that I grew up as an Ohio State fan. Short of reminding those people what happens when you assume, I've come up with the short list of reasons that I am NOT an Ohio State fan, except in January.
1. My parents and extended family are from Michigan. I may have been born in Ohio, but my roots are in Wolverine country.
2. The John Cooper era. During my formative years, John Copper was 2-8-1 against Michigan, making it much easier to root against Ohio State than for them in the big game.
3. I attended Northwestern University.
4. Over the last three years, Ohio State has outscored Northwestern 160 to 24.
5. Ohio State has a completely unrespectable mascot. "Look out! It's a... Buckeye?"
6. Nothing fails to inspire confidence in an academic institution like emphasis of a definite article. "THE" Ohio State University. Players on athletic scholarship must be able to correctly spell it before graduating or entering the NFL draft.
7. Seriously... a Buckeye? I hate to say it, but even Wisconsin wins in this department.
I wish Jim Tressel and company the best of luck tonight. More than that, I hope that they show up to play instead of falling flat on their face like they did last year. Please, Ohio State, bring one home for the Big Ten.
Friday, January 4, 2008
Nothing Special
This Sunday I'll be playing electric guitar in the band at church. This is no small deal, because I usually don't play any form of guitar more than twice a year, and I certainly can't claim that I'm particularly good at it. Fortunately, that doesn't stop me from trying!
Playing in a worship band requires a peculiar balance, especially on an instrument where I'm not my best. On one hand, I want to do an excellent job because God deserves our best worship (in all aspects, not just music), but it also helps to keep me humble because it will be a small miracle if anything good comes out of the speaker. It's a lot harder to be proud when you know you're nothing special.
I think that's one of the things that makes God's grace so great. If I try to honestly compare myself to Him, I'm less than "nothing special". At any given time, there are more than 6,600,000,000 other people alive on earth, none of whom even come close to God's perfect majesty. The fact that He knows us and loves us can only be a testament to His greatness, not anything I can attribute to myself.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Better late than never, I guess
Some of you may remember my recent open letter, describing how the US Mail managed to lose two different gifts. In a bizarre and truly unexpected twist, BOTH of them were delivered on December 31 to their respective destinations. My mom ended up signing for her tickets more than two weeks after the concert and I just took possession of my wife's DVD after it made its way through our building's mail system. I'm glad that both eventually arrived, but I have learned a couple of things:
1. If something gets lost in the mail, make as much noise as you possibly can. My packages were missing for three weeks and then magically reappeared in the system less than three days after I started emailing the post office regarding their disappearance. I have little doubt that if I hadn't said something, my packages would have been "lost" forever.
2. FedEx everything anyway. I sent a package to my sister in Pennsylvania at 5pm the Thursday before Christmas. I shipped it using FedEx Ground, their cheapest option, since "timely" delivery didn't matter as much to me as delivery itself. It arrived that Saturday, about 36 hours later, with three days to spare BEFORE Christmas.
On a much lighter note, Allie and I had a wonderful Christmas and New Year's with our families and friends. We enjoyed seeing the Hoskinsons, Griffins, Grahams, Millers, and Beavers. Whether we'd been planning it the whole year or just at the last minute, we had a great deal of fun with all of you, and we look forward to seeing you and those we missed as soon as we can.
1. If something gets lost in the mail, make as much noise as you possibly can. My packages were missing for three weeks and then magically reappeared in the system less than three days after I started emailing the post office regarding their disappearance. I have little doubt that if I hadn't said something, my packages would have been "lost" forever.
2. FedEx everything anyway. I sent a package to my sister in Pennsylvania at 5pm the Thursday before Christmas. I shipped it using FedEx Ground, their cheapest option, since "timely" delivery didn't matter as much to me as delivery itself. It arrived that Saturday, about 36 hours later, with three days to spare BEFORE Christmas.
On a much lighter note, Allie and I had a wonderful Christmas and New Year's with our families and friends. We enjoyed seeing the Hoskinsons, Griffins, Grahams, Millers, and Beavers. Whether we'd been planning it the whole year or just at the last minute, we had a great deal of fun with all of you, and we look forward to seeing you and those we missed as soon as we can.
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