Facie’s Ramblings

In Thursday's edition of the P-G, there was this article about a former borough manager who had stolen money from Braddock, a financially strapped community just outside the city limits. This woman has been repaying her debt very little by little (in about 1.5 years' time, she has paid $30 out of the $170k) because she has had trouble finding suitable employment, thanks to her felony conviction. That dilemma was quite timely for me as just over a week ago I posted a blog about giving people (criminals) second chances. In that post, I wondered if someone had redeemed himself, should he get another chance? And I had questioned, mostly seriously, if someone could not go on to get a job after prison, then what was the point of getting out of prison. But this woman's owing so much and paying so little was not what really struck a cord with me. Rather it was this sentence: "If she can't pay Braddock back in dollars, she should pay it in community service," Mr. Fett...

I sent Jordan to school today (Friday) with turkey pepperoni. A smarter, less controversial parent would not have done so, but my kid wanted the pepperoni, and she is not doing anything wrong! And now that the kids know the Lenten guidelines, they really should leave her alone. Will they? Well, I guess we will find out. To follow up from earlier this week, the girls at Jordan's table (including Jordan) did meet with the principal on Monday, although no one admitted to taking the sandwich or seeing anything. Regardless, I consider the issue closed, and I hope whoever took it will learn something from this. One of the moms did email me asking what went on, as her kid was apparently upset by the principal confrontation. I emailed her back what I knew, saying that most parents would be concerned if their kid's lunch was taken. I also said it was good for the kids to hear the correct guidelines (of course, Jordan brought in the guidelines and shared them with the kids at lunch pri...

Ah, election season. Who does not love watching snippets of lies, exaggerations, empty promises, and unflattering photos (good thing I avoid getting my picture taken as often as possible)? I am a regular voter. I try to vote even in the primaries, even when there is not much at stake. After all, about 90 years ago, women could not vote in the US. As I have stated in previous posts, I have taken Jordan with me a number of times, to hopefully instill the importance of this right. But I can see why some people never bother. It seems as if so many candidates promise a bunch of crap and don't bother (or are unable) to fulfill half of it. I remember when Tom Ridge first ran for governor of PA. One of his campaign promises was that he would not vote himself a pay raise. That was all I needed to hear; he got my vote. But, alas, he broke that promise at some point during one of this terms. And I have never forgotten that, as small of a thing as it was. Honestly, I don't remember i...

Every couple of months, I go through this panic. I worry that we will run out of money and will be forced to start living off our savings. I have said that it is coming, but unfortunately, it is now pretty close. I guess the good news is that Brian seems to be on board with our giving no one Christmas presents this year. :-) I met a friend for lunch yesterday and I told her one of the hardest aspects about the job search and even networking in general is the people who have offered to help but never really did. I neither asked for nor expected anyone to find a job for me. Rather, I thought that the nice former client, former coworker, friend, friend of a friend, etc., might reply to an email I sent. The email might have been a simple question, such as do you know anyone at _______ or can you tell me if your company is hiring or looking for freelance help. Perhaps slightly more work for said non-responder would be an email address for an HR person or a request to use their name (not t...

Well, not really. Or maybe, actually. But apparently quite a few people think there is power in 32 counties in western PA, OH, MD, and WV. Last year, my older brother, who works for the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce, emailed me a link to a naming contest for that 32 county region. I have no idea what name I suggested, but I do know I did not win (because, as I have blogged about several times, I apparently no longer win anything). A few months ago, perhaps, I started receiving newsletters for the Power of 32 (the eventual name winner). Before too long, I figured out why I was receiving these newsletters, and I actually started reading parts of them, thinking maybe it was something I could get involved in. So what is the Power of 32?  Here is some info from the Facebook page: A grant-funded, two-year visioning project that provides an opportunity for every resident of the 32-county, 4-state region to participate in creating a shared vision for the region's best futur...

I get grief from people (both to my face and via other people) about my receiving unemployment compensation. Believe me, as a conservative (well, really a Libertarian, but I refuse to give up my opportunity to vote in the primary, so I have remained a registered Republican), taking this money is not an easy thing for me to do. So let me explain myself for those of you who are wondering or those who may have forgotten my story. I worked at the same company, loyally, for 13 years. The company paid into unemployment on my behalf for those 13 years. I did not ask to be laid off. I was not one of those people, some of whom are still there, who complained relentlessly about everything that went on and how they could not wait to find another job. I was not one of those people who actually tried to get another job but decided they had it better where they were. This is not to say I never had a negative thing to say. But I realized quite some time ago how good I had it. I have applied to num...