Evie Day 210

Good morning, and I wish you all a happy Thursday. Today is 12 October 2023.

The news cycle is 100% about the terrorist attack on Israel and the capture of at least 150 people taken as hostages. Entire families were slaughtered. A grandmother was executed and the video was uploaded to her Facebook page. Children were killed, and molested. It’s horrific.

How can people that do this sort of thing think that they are doing God’s will? That’s the crazy part about it to me. These folks are motivated by religious fervor, a twisting of the word of God. I really can’t find the words. There are a few things I think anyone can recognize a simple truth… there will be a lot more deaths. It’s inescapable.

I can’t fathom the terrorist mindset. When terrorists attacked the World Trade Center towers on September 11, 2001, a war was declared against Al Qaeda, and the result was the loss of hundreds of thousands of lives. If you went to any of the Middle Eastern countries that endured years of conflict following 9/11 and asked the locals if it was worth it, I don’t think you’ll see folks lining up to say it was a good idea.

I have a feeling that there will be many Hamas supporters who will become former Hamas supporters, one way or the other. There will also be a new generation of young people that will take up one mantel or another.

Peace is better. I hope we can all get behind that. There is a certain base level of respect that all people deserve.

I’m pissed off.

I hope the world is treating you better than you deserve.

Peace y’all.

Evie Day 209

Good morning, and a happy hump day to you. It is Wednesday 11 October 2023.

We’re into the fifth day following the Hamas attack on Israel. This is a terrible event, and the death count is going to continue to rise. Hundreds of innocent people are being held hostage by a terrorist group, and they are being used as pawns in a game against an Israeli government that doesn’t negotiate with terrorists. There will end up being thousands of more people killed in this conflict, and Hamas and their Iranian sponsors are fine with that. Keep the victims in your thoughts.

During my prep weeks, I try to get in all of the other stuff I have to deal with as just a part of life. Eye doctor, medical doctor, car service, you name it. It’s easier to deal with when I’m not delivering a class. I also have opportunities, like I have this afternoon, to work on my space. I’m moving some stuff around to try and create a better delivery environment and incorporate the Open Broadcast Studio software into my workspace. I’m hanging green screens (chromakey backdrops), and then setting up some shelves in front of the backdrops. My goal is to create the appearance of my bookshelves traveling with my wherever my background photo says I am. I’ll then try to keep those shelves populated with conversation pieces, interesting bookends, and the like.

But first things first, right?

Time to block out my day.

I hope the world is treating you better than you deserve.

Peace y’all.

Evie Day 208

Good morning, and a happy Taco Tuesday to you all. Today is 10 October 2023.

Woke up, showered & shaved. Now I’m sitting here thinking about the state of the world, and it’s just a mess. There are a lot of people pointing fingers and shouting, with a lot more emphasis on assigning blame than working towards solutions.

It’s a rough news cycle.

There have been some other things I’ve had on my mind lately, too.

I haven’t always been good at having a thick skin. I used to sing, I was mocked, so I quit. When I was a kid, I used to write stories for fun – I was mocked, I quit. I went out for cross country my sophomore year of high school – I was hazed, so I quit. Time and time again in my life, if I started something, got made fun of, I would just quit. I sometimes wonder if I quit because I wasn’t good at it, if I quit because I couldn’t deal with the criticism, or if I was just trying to please people. Folks who have followed me on Facebook might recall there was a time when I changed my profile picture daily, generally cute animal pics, but I was mocked for that, so I quit. The same thing happened when I posted a daily gratitude post – did it every day, trying to come up with something to be thankful for … then I was mocked for it, and I don’t do that anymore.

Maybe I need to care less about what others think.

Something for me to think about.

I’m going to make a pot of coffee in a moment and ponder breakfast. I think we have ham, cheese, eggs, peppers, onion, and some mushrooms, so a big omelet could be in my future.

Alrighty, that’s enough for now. Time to get this in the can.

I hope the world is treating you better than you deserve.

Peace y’all.

Evie Day 207

Good morning, and a happy Monday to you. Today is 9 October 2023.

I posted a short note on Saturday, and this is my first weekday post since last Monday. Last week I flew to Seattle to spend some time in the recording studio to record a training video. Two days in the chair, and it was a positive experience.

I’ve got some personal stuff going on, with a couple of trips to the doctor, eye doctor first a little later this morning. I’m also going to get some stuff done in my office space here, moving my standing desks around to make for a more effective workspace, and incorporating the Open Broadcast Studio along with a couple of chromakey backdrops to try and add a little more professionalism and flexibility to my deliveries.

It was a good weekend for me as a sports fan. The Kansas Jayhawks played very well on Saturday with a win over Central Florida. The Kansas City Chiefs went on the road for a win against the Minnesota Vikings. It’s crazy to think that college basketball season begins in less than a month. Next event of note (from my perspective) will be the Thursday night game as the Chiefs host the Denver Broncos.

As far as the rest of the world goes, all eyes are on Israel following the attacks and kidnappings of civilians by Hamas. By the time this mess gets cleared up, there will be thousands dead on both sides. It hurts my heart.

Time to block out my tasks and my week. I need to create a little structure where it does not exist.

I hope the world is treating you better than you deserve.

Peace y’all.

Evie Day 205

Hi folks! It is Saturday, 7 October 2023.

This is my first Saturday post in quite some time, and my first post since last Monday, so I should explain.

I flew to Seattle last Tuesday morning very early, no internet on the flight, and when I arrived in Seattle, I just didn’t feel like doing much. I was jet-laggy, and coping with the anxiety of two days sitting in a studio doing the training thing. I was a bit out of sorts.

Wednesday and Thursday I was focused on work, and I put in a couple of good days… but I did have a little snag pop up overnight on as Wednesday passed into Thursday – my much-relied upon mobile device, my Samsung Galaxy S20, decided it was no longer fit for this world, and it gave up the ghost at one of the most inopportune times.

We finished up recording my sessions in pretty good time on Thursday, and there was phone store from my carrier close by, so I now have a new phone… and a new set of hassles trying to get my device set up to authenticate to my work environment.

I’m home now, and relaxing a bit this weekend. Some Premiere League soccer this morning, and some college football this afternoon, and everything will be right with my corner of the world.

My apology for the absence.

I hope the world is treating you better than you deserve.

Peace y’all.

Evie Day 200

Good morning, and a happy Monday to you all. It is 2 October 2023.

I’ve got a to-do list today.

I’m prepping to head into the studio to record a training video on Wednesday, so I have to get my ducks in a row, do a little laundry, and get packed today. There are some errands I also need to take care of at the bank and at the grocery store (that beef jerky isn’t just going to magically appear in my backpack). I need to go over my decks and demos again before I travel, and then once again after I arrive at my destination tomorrow. There are, of course, a couple of other things I have on my mind, and I’ll talk about that later. Let’s just say I’ve got some prayers going out to some folks who need more positive energy.

The federal government passed a bill on Saturday that will keep the government funded for another 45 days… so I’ve dodged a bullet going to the airport this week, no furloughed air traffic controllers this week. The thing is that puts another possible threat of a government shutdown just about the time for my next scheduled business trip after this week.

The Jayhawks lost at Texas on Saturday… Texas was favored, and the ‘Hawks starting QB was out with back trouble. Kansas Chiefs pulled out a squeaker against the NY Jets last night.

Time to get focused on the day.

I hope the world is treating you better than you deserve.

Peace y’all.

Evie Day 197

Good morning, and happy Friday! Today is 29 September 2023.

For those following the events in Washington, DC, the government is about to shutdown because people can’t get their ducks in a row. I’m watching a conservative GOP representative in the house talk about fiscal responsibility – the only time folks like this talk about fiscal responsibility is when there is a Democratic administration. These same representatives didn’t have any problem when the Trump administration created more debt year after year.

I can’t this morning… I have work to do.

Never mind this. I might be more productive on Monday. That’ll be after the government shuts down on Sunday.

I hope you have a great weekend.

I hope the world is treating you better than you deserve.

Peace y’all.

Evie Day 196

Good morning! It is Thursday, 28 September 2023.

One of the dogs, Lucy, is outside barking at the darkness. Odin is under Lisa’s chair, groaning and complaining until she gives in and lets him have a bite of her breakfast. Floofs are floofing, running their route between Lisa’s chair and my legrest.

I miss the one that isn’t here any longer.

Today is the last day of my class with my training partner, and I suspect it will be a while before I get to deliver with this trainer again, as it’s been probably two years since the last time we worked together. Generally speaking, I think the scheduling powers that be like to pair up the more experienced trainers with those that haven’t been doing this for almost thirty years.

It has been thirty years since I took my first training job. That’s half my life doing this.

I’ve got the news on this morning, and there is a review of last night’s GOP debate. I am thankful I have a Wednesday night game instead of watching this garbage.

I’m just not into it this morning. I’d probably be better off making coffee and strumming a guitar for a few minutes.

I hope the world is treating you better than you deserve.

Peace y’all.

Evie Day 195

Good morning, and a happy humpday to you all. Yesterday, I was all about the tacos, and today, I am all about productivity for today and the rest of the week.

Another bout of monkey brain last night. My beloved got up at an ungodly hour, and after she left our bedroom, I tossed and turned and had thoughts running through my brain for a couple of hours before I got up at my regular time of 5:30 AM. Today might be one of those days that I sneak in a short nap at lunchtime to try and bank a little rest before we get to the afternoon session.

Less than a week before I head into the studio to record my sessions for work. Excitement is mounting. So is the anxiety.

There’s plenty of stuff going on in the world, and right at the moment, I recognize that my commentary on those events and topics isn’t very important. I’ve got other stuff I need to focus on … like getting this post finished and getting it in the can.

I hope the world is treating you better than you deserve.

Peace y’all.

Evie Day 194

Good morning! It is my favorite day of the week that doesn’t begin with an “S”! It is Tuesday, 26 September 2023.

After I posted yesterday’s note, I went to check my work email and got a surprise – new manager time again. I had only been working with my new manager for about five weeks or so, and it was announced yesterday that he was moving on. He had been part of a group of folks that were getting their roles eliminated last July, then he was brought back into the fold (he had been with the company twenty years) . I wish him all the best – I like the guy.

I’ve got a meeting in another hour and a half on the matter, but honestly, I’m not too worried about it. I know my role, and I’ll keep doing what I do. I’ll get reassigned to another manager, and I’ll do my best to stay focused on the goals I’ve already laid out. It happens – this isn’t the first time I’ve changed managers since I started here four and a half years ago.

This week I am delivering with a great trainer, and I am trying to absorb everything he’s presenting. He has a depth of knowledge that is rare, and I learn something every time he presents.

Yesterday was Daughters’ Day – I have no idea if it’s a national thing, an international thing, or just some contrived holiday created to sell greeting cards. I posted a picture of my daughters – I am very proud of them – and I love them without measure, and I hope they pick out a nice nursing home for me one day, one that serves barbeque and will allow me to eat spicy food.

That’s about all I have, really.

I hope the world is treating you better than you deserve.

Peace y’all.