songbird's crazy world

 So when I was offered this job it was considered hybrid — two days a week in office, three days remote. The office isn’t far … 20 -30 minute commute.  Not bad. Then last week there was a Town Hall.  That’s what corporate America uses to describe a meeting when the higher-ups talk to the rank-and-file about major events in the life of the company.   (When I worked at AIG during the government financial bailout we had some very scary Town Hall meetings.) Well, last week’s meeting was all about remote vs hybrid vs “in office” scheduling. So it should come as no surprise that we got an email today.  The new policy, starting at the end of April, will be four days a week in office, with Friday being an optional work-from-home day. Wish i’d known that when I was job hunting in December.  I would have taken the job anyway but my expectations would have been different. We were told that overall we are more productive in office, more collaborative.  That does n...

 Today is Mardi Gras.  It is also the Lunar New Year (also known as Chinese New Year).  And it is also the start of Ramadan.  Three holidays calculated by the moon. And in the ethnic salad that is the NYC metropolitan area, I’ve got neighbors celebrating each holiday. Yes, I called it a “salad”, not a “melting pot”.  We can debate the terms if you like … I just keep counting down the days until spring.  We got 3 inches of snow Sunday night.  Not a lot, but on top of what we still have from the big storm in January,  three weeks ago, it’s too much.  But spring training has begun, the first televised game will be Saturday.  Yay!  It’s 37°F right now … another sign that things are looking up.

 Short girl problems … when you are only 5 feet tall, when you buy dresses, skirts and pants, you have to factor in the cost of hemming each garment.  Some brands have “petite” sizes, but most do not … on Saturday I took several new items to my tailor. You don’t want to know what it’s costing me.   And then there’s the supermarket issue …asking strangers to grab an item from the top shelf because I can’t reach it. Ugh. But I’m pleased to report I have an absolutely brilliant son-in-law.  He fixed a problem we were having with our smart TV. Yay! We messed it up while streaming Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.  Really enjoying the series.  Next up will be Discovery  followed by Star Fleet Academy . We’ve also also have to catch up with Dr. Who, we haven’t seen the most recent Doctor … We’ve also been streaming The Pitt . Great show. Streaming … what a different world. I remember when broadcast TV was the only option, when cable was considered cutting edge....

February ‘s birthstone is the  Amethyst  and flower is the  Violet . Both are  purple  in color. Find song picks inspired by these things. Let’s start here — roses are red, violets are blue …  Add a little Stevie Nicks Amethyst is a purple stone … so Hendrix And then And finally 

 

  Won't You Be My Valentine? Welcome to  Saturday: 9 . What we've committed to our readers is that we will post 9 questions every Saturday. Sometimes the post will have a theme, and at other times the questions will be totally unrelated. Those weeks we do "random questions," so-to-speak. We encourage you to visit other participants posts and leave a comment. Because we don't have any rules, it is your choice. We hate rules. We love memes, however, and here is today's meme!   Saturday 9: Won't You Be My Valentine? (1961)   Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it  here .   1) Dore Alpert sings that while he considered asking others to be his Valentine, he's sure that this is the girl he wants to love "forever more." What do you think is the secret of a long-lasting romantic relationship? If there really is a secret I wish someone would tell me.  Relationships always require effort to maintain. 2) Dore is better known as Herb Alpert. He us...