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I am still around but very distracted lately.

The Summer semester started this past Monday and I'll be zipping through Advanced Social Problems and Statistics in 8 weeks. Oh yay!

There are also some major and massive changes going on at work right now. They're restructuring and I found out on Wednesday that my boss (that I just started working for when he promoted me six months ago) is being essentially demoted from Vice President with responsibility for about 75 people and moved over to be the Head of Process Management with responsibility for only nine people. The good news is that his position (VP of AB) was eliminated across the entire country and his three other counterparts were let go, but they kept my boss on. It says a lot about what he brings to the table but it's a real bummer that he's being pushed to the side like that AND it's a bummer that I won't be working for him after the end of this month.

As for me, they're working on my level now. I have a sneaking suspicion that the Senior Leadership meeting in California on Thurs & Friday (yesterday) where none of them were available at all for those two days was essentially them all deciding who they're keeping, who they're firing and then essentially doing a re-shuffle of the deck. So by the end of this month, I will know whether:

- I keep my job as is, though possibly get an increased team size (from 7 to 13)
- I stay employed but move over to another team
- I get laid off.

A lot of uncertainty right now and a lot of things distracting me from BPDR but I haven't forgotten about this place, I promise. I'm reading and keeping up where & when I can but it seems like I'm either so late to the party that all the advice I'd give has already been given or the advice I'd want to give would take me much longer than the 43 seconds I have left before I need to be doing the next thing on my list. (In the case of the latter, by the time I come back, the advice I'd have given earlier has been shared by the rest of the BPDR crew so I don't feel as horrible.)

Anyway, off to take my first test of the semester and do a few more loads of laundry before working on the front yard for a bit. I hope all is well (or reasonably so) with everyone ... drop a line & share an update about yourselves too!

Gosh, Ash, I'm sorry to hear of all the restructuring going on at your work. That must be quite stressful. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for you!

......Statistics in 8 weeks?!?! Are you mad? Good luck with that too-- I couldn't handle classes like that in such a short time frame. My hat's off to you!

The board seems to be up and running fine again, please don't distress over your lack of time. We miss your posts of course, but we know you will be here when you can. I'm happy for you that you are so busy in RL!

Anyway, just wanted to say hi and good luck.

Obviously I very much hope that everything turns out OK for you on the job front, Ash. I don't think I could manage the uncertainty that you've had to deal with -- and not just this once but all the other times you've had to wait out restructuring or expected lay-offs. I wouldn't be able to function. Which of course would pretty much guarantee that I'd be let go.

I wish you luck with school, too. Combining classes for credit with a full-time job is something else I couldn't do. I've started a class, too, but mercifully, I don't have to write papers or take exams. I've attended church most of my life, but I've always had problems reconciling my questions and doubts and pretty liberal social views with a lot of what is taught as Christian dogma. The denomination I belong to (Episcopalian) is pretty open-minded and accepting, so I've never had to deal with any criticism at my own church. I have some friends who are considerably more conservative Christians (though we agree to disagree about that, and politics as well, and get along fine), and then I have friends and family members who don't believe in organized religion at all, and I've never felt confident about expressing my own beliefs. So I've joined a small group in embarking on what hopefully will be a four year course of study, if we can keep it going, that was developed by an Episcopal seminary for lay people and involves a lot of study of the Bible and different theologists. So hopefully eventually I'll know what I believe (or don't believe) and why, and will have a spiritual framework that works for me, whether it's compatible with my church (or any other) or not.

The class meets once a week until the end of June, then we'll take a break for 6 weeks or so, and start back in August. I'm not sure what I might do during that time off other than go to a wedding in Charleston SC. I've never been there, and I haven't traveled anywhere that hasn't involved my immediate family in more years than I can count, so I'm kind of looking forward to this little mini-vacation. I don't know yet whether I will need to go back to IL to deal with stuff having to do with Mom's house or estate, and I might try to get up to Philly to see my daughter, but other than that I'm looking forward to just hanging out in the A/C and reading books.

I also recently got my hearing tested, and as I thought, I have a significant deficit in both ears. So.... I've just been fitted with a pair of (expensive, not covered at all by insurance) spiffy new hearing aids. Boy do I feel old now.

So that's my update. Have a good summer, everyone!

I think the summer courses are better in some ways, specifically that it's done & over with so quickly. When I had a 15 week Fall course load, it just seemed to drag on forever so hopefully I haven't shot myself in the foot this term.

We should know within a week or so what's up on the job front. No matter what, my life will change. Either my team will get people added to it & I'll report to someone new; or I'll get moved to a different team & I'll report to someone new; or I'll get laid off & I can work-out more (hey, some is more than none!) and I can really focus on school-work over the summer.

The bible study group sounds interesting, Sari. I've never done something like that but I think it's a wonderful self-exploration opportunity and my hat is off to you for the endeavor.

The hearing aid thing is a bit of a bummer - but only for the costs. I don't think there's anything wrong with being able to hear better! LOL Yeah, in some ways, it's a signifier of aging but on the other hand, it's a good thing that you weren't born into hearing aids like my one colleague. Plus, if you're stuck in a boring class with someone who just blathers on incessantly, you can turn off the hearing aids and enjoy some quiet, contemplative time! LOL

Harmonium, I'm glad to see you still bumpin' around over here. You really bring a light and livelihood to the place. You're a valuable member of the BPDR community and I think all of us appreciate you and your contributions. Thank you.