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I was in Santa Clara for an offsite M-W and there was this news item about how squirrels are attacking people in a Mountain View park. One squirrel bit this kid and held on while the kid rolled around on the floor, trying to get him off.

That is one determined squirrel. Apparently, Mom had pulled out a sandwich for the kid and the squirrel was angry the kid didn’t share. Because squirrels can be rabid, the kid had to undergo preventative shots for rabies. I think it’s like a series of 20 in the stomache.

This is the clincher, though. The nurse who was administering one of the shots poked herself with the needle and the hospital asked for the kid to be HIV tested so the nurse didn’t have to take preventative AIDs meds unneccessarily. Come on! The kid got attacked by a squirrel and has to get 20 shots in the gut. Can they be serious about subjecting him to an HIV test?

I just got my SunRay a minute ago. But this is entry is not about the SunRay. I have yet to open the box. This is about FedEx.

I signed for the package. The guy set the humongous box on the floor just inside the door. I walked the 15 feet to my office and BAM! I had already received an email saying that the package was delivered.

That is impressive. It shows how we can all be connected anywhere, anytime, with anyone, through any medium and FedEx does it. They are a logistics company, not just a delivery service.

I was reading an entry on Scott Jolly’s blog about the personality types that do well WFH. I am not sure where I fall.

I love talking to people, bouncing off ideas and such. Definitely an extrovert per Myers-Briggs. But when I am in the office, I don’t troll the halls and do the lunch thing. I get a lot more done at home because my only distraction is laundry. Whereas at work, it’s anyone who pops their head in my office or whom I run into at the printers.

So I don’t know. I considered finding a job where I could work in an office with people. But I’m not sure I would be happy with the decrease in flexibility. I guess I will continue to keep my interaction with coworkers largely on the phone. I mean I would do that anyway in the office, my team being geographically dispersed. At least at home I can work in my pajamas and have a 10 second commute.

My husband, kid and I were at Costco this weekend and experienced where efficiency and effectiveness do not intersect. Per usual, we arrived with a list of stuff and ended up with more than that in our cart. We were using some Costo coupons we got for the diapers and soap and stuff, so it justified getting more than was on our list…right?

Anyway, we got in line. As Costo veterans, I had my Costco card and coupons in one hand my Amex in the other for a speedy checkout. The cashier tells me to hold onto the coupons until the end. Ok. So I swipe my Amex and wait for her to finish ringing me up. She tells me the total, I hand her the coupons and she tells me that she already completed the transaction. That I should have waited to swipe my Amex because otherwise the machine automatically completes the transaction. What BS! I have been going to Costco for years, paying with my Amex and using coupons. I have never been told that. Rather than admitting that she had a happy trigger finger she blamed it on me.

But of course she doesn’t care. She does not have to slow down or stop to correct the mistake. She just called over a supervisor to refund me my money. And that took almost 10 minutes. Apparently, when I renewed my membership with Ms. Speedy, it didn’t take and the supervisor couldn’t figure out how to give me $8.50 without charging me another $100. As I was being handed my money, another guy showed up behind me with a receipt and coupons in hand. I bet you it was Ms. Speedy again. Her efficiency decreased that Costco’s effectiveness.

I am reading a new book, “The First 90 Days.” It’s about what a new leader must do in the first 90 days to ensure an effective transition and succeed.

It’s pretty good so far. There are some good pointers. I can tell I will need to read it again. I have been reading it before bed and I think I have read the same passage 5 times without absorbing anything.

The part I find most useful is the situation assessment. Is it a start-up, turnaround, realignment, or sustaining situation? Each calls for different approaches. You can’t go into a realignment or sustaining situation and start flipping things on its head. Whereas you are expected to in a start-up or turnaround situation. I have seen some leaders make that mistake. Take too long to assess the situation when action was needed or acting on little to no information when they should have assessed the issue more fully.

My kid is a hypochondriac. The last couple of days, she has been complaining of ailments ranging from tummy aches to foot pains. With the tummy aches, she gets an ointment massaged into her belly. With foot pains, she gets a foot massage. Yesterday, she hopped on the couch and stuck her foot in my lap for a massage. It started out being her right foot that “hurt” but before long I was massaging her left foot also.

Hmm. I think I see a trend here. I have unknowingly become my kid’s personal massage therapist.

I finally got the headset and amplifier I ordered. The new amplifier would not work, so I plugged my headset into the old amplifier. Works great now, except that I have to be careful where the microphone is directed. Too low and my voice fades in and out. Too high and I get feedback from the earpiece.

I brought my kid to the Build a Bear Workshop last weekend for her birthday. She walked in and was completely overwhelmed with the selection. Heck. For that matter, so was I. She finally settled on a bunny after running around the store a couple of times and grabbing the shoes off the pre-dressed bears.

We brought the bunny over to the stuffing machine for the lady to stuff the bunny. My kid got a kick out of stepping on the pedal to make the poofy stuff come out. We then took it over to take a bath.

This was her favorite part. She would step on a pedal and air would whoosh out of these shower heads, blowing the bunny. My sisters and I leisurely selected an outfit while my kid concentrated on “bathing” the bunny. It was great. It was the longest period of time that day that I didn’t have to chase her down and stop her from yanking down displays.

We finally convinced her to dress the bunny. She preferred him naked. We paid for the stuff, $18 for the bunny, $10 for the outfit, and $7 for the shoes, (it’s the land of “do you want fries with that”) and left.

What we learned is that Build a Bear is not for 2 yr olds. It is for their mommies and aunts. I could have just handed her a naked bear, directed her to the “bathing” area and she would have had a blast without my spending any money. She cares nothing for the bunny now. And I regret not just getting her a Hello Kitty dressed in a Little Mermaid outfit. That’s what I would have picked.

My daughter and I flew on Sun, 9/10. Security was on orange alert at the airports. It took forever to get through security. Good thing my Dad wanted to get rid of us early or we would have missed our flight.

For some reason the line we were in would not move. I thought maybe it was the passengers. There seemed to be a senior vacation group or something in front of me. By the time I got to the security gate, I knew the reason. It was the security guard. He was SOOOOO slow. Sorry to the seniors for blaming you.

The security guard was explaining to the passengers how the metal detector worked. Great. Then he asked me to take the sweater off my 2yr old and put it on the conveyor. Come on! But I guess you can never be too careful.

I am in California this week. I do not miss the commute. I get up at 6am each morning so that it will only take me 1/2hr to get to MPK instead of the 1.5hr during rush hour. But even at 6am, there are too many cars on the road.

One good thing about the commute is that I can catch up on my news. This morning on NPR, there was an item about legislation to ban selling horses for people food. At first I was like, “eeeew”. Then it occured to me that we eat cows and sheep and pigs and birds. Why not horses?

Because horses are traditionally considered pets, it’s a no-no to eat them. It’s like eating your cat or dog. I mean I wouldn’t eat my cow, Bessy, or my pig, Wilbur, but if their bred for food, is that ok? And as long as we don’t name them before we eat them? I had a friend whose family had a weird sense of humor. They named their chicken, Lunch, and their cow, Mignon. I guess they were given those names so that the pets don’t forget that as soon as they get big enough, they’re food.