A Happy Marriage after 39 years, the excitement of a new granddaughter, enjoying the time in your life when your time is your own and your passions fill your days . . . It is the happy endings of novels and the fade to black scenes in movies and it seems Michael Shearer was living that moment we all wait for, all the while holding the hand of his beloved Kathleen . . .
An Engineer by trade and a "Lawn Enthusiast" by choice Michael and his wife (Kathleen) had just moved into their dream home in Dover, NH; a house with the river view that they always wanted. The best part for Michael it seems was that there was a new lawn to perfect and he spent the day of September 10th 2001 seeding his new lawn. The plan it seems was that while he and his wife took a trip to California to visit their new granddaughter, the lawn would take hold and they would return to a paradise of green grass and that amazing river view. Another fade to black moment seems to be what they had in mind.
As we all know the fade to black moment that took the lives of Michael and Kathleen Shearer happened early on September 11, 2001 as the flight they boarded in Boston took a detour that would forever change the lives of their family and friends, total strangers like myself and inevitably our nation.
I cannot fathom the anguish that their family must have felt, though it seems there were some small moments of comfort that I hope today can bring them some peace as another anniversary comes to pass. A quilt that had lovingly been made by a doting grandmother and feared lost was found safe and sound at their home. Perhaps in that rush to get out the door and to the airport, which we have all experienced, it was just accidentally left behind. For whatever reason a daughter and a granddaughter will have a forever reminder to hold on to. But more than a quilt to wrap yourself in I hope that as their granddaughter grows that her family will find comfort in seeing the best parts of their parent's living on. (After all it is inevitable that the generations following us will be genetically linked to us for better or worse.) My hope for a fade to black moment today is that a daughter looks into the face of the living legacy of her parents, their granddaughter, and that she sees her father's smile . . .
*Information obtained from http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2001/memorial/people/1575.html
http://legacy.com/Sept11/Story.aspx?PersonID=91709
Friday, September 11, 2009
Thursday, September 10, 2009
I'm Moving . .
Please make note. My blog will be moving to a new address. Please make note and keep following!!
http://sgspursuit.wordpress.com/
http://sgspursuit.wordpress.com/
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
"We're only poor until October 1st"
Of all the things I can say about our business and yes there are many, the one thing I can assure you of is that there is never a dull moment . . For instance this past week has been spent working with one of our biggest clients (you'll never guess who!) on when they can pay their bills for services already provided.
Now I understand that the economy is still in recovery mode, though I do remember hearing last week someone saying the recession was over . . who was that? Oh that's right it was our biggest client. I should be more specific. Our client is an agency of the tax & spend crowd . . I don't want to names but their money comes from that magical place called the Fed . .
I'm getting off track again so let me refocus here . .
We provide health care workers for "our clients" project. Don't get me wrong this is a very worthwhile project and one we are happy to be part of, however, we are a small business and actually require payment to fund things like our employee's payroll, for example. Keep in mind we invoice for services rendered so we are out of pocket until we get paid, like most small businesses.
So after haggling back and forth, getting the run around, today I finally get the whole story. The problem is that "our client" runs their fiscal year from Oct-Oct, while most everyone else in, oh say the private sector is on a Jan-Jan schedule. The truth of the matter is that "our client" paid invoices for service year 2008 in 2009, because they paid late and didn't pay until after October 1st last year . . . So they have applied those payments against their budget for this fiscal year and now they have no more money . .
Apparently our method of accounting is just crazy . . because typically when we go to pay our bills we pay them with the money allotted for that service or expense, we don't take from next year's money just because we paid in a different accounting period. We are at an impasse because I can't grasp the complicated accounting system under which "our client" participates . .
So now we are stuck as a small, family owned business with deciding to fight this, as it a 5 digit loss we would be taking, . . We certainly don't have their resources, it could cost us future business (hard to believe I know) and for all intensive purposes they are broke until October.
My question is, "What happens on October 1st?" Amazingly the money trees in your privately owned bank will produce money you don't have to begin with? Perhaps we should all adopt this accounting method around, I don't know . . April 15th . .
-Nichole, in constant pursuit of life, liberty & happiness . . .
Now I understand that the economy is still in recovery mode, though I do remember hearing last week someone saying the recession was over . . who was that? Oh that's right it was our biggest client. I should be more specific. Our client is an agency of the tax & spend crowd . . I don't want to names but their money comes from that magical place called the Fed . .
I'm getting off track again so let me refocus here . .
We provide health care workers for "our clients" project. Don't get me wrong this is a very worthwhile project and one we are happy to be part of, however, we are a small business and actually require payment to fund things like our employee's payroll, for example. Keep in mind we invoice for services rendered so we are out of pocket until we get paid, like most small businesses.
So after haggling back and forth, getting the run around, today I finally get the whole story. The problem is that "our client" runs their fiscal year from Oct-Oct, while most everyone else in, oh say the private sector is on a Jan-Jan schedule. The truth of the matter is that "our client" paid invoices for service year 2008 in 2009, because they paid late and didn't pay until after October 1st last year . . . So they have applied those payments against their budget for this fiscal year and now they have no more money . .
Apparently our method of accounting is just crazy . . because typically when we go to pay our bills we pay them with the money allotted for that service or expense, we don't take from next year's money just because we paid in a different accounting period. We are at an impasse because I can't grasp the complicated accounting system under which "our client" participates . .
So now we are stuck as a small, family owned business with deciding to fight this, as it a 5 digit loss we would be taking, . . We certainly don't have their resources, it could cost us future business (hard to believe I know) and for all intensive purposes they are broke until October.
My question is, "What happens on October 1st?" Amazingly the money trees in your privately owned bank will produce money you don't have to begin with? Perhaps we should all adopt this accounting method around, I don't know . . April 15th . .
-Nichole, in constant pursuit of life, liberty & happiness . . .
Monday, August 17, 2009
A Town Hall, A Spider Bite & Health Care Reform
I attended Senator Corker's town hall meeting today. Media worthy? Not so much . . A lot of the same old, same old. Don't get me wrong I am a supporter of Senator Corker's and do believe that he has common sense, morals and integrity but at the end of the day he is still a politician. Did I learn anything new? No. Did I see angry people wanting their voices heard? Absolutely. Did I get bit by a spider? Yes.
No this isn't one of my wordy metaphors, I really did get bit by a spider in the town hall meeting. That's the story I am sticking with otherwise I would have to tell you how their was this scary, liberal reporter standing near me and she could have injected me with any number of things . . But that would just feed the liberal conspiracy machine so for the purposes of this blog we are going with the spider theory.
Luckily for me I am already allergic to everything known to man . . trees, grass, dogs, cats, manual labor . . you name it I am allergic to it and so I was medicated with my daily Sam's brand "Benadryl". No, I don't buy it because I am cheap or don't have insurance, in fact I have the exact same insurance as Senator Corker. Do we pay the same premiums? I am going to go with no as we are a small business of under 50 employees . . he works for the nation's largest employer . . You do the math . .
But the fact is that I am very considerate with the benefits I have. They are quite expensive, believe me I write the check every month, but I stop to think before I whip out the old insurance card for something like a spider bite. Because every time I use that card I risk my premiums and those of all of our employees rising, we risk being able to pay less of their premiums or allocating more funds to insurance premiums and less to creating jobs. I am not sure Senator Corker and his colleagues have that same concern but it is one that many small business owners and self insured individuals face.
When we talk reform I hope that government will remain out of the way and allow private insurance carriers to allow small businesses and self-employed individuals to join together, under their own accord and without penalty, to create our own cafeteria plan for the life blood of this country, the small business. Perhaps with a plan such as this I will be able to write a smaller premium check each month and more paychecks. Perhaps with a plan like this a spider bite wouldn't be worth talking about . .
No this isn't one of my wordy metaphors, I really did get bit by a spider in the town hall meeting. That's the story I am sticking with otherwise I would have to tell you how their was this scary, liberal reporter standing near me and she could have injected me with any number of things . . But that would just feed the liberal conspiracy machine so for the purposes of this blog we are going with the spider theory.
Luckily for me I am already allergic to everything known to man . . trees, grass, dogs, cats, manual labor . . you name it I am allergic to it and so I was medicated with my daily Sam's brand "Benadryl". No, I don't buy it because I am cheap or don't have insurance, in fact I have the exact same insurance as Senator Corker. Do we pay the same premiums? I am going to go with no as we are a small business of under 50 employees . . he works for the nation's largest employer . . You do the math . .
But the fact is that I am very considerate with the benefits I have. They are quite expensive, believe me I write the check every month, but I stop to think before I whip out the old insurance card for something like a spider bite. Because every time I use that card I risk my premiums and those of all of our employees rising, we risk being able to pay less of their premiums or allocating more funds to insurance premiums and less to creating jobs. I am not sure Senator Corker and his colleagues have that same concern but it is one that many small business owners and self insured individuals face.
When we talk reform I hope that government will remain out of the way and allow private insurance carriers to allow small businesses and self-employed individuals to join together, under their own accord and without penalty, to create our own cafeteria plan for the life blood of this country, the small business. Perhaps with a plan such as this I will be able to write a smaller premium check each month and more paychecks. Perhaps with a plan like this a spider bite wouldn't be worth talking about . .
Thursday, August 13, 2009
A Letter to Myself on My 32nd Birthday . . .
So Nichole you made it to 32. 32 . . This is by far the hardest number so far . . . I know 40 is the new 30, blah, blah, but I just can't help but wonder what the Republic will look like in 8 years, a year, a month . .
I have always said there will be more time. More time to travel, more time to make the hard decisions I avoid, more time to fit in my skinny jeans, more time to open my heart to someone else . . In a sea of "this year I am going to . . ." I find myself hoping and praying for more time . .
They say a crisis is one of those moments that makes you evaluate everything about your life and see it in more clarity then ever before and they may be right. (Well unless you are Rahm Emanuel .. but that's another story for another day). Suddenly I feel that every day is about playing catch up for all those "more time" days I have had, that the moment for it all is now. I honestly feel more alive than I have in a long time because I am making those decisions of who I am and what I believe. I am finding me and in turn I see only great things ahead . .
I see my plan to do my 1/2 marathon as a way to find peace within myself and a way to honor the body that God gave me . . I see moments with my family as more than blurs of the same thing day after day (we own a family business , enough said) . . . I see that the best me might be the me I see right now because I am taking control of my destiny, as are 1000's of others out there..
I am not sure how many tomorrows there will be to do all the things on my bucket list. But I do know that all of the hard work I see like minded individuals partaking in around the country gives me a much better chance at telling my future children about the time Americans all over our nation joined together and saved their Republic . .
I have always said there will be more time. More time to travel, more time to make the hard decisions I avoid, more time to fit in my skinny jeans, more time to open my heart to someone else . . In a sea of "this year I am going to . . ." I find myself hoping and praying for more time . .
They say a crisis is one of those moments that makes you evaluate everything about your life and see it in more clarity then ever before and they may be right. (Well unless you are Rahm Emanuel .. but that's another story for another day). Suddenly I feel that every day is about playing catch up for all those "more time" days I have had, that the moment for it all is now. I honestly feel more alive than I have in a long time because I am making those decisions of who I am and what I believe. I am finding me and in turn I see only great things ahead . .
I see my plan to do my 1/2 marathon as a way to find peace within myself and a way to honor the body that God gave me . . I see moments with my family as more than blurs of the same thing day after day (we own a family business , enough said) . . . I see that the best me might be the me I see right now because I am taking control of my destiny, as are 1000's of others out there..
I am not sure how many tomorrows there will be to do all the things on my bucket list. But I do know that all of the hard work I see like minded individuals partaking in around the country gives me a much better chance at telling my future children about the time Americans all over our nation joined together and saved their Republic . .
Monday, August 10, 2009
An Open Letter to DC From America's Largest Special Interest Group ...
To All Career Politicians, Their Lackeys and the Status Quo,I respectfully request your attention and know that you will be willing to listen, comprehend and act on my behalf as I am a member of this nation's largest special interest group. Which group you may ask? Though I belong to several . . I am a small business owner, daughter of a mother who is reaching retirement age, a business owner with a stake in the health care sector (we own a health care staffing firm) and a fiscal conservative among others. But the one you need concern yourself with is that I am an American, Voting, Taxpaying Citizen . . . a card carrying member of this Nation's Largest Special Interest Group.I and the millions of other members are the voice you should be hearing, loud and clear. We are the ones who have entrusted you with the most sacred of our possessions, our voice and our vote. Our vote and our tax dollars have given you unimaginable power and privileges and in turn you have run up an unpayable debt and are leveraging away the very things that make us all American. Somewhere along the way you began to believe you were given a blank check and Cart Blanche to do as you wish. I personally accept responsibility for these problems as I have let you believe that you had in fact been afforded rights that are in no way afforded to you. I have let you sell your campaign promises away to the highest bidder and have said little, but no more. We are the ones who have given our voice to you, most of you for far too long, and we are the ones who are now taking our voice back.We have funded your reign of spending and enabled you to be unaccountable, we have in fact created our own worst nightmare. That is no longer feasible, to take a term from the Washington playbook. You have taken something that people all across the world die for, a chance to be part of a democracy, and tarnished it until the restoration you have left with us is both too expensive and too hard to fathom. But make no mistake this is one journey we will gladly undertake for the sake of our Republic. It has now become a choice you must make, to stand with us for what is right and just or to continue on your current path of the status quo. That choice is yours to make but know this . . Your choice is now of little concern. We your largest special interest group are no longer willing to sit silently. You have broken our trust and you seem to be working tirelessly to break the spirit of what makes this country great. Instead of listening to those of us who endowed you with the greatest of position you believe that you know better than we what is best for ourselves, our families, and our communities. You have chosen to believe the American dream is expendable but we know better. The only things expendable are your careers in Washington.The Washington way you have grown accustomed to is no more. I have lost my voice over time, believing that one person could not make a difference. You continued on believing that my voice would make no difference. We were both wrong and no longer will I remain silent and no longer do you have the luxury of not listening.For if those we have elected to be our voice can not showcase the basic principles of what our Founders foresaw for us, then it is time for us to make you accountable. I am not asking that you agree with my viewpoints, that you vote my way on every issue or even that you respect my opinion because none of those things are required under our Constitution. However, you are required to hear my voice, to let me speak without fear and to know that you do owe me the truth of your decisions and choices. If you want to continue to be a leader of the greatest nation on Earth then you will start to act like a representative worthy of the honor.A leader by its very definition is someone who inspires us. From where I stand now the real leaders are far and few between. In their place I see career politicians, not public servants, who think in election cycles. Towing the party line is your status quo, not honoring the will the of the people and certainly not inspiring a nation.You have taken our money and our trust for far too long without question and the time is now that we unite in a single voice that you will not be able to ignore. Political parties are being put aside, as this is no longer an issue of opinions or ideological beliefs. This is much larger than any one issue that could divide us; this is our freedom, our liberty and our voice. From this moment forward our vote is no longer one you count on. Beginning now you will earn the votes you seek with honesty, integrity and respect for the offices you serve. If you cannot earn my vote there are many people who will find the call to public service that will earn that vote. Please consider this notice duly served and remember that no lobbyist or special interest group in America is more powerful or more important to you than that of the American, Voting, Taxpaying Citizen . . .Sincerely Yours,Nichole-In constant pursuit of Life, Liberty and Happiness . . .
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Unless You're Dead, Dying or Bleeding . .
Dear Mr. President, White House Staff, DNC, ACORN (and all of its many affiliates), Moveon.org, Organizing for America, the Apollo Project, GE . . . (okay this is going to take to many words so I am just going to cover anyone and everyone promoting the WhiteHouse Agenda), you know who you are,
I know that in the face of adversity to your agenda that you are forced to make tough choices to make sure your message is heard, and dissenting opinion is crushed, and that in order to do that you need your legions on the ground to report any dissent to you ASAP. Forget that little thing called the Constitution and that pesky 1st Amendment right to free speech .. .
I am not sure if you are aware of this or not because it is a theory I taught during my illustrious and impressive teaching career .. (2nd grade, inner city, Dallas, TX) but it truly worked wonders when dealing with issues of what I, the leader of the classroom, much like you the leader of the "free" world, needed/needs to know. Instead of turning in your friends for anything and everything. . . i.e. "He broke my pencil", "She called me a name", "They disagree with my health care policy and must be stopped at all cost", "She called my friend's socialist", well you get the idea. These are all things you or I in a leadership position don't need to know and really don't need to concern ourselves with since we are the leaders of a much bigger domain.
So to get to the point I would ask that you lead by example and share this with your network so that they can have clarification on what is imperative for them to report. Instead of collecting all the small stuff, the things that all citizens are allowed to say under that pesky 1st Amendment Right, you should only ask for information if someone is or is in danger of being "dead, dying or bleeding." Otherwise you don't need to know . . . Otherwise you are encouraging a nanny state where you encourage 2nd grade behavior and you allow a division of a classroom/nation over things that don't matter and are frankly none of your business . . .
Your maturity and leadership in this matter are greatly appreciated,
Sincerely,
-Nichole, in constant pursuit of Life, Liberty & Happiness . .
I know that in the face of adversity to your agenda that you are forced to make tough choices to make sure your message is heard, and dissenting opinion is crushed, and that in order to do that you need your legions on the ground to report any dissent to you ASAP. Forget that little thing called the Constitution and that pesky 1st Amendment right to free speech .. .
I am not sure if you are aware of this or not because it is a theory I taught during my illustrious and impressive teaching career .. (2nd grade, inner city, Dallas, TX) but it truly worked wonders when dealing with issues of what I, the leader of the classroom, much like you the leader of the "free" world, needed/needs to know. Instead of turning in your friends for anything and everything. . . i.e. "He broke my pencil", "She called me a name", "They disagree with my health care policy and must be stopped at all cost", "She called my friend's socialist", well you get the idea. These are all things you or I in a leadership position don't need to know and really don't need to concern ourselves with since we are the leaders of a much bigger domain.
So to get to the point I would ask that you lead by example and share this with your network so that they can have clarification on what is imperative for them to report. Instead of collecting all the small stuff, the things that all citizens are allowed to say under that pesky 1st Amendment Right, you should only ask for information if someone is or is in danger of being "dead, dying or bleeding." Otherwise you don't need to know . . . Otherwise you are encouraging a nanny state where you encourage 2nd grade behavior and you allow a division of a classroom/nation over things that don't matter and are frankly none of your business . . .
Your maturity and leadership in this matter are greatly appreciated,
Sincerely,
-Nichole, in constant pursuit of Life, Liberty & Happiness . .
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