Dis, dat and the udder tings

One of my favorite "Gilligan's Island" episodes is when the deposed Latin American dictator arrives on the island and tries to set up Gilligan as his puppet. Gilligan makes a speech to the other castaways and promises them, "Dis, dat and the udder ting." That is, "This, that and the other thing."

Well, I haven't had a chance to write and have felt a bit of a castaway the last week or so.

Last Monday was a snow day for the kids because of a mini ice storm. We didn't lose power, but everything was slippery. So, I had the kids for the day with nowhere to go.

Tuesday and Wednesday, I was at a conference for the newspaper. It started at 8:30 a.m. and lasted until 4:30 p.m. Notice companies never hold conferences on the night shift's schedule? We didn't start at 3 p.m. and end at midnight.

The conference took a lot out of me. Unlike the last one, this time I had a hard time cutting through the jargon and crap. I just felt disattached from most of the discussion about making money, making more money and, if you don't get it, making even more money.

I suppose if making money is what I am about, I would not be working 50-60 hour weeks and getting paid for 40. I would be working for a college or university that doesn't bleed me dry on "benefits" and tries to match my personal goals with their goals. But I digress ...

I work to make money, of course. I have bills to pay and must maintain my luxurious standard of living in my lakefront mansion, but I got into journalism for the love of crafting sentences and words, and coupling that with the need to give people information so they can make intelligent, day-to-day decisions.

Sucker!

So, I'm not the person driven by the sale, though I know that's important to my survival at the newspaper. This conference did not address that.

So, back to work Thursday through Saturday, and I find myself up to my eyeballs with work and problems (they go hand in hand).

Sunday was a nice time to spend at the aquatic center with the kids and catch some football (great games!).

Today, the kids have off again for teacher development, but they're still asleep. The real reason I took them to the pool -- to exhaust them so they don't get up before 8 a.m.

Thought: It could be worse. It could be raining. Oh, wait. ...