Ova hea Porkyepine - Morning 10/10/00

[Sparky Kronkite]

Geese! How many zero's on one date can we have?

NYC, sunny and cold once again - in way too early (but relatively normal for me) for a big pow-wow. Some folks could get the axe today. "All hush-hush and hoosh-hoosh you know." (Terry Thomas from It's a M,M,M,M World - one of my favorite flicks.)

Interesting too - riding the elevator with the boss this morning he first asks me about the baby and then says he might be in Steinbrenner's booth tonight and hopes he can make the game. Man - maybe axing folks and going off to the game to hob-knob with his peers. I guess ya gotta do what ya gotta do. I would never want to be him.

It's hard, it's very hard sometimes.

Oh well - I'm safe - I think?

 

[Nicole]

Well I'll say goodnight, see you in 10 hours. Have a good day

 

[Sparky Kronkite]

Thank you my dear....

I will do my darnedest - have a wonderful rest.

 

[Expertise]

10/10/00

Drizzly (is that a word?) windy and cold here this morning about 6C. Federal election on 27/11/00 looks like a certainty here. Guess we have a desire to share the pain of our 'merican brothers, misery loves company yada yada yada.

Axeing somebody is never pleasant ... but Yanks box seats would take some of the sting out of it. Sorry if that sounds mercenary.

Have a good day kids.

 

[TN_Vixen]

Mornin'. First day back to work since the surgery and am feeling just fine (said with a nice country twang... two syllables, of course) It was frosty this morning but should get to mid-60s by afternoon and it is sunny with a slight breeze right now. Having had my coffee and obligatory cinn-raisen bagel, I'm now ready to get down to work.

Renew thyself day after day and again.

 

[R Nitelight]

Mornin', Sparky.

 

[Sparky Kronkite]

Back from the big pow-wow......

Death! A knife to the heart. Shock………..

They pulled the plug on the entire operation. Modified it and by year's end only half of the existing employees will be "allowed" to remain.

The axe with a parachute - the big buy out - is on the block. All those here under 5 years would be wise to do so.

I'm lucky - 15 years means a lot - the fact that they will still operate and make TV is on my side too.

But man - the systems folks, the researchers, we've even got a couple of brilliant Phd's - they will have no choice but to take the chute. I will loose a few good friends from this.

The worst part is - that I helped build it - I poured over the blue prints, I made the decisions on conduit runs and cabling, I designed the equipment racks and supervised the built-out. I even picked the color and finish of the board room table - for TV purposes - no glare, not too dark, not too light, sort of thing. Now with our vacancy - some other company will reap the benefits of my work - or scrape away the 3 year old technology. Some other fuck head will be twiddling my knobs.

It's way fucking too bad!!! I need some tequila.

 

[Svedish_Chef]

The wierdest bit about you doing this sparky is that you post at 11PM OZ time and as I answer it it is now quarter to one on the 11th!

So what the fuck happened to you over there buddy? You just get bought out by 'the man'? At least you are safe for a while at least I spose.

Da chef

 

[Purple Haze]

Good Morning Spark, it's sunny and warm in the northern plains this morning, did you watch those Vikings last night? Moss is the boss. I was skeptical at the beginning of the season, and now they're going to get my hopes up once again, damn.

 

[TN_Vixen]

life in the big city sucks, man. I have several friends who've recently been subjected to this type of slash and burn tactic. Sorry 'bout your friends and... your knobs, but hey at least you're still swimming without the bait attached to your leg!!

chin up.

 

[Expertise]

That sucks Sparky....

So are you gonna' "take a package" and do the Mr. Mom thing that you've mentioned. Seems like it could be a pretty good opportunity to do it. There is always an upside Sparky.

Exact some small measure of revenge and urinate in the potted plants on the way out.

 

[Svedish_Chef]

The potted plants are probably only plastic anyway... but you think the smell might do something?

 

[Xander]

The wierdest bit about you doing this sparky is that you post at 11PM OZ time and as I answer it it is now quarter to one on the 11th!

I know exactly what you mean Cheffie. I'm not exactly on the 11th yet. But I'm getting there.

Anyways. It's 15:51 here in the land of vikings and blond girls.
Heavy rain and strong winds. Only about 8 degrees C.
This really sucks because I have to leave work in about 30 minutes, and I dont have a car, and have to WALK through the pouring rain to a train, and then WALK through even more pourong rain when I get home.

*insert deep sarcasm* Wonderful!

 

[Sparky Kronkite]

Thanks all, yes it does suck....

Exp - thinking just that way but one prob - I do, actually work for a great place, the best bennies and worst of all - they use the tactic of "salary trapping." Over the years I've parlayed myself, according to my industry trade mags/organization polls - above the top of the top. If I left and took the chute - which is damn tempting - I'd realistically (in the real world) have to cut my yearly by a third - at least. With two older sons nearing college - the Mr. Mom stuff may have to wait a few more years. Don't know, thinking about it. My chute is healthy to say the least and if I could, you know - get a job back down in DC in let's say a month - and then invest the chute - hmmmm?? Tempting. Anyway thinkin' bout it.

And Vix - I am a superb knob twiddler. Hope your healthily galless.

 

[TN_Vixen]

want to see my scars? I'm dying to eat at all the greasy diners there now that I won't have a paralyzing attack. Losing 1/3 of my salary would effectively terminate my need to work at all. I couldn't imagine the impact on yours.

 

[Sparky Kronkite]

Yeah probably not real good....

But over the years (I'm an old fart that looks like a young breath of fairly fresh air) I've put some stuff away - built it up - so it could be done.

By the way, where do they have to cut you for those stones? Did they let you keep'em? You could capture'em in lucite and make ear rings out of'em.

 

[TN_Vixen]

No, they didn't let me keep them and I don't know why.. I had some imaginative uses like yours. And, let's see... they cut me right on the inside of my "inny" bellybutton- the doc even took out and put back in my belly ring - two 1/2 inch cuts on my right side near my rib cage and one about 1/2 inch on my breast bone. That's it! We were worried that once he opened me up I would need to have more extensive chopping and cutting done, but he was able to get the diseased thing out without spilling any of the bacteria inside, although he did use an antibiotic irrigation at the site where he took out the bladder. Too much info? And you couldn't be THAT old.

 

[Cheri]

Damn Sparky, guess I'll have to give up those dreams of playing Mr. Mom with you on a warm summer day relaxing in my back yard in the adirondack chairs sipping a margarita while the children run around in full war paint (I'm a cool mom!) playing killer indians! But I am glad you missed the axe, but why does life have to be so damn complicated!
Sunny and cool here in a nice fall way.
Glad you don't look like a road map Vixen. And too bad about not getting those stone. How morbidly cool it would have been to have actually body parts to display at Halloween! How you could have freaked out the neighbor kids!
Have a good day all, I'm off to make some bread.

 

[Sparky Kronkite]

Yep I'm a very lucky guy.....Cheri,

I've boiled it all down to this very simple, very Leo-like rationale.............

The only reason I kept my job here is a combination of old school business and relatively new school, technology business………..

Real-estate - location, location, location and electronic promotion or Television!!!!

TV in NYC!!!!

TV in NYC saved my job!!!

Anywhere else with the possible exception of LA - Philly, Chicago, Atlanta, wherever, - I'd have be as done as yo mamma's T-day bird.

Hey!!!! TV saved my life!!!! TV in the big city - every boy's dream!!!!

As for our Mr. Mom dreams - they sound very nice - thanks for the thought.

 

[Cheri]

Re: Yep I'm a very lucky guy.....Cheri,

As for our Mr. Mom dreams - they sound very nice - thanks for the thought.

Damn Sparky, my fantasies weren't quite as innocent as all that! Eventually everyone would take naps and WE could play indians in our big old teepee (no really big enough to stand up in...totally cool!) Or better yet, play nudist colony with the kids, you know how they love being naked anyway. Why didn't I let the man talk me into the 4 acre farm with nothing around but fields! All it needed was a mambo swimming pool!

 

[Sparky Kronkite]

Oh, I would so love that....

I'd just worry that with no support - my ball sack would stretch to my knees. Get tangled round my thigh. And slap my ass so hard it would throw me to the ground.

And then the ants would come.

 

[Cheri]

God how you crack me up!

 

[Sparky Kronkite]

I am pleased....

That you are pleased my dear.

You know - yer a sick fuck.

Me too.

 

[Cheri]

Coming from you, I'll take that as a compliment! Especially cause it's true...on both counts!