Pumpkins

Pumpkins

Work on Friday was fun. They fired someone who had been there for about a year and a half. And while he was certainly incompetent, it always freaks me out when this happens. I tend to second guess myself a lot and my performance. I think it comes from having laid off and fired so many people myself.

I guess I should be thankful this guy is gone. He was supposed to help me with a 120 minute presentation in February and literally 30 minutes before the presentation was set to start he said he couldn't take part in it. I had to wing it and fortunately someone else stepped in to help. Yet I still feel bad for him.

In addition, it looks like some people I used to managed at my old company are going to get laid off. I find this extremely disappointing. All of them work very hard at what they do to make ends meet. To be told after years of services that they're not needed is distressing.

Fortunately, Saturday was much better. We had lunch at a little burger place up the road and drove to Canby which is about 20 miles south of Portland (southeast of the river). We went pumpkin picking which is something we try to do at least once a year. They had a little train that took people around to a petting zoo and then to a 20 foot tall hay-bail pyramid that the kids could climb on. There you could pick pumpkin and bring them back to the main shop (barn) for purchase.

There was maze under the hay-bail pyramid which was pitch dark. I took my youngest through it and realized I couldn't see anything at all. By the time I realized that it was too late to turn around. I figured it we just walked around the edge we would find the other exit. I felt very lucky to be right.

I stayed with my oldest most of the time at they hay-bail pyramid and my wife took my youngest and looked at what they had on sale at the main shop. She got a huge bunch of dried flowers and other assorted decorative items.

As I write this on Sunday morning I realize fall is upon us. Gone are the days of wearing short shirtsleeves and sandals. It's not supposed to leave the 50s today and the rest of the week looks like it's going to be rainy and hazy...you know, like Portland.

For fun here are two of the strangest excercise videos you'll ever see:
Poodle Exercise with Humans
I was Robbed By Two Men