The crazy quilt of responsibilties.

I didn't post for the last week because I did a whirlwind two days in Texas going to three plays and a local church's fall bazaar.  I would have added a fourth play but I had to go to a conference, where I was part of a panel on Sunday and then extremely busy at sessions and doing leadership-level stuff most of the week.  When I finally had downtime, there was work to do.

One of the leadership things is heading Team Turtle, which goes out every day for a walk.  I started it in response to the runners group, as not all of us can run.  Team Turtle's mascot joined us for the walks:

We passed the deli every day but didn't stop to sample, which I plan to do if I get back to Las Vegas someday.

My conference badge shows how much I do:

                            

As I said when posting it on LinkedIn, the crazy quilt at the bottom is legitimate roles and responsibilities; the black ones are just for fun.  I've been told they are just as legitimate.

The networking activity didn't go quite as I had planned, but people had fun and since we had more prizes than people I let everybody pick something.  Despite the chaos people told me they had fun, which was the important thing.  I already have an idea for next year's activity.

I had a very busy work day when I returned home, after working on the long flights and layover, then Saturday went for a final stock-up before the farmstand closes until the holidays.  I placed a delivery order with another local farm for additional items, which will arrive on Thursday.  This should keep me until I go to family for Thanksgiving week.  After I got home I pulled some chicken from the freezer, and cooked it using the instructions on a packet of seasoning I purchased during a friend's Pampered Chef party.  I substituted vegetables I have on hand (sweet potato, onion, corn) for the carrots and peas, used the drained tomato juice and a splash of wine for the liquid, and it came out very tasty.  I have enough leftovers to last until the other items are delivered.

Happily, a loaf of oatmeal raisin pumpkin spice bread I bought at the fall festival survived the travels other than being slightly squished, and thick slices have been yummy breakfasts since I returned home.

Finishing Things

While I haven't finished all my resolutions, I have made progress.  I finished another book, which means I have read thirteen so far this year - more than my blog commitment and my Goodreads commitment.  I am almost done with another, that I took with me on the trip.

As far as knitted and crocheted items, I still need to begin the cardigan and complete the second sock but have finished almost everything else listed in my resolutions.  While traveling I made a scarf for charity and started a second, and after getting home finished another that had been so close to finished I didn't want to take it with me.  In addition to the knitted one started whilst traveling and which I left in the car, I began a crocheted one and did 29" yesterday while in various online gatherings.  So far the tally of things finished this year is 47.

Turnaround.

In the Before Times, it was never unusual for me to have a day, or a bit more, at home between trips.  Sometimes I would have multiple suitcases and carry-on bags partly packed, and move the Dopp kit and a few other essentials among them.  I'd also taken a few end-on-end trips where I went from one set of meetings to another, and debated doing the same this time, staying a couple extra days with friends instead of coming home between.

I decided to come home.  Do a bit of laundry, not haul quite so much luggage around.  Give myself a bit of a mental break being home.  It has helped.

The first trip began visiting my parents for a few days.  We attended a local event together for the NC Opera, at which I won a T-shirt for knowing the answer "Treemonisha" to one of the trivia questions.  Coincidentally, it opened on this day in 1975 for the first full performances since it was written in around 1911.

Then to Irving, Texas, for a legal department all-hands meeting.  It was good to see people in person, there are some interactions that happen spontaneously that don't happen online.  I was scheduled to give a presentation on Wednesday, and revised it on the fly on Tuesday after some of the discussions we had.  It was very well received by my colleagues, and the General Counsel said it exceeded his expectations, which is some of the best feedback to receive.  Like many people, I have some degree of Imposter Syndrome, compounded by spending several years at my previous employer which kept promising I would be able to use all my training and never met those promises.  I am still not used to being treated as the skilled and knowledgeable person that my alphabet soup says I am.

Speaking of that alphabet soup, I have been participating in a question-writing program for the Certification as Information Systems Security Professional that I hold.  In the first phase we write questions, focusing on certain knowledge areas, and have to meet a certain number.  (I submitted eleven of the required ten.)  This is more difficult than you might think.  In the second phase, we peer-review questions submitted by others.  Some are similar to the ones I wrote, some are very different areas.  It is not easy, but I am very much enjoying the process, at all phases.

This morning I leave for a day and a half in Dallas, where I will see three plays and visit friends.  It is something like the quick trips I did in the Before Times, except that I will be masked and very cautious.  Some of the people I know sneer at masks, but they don't criticize me for wearing them, at least not to my face.  Yes, I am going to be one of these people for a long time to come.

Sunday I head to Las Vegas for the Association of Corporate Counsel Annual Meeting.  It's hybrid, part in person, a virtual option for those who for whatever reason (cost, timing, family) cannot attend in person.  As somebody in leadership I felt obligated to go - and have made it clear that I will be wearing masks, in part so others will feel comfortable about doing so if they wish.  We all had to submit our vaccination status, and I have a copy of my card just in case.  More of the New Normal.

Instead of the stolid business meetings we used to hold the staff asked us to come up with fun activities.  I created a quiz using dice to figure out which question to answer, with questions ranging from pure intellectual property to Las Vegas to film and magicians and back again.  Hopefully people will like it.  I found a cool design and ordered prizes; token things, but something for the winners.

This is one of the items people can win.

I also ordered a T-shirt for me with the design on it, because I could.  I'll wear it on Monday when Team Turtle heads out on its daily walk.  I formed Team Turtle a few years ago because the runners always got together and did a group run in the morning, and I wanted something for those who cannot run.  There are more of us than people think!

We have a mascot:

In Memoriam: Uncle Ben (1942-2022)

My Uncle Ben would have been eighty years old today.  For the last several years of his life, I was his legal caretaker, a role I learned about after he had a bad fall and was determined to be unable to manage his affairs or life independently.  Uncle Ben named me in his legal documents as the person to take responsibility if he became incapacitated, which was a surprise to me but a role I accepted.  It's not something I have discussed much, except to a very few persons, and I have taken it very seriously.  It's been a huge responsibility and honor; I've done what I can to live up to the evident trust my uncle had in me.

His obituary, with a couple minor edits (and fewer photos) appears below.  It was written primarily to be printed in the Honolulu newspaper and various alumni publications.  It doesn't talk about his eye-rolling sense of humor, his fierce independence, and his photographic memory.  I wondered whether the hurricane season was so quiet because he was no longer around to reassure us and translate the reports for us, and have missed him and his interpretations during the last few weeks.

_______________________________________________________________

Benjamin Cory Hablutzel, late of Honolulu, died peacefully in Cary, North Carolina, on May 31, 2022.  He was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico on October 12, 1942 to Charles Edward Hablutzel Jr. and Electa Marguerite [Cain] Hablutzel while his father, a PhD in physics from CalTech, was a key member of the team that developed the proximity fuze.

Many people in Honolulu remember Ben as a runner and, in later years, a walker, but his first sport was soccer, for which he received a letter at the Baylor (High) School, from which he graduated in 1960.  Before going to Baylor, he played soprano clarinet in the band at Midway Junior High School in Shreveport, Louisiana.

Ben followed his older brother, Philip, to Louisiana State University, where he joined the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity and graduated in 1964 with a Bachelors of Science degree.  He then received a second B.S. in Meteorology from the University of Utah in 1966 and began his career with the National Weather Service.  Ben received a Master of Science from Colorado State University in 1970, with a thesis on “Cross Beam Wind Measuring Techniques”.

Ben’s first station with the National Weather Service was in Phoenix, where he focused on the weather satellites.  A few years he later moved to Fairbanks, Alaska, where he began running.  On December 17, 1977, he was honored as the 20^th person to achieve running the equivalent of the distance from the capital of Alaska to the capitol of the USA in Washington D.C., and back – a total of 10,810 miles, most of which he ran in 1976 and 1977.  He ran many marathons to achieve these miles, including his first Honolulu Marathon on December 11, 1977.

Uncle Ben in the 1977 Honolulu Marathon.

Uncle Ben in the 1978 Boston Marathon.

   

Ben qualified for, and ran in, the Boston Marathon in 1978.  Among Ben’s other achievements and awards are admission to the Society of Sigma Xi in 1969; status as an LSU “Golden Tiger”; and a letter from astronaut Frank Borman acknowledging his participation in NASA’s Manned Flight Awareness Program.  He was treasurer for the local chapter of the National Active and Retired Federal Employees. 

A few years after running in the Honolulu Marathon, Ben relocated to that city, still as Satellite Manager for the U.S. Weather Service.  Ben was willing to step up when needed, and became acting Deputy Meteorologist in Charge (“MIC”) while still the Satellite Manager, then also Acting MIC – with no new Deputy MIC or Satellite Manager.  Ben continued filling all three management positions for almost two years, and worked shifts regularly, including many night shifts.  His team was noted for their work reporting on Hurricane Iniki.  Ben retired as the Deputy Chief of the U.S. Weather Service in Honolulu and remained in the city until 2018.

Uncle Ben is on the left.

After a fall when he was on the Mainland to attend that year’s NARFE annual conference, Ben was diagnosed with Parkinson’s and dementia and accepted medical advice that he should remain closer to family.  He is survived by his older sister Caroline and her children Katy, Beth, and Yano; his older brother Philip, sister-in-law Nancy, and their children Margo and Bob; their grandchildren, and several cousins.

Ben asked that his ashes be scattered and his family will perform this ceremony at a future date.  If anybody wishes to make a donation in his honor, his family asks that you do so to Transitions LifeCare in Raleigh, NC, who provided support to Ben and the family in his final weeks, or to any non-political charity of your choosing.

Charitably

When I was at the Knitting in the Field with Sheep event last month, one of the woolies became very curious about what I was knitting - another Knit Your Bit scarf, since washable yarn seemed wise out in a field:

Yes, I do a lot of charity work - I just don't have enough people in my family who want items to keep up with my output.  In addition to the box of scarves to Knit Your Bit (finally mailed this week), I finished some more blocks for Warm Up, America! from the remaining Lion Brand Jamie (discontinued) yarn from my stash.  I donated ten blocks at DFW Fiber Fest:

The red-and-white striped is from leftovers of the Knit Your Bit scarves; the four around it are out of Jamie (mostly 'Mardi Gras Stripes' with white borders) and the others are from Red Heart Roll With It Tweed yarn.  I'd left them at a friends' house in Texas at the beginning of March 2020, thinking I would be back a month or so later for the 15th DFW Fiber Fest.  Little did we know that the Fifteenth would be delayed for over two years!

I also finished the last of my promised items for Mittens for Akkol.  Actually, I redid a set because the head Mamma has been uncertain about delivering items, and most of these are for Extra Grads.  I decided to keep one set, as it is nicely matching, to possibly sell at a crafts fair next year.  So I quickly made the blue set, using some old yarn from the stash, a partial ball of Tara Tweed that I finally finished (it's been in several items) and two balls of Elspeth Lavold Chunky Al that kept not turning into things.

The new blue set is top center, hat and mittens.  To the right is a scarf crocheted from Periwinkle Sheep yarn, matching a set I sent earlier.  Below that are pink-based hat and mittens, both striped.  In the center is a green hat with patterning (including a bit of the Tara Tweed) and below it a houndsooth hat to coordinate with items somebody else was making.  The colourful set on the left is from oddballs of Noro Kureyon and some other yarns, including light grey Lopi Lite.

I think I will shift to making Warm Up, America! items for a while.  I didn't realize they took things other than blanket pieces until I talked to their volunteers at DFW Fiber Fest.  It turns out they need a lot of scarves and mittens, since people tend to donate hats.  Scarves are one of my go-to items when I need to have something not requiring attention, so this will be easy for me, when I get tired of the limited range of options (colours, mostly) for the scarves for veterans via Knit Your Bit.

The volunteer for Warm Up, America! said that I can use washable wools for them also, as long as I mark it as wool in case of allergies.  So I am currently working on a scarf of Patons Classic Wool Superwash DK in gold.  I'd overdyed some of the yarn, but am not sure I can match it.  The dyed bits will be mittens, maybe a hat and mittens set.  I'll decide later.

I need to rewatch my classes from last month's Stitches Expo@Home before they expire tomorrow.  I think I remember everything I need to do, but a refresher and maybe some additional notes, now that I have had time away from it. wouldn't be a bad thing.

What better thing to do on I Love Yarn Day than to play with yarns?

Another New Year.

I've meant to post this, but had a busy week and didn't quite finish.  It's the Jewish new year, Rosh Hashonnah, and now almost Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.  For those who cannot go a full calendar year, it can be a chance to have another beginning, to restart, to make new resolutions.

For some, the new year can be scary and challenging.  A friend send an article that tries to explain why.  Basically, all change is a challenge.  You can embrace the challenge, be overwhelmed by it, or something that is a combination.  I have had many challenges in the last year, as I changed jobs in April, and I have been wrestling with my uncle's death and the obligations it gave me, and more changes to come.  Others I know have faced greater challenges.  My rabbi emeritus is the rabbi of Bat Yam Temple of the Islands in Sanibel, Florida, which was all but wiped out by Hurricane Ian on Rosh Hashonnah and faces an unknown future of rebuilding.

The Torahs were rescued.

The Jewish New Year is not really a time for resolutions as January 1st is.  It's a time of reflection.  The Days of Awe that follow are a time to regroup, assess, and in many ways to look back instead of forward.  Jews are supposed to evaluate their lives of the past year, and whether they have anything for which to make amends.  These days you often see people post things like this on social media:

That was posted by a non-Jewish friend of mine.  I asked her why, and well-meaning people in her feed chose to answer: one gave a very simple explanation of Yom Kippur as learned from some of his Jewish friends.  Another cheerfully opined that "This sentiment, applies to All....No one religion, corners the market on Well-Wishing, or Forgiveness."  I thanked them both, but explained that I wondered why a non-Jew was posting this - it could be seen as cultural appropriation, or it could be a lack of knowledge of its significance and its place as part of ritual actions of this time in the Jewish calendar.  And I know my friend is thoughtful and not given to casual appropriation of sentiments, so I wondered.

My friend explained that she is aware of its meaning, even though she doesn't follow the practices that surround it.  She also told me that

it is also very similar to what is said during ho'oponopono ceremonies here in Hawai'i:

Ho’oponopono is an ancient Hawaiian practice that combines love, forgiveness, repentance, and gratitude in four powerful phrases when said reflecting to yourself. Yep, that’s it. Four simple phrases that heal the soul. They are:

I’m sorry.

Please forgive me.

I Thank you.

I love you

So I learned something, and I think others did as well.

We are now in year 5783 of the Hebrew calendar.  It's another new beginning for some of us.  Another turn of the wheel; another trip around the sun.  A chance for something new, a chance to embrace change, a chance to look back and assess, evaluate, adjust our sails.

Let us treasure the time we have, and resolve to use it well, counting each moment precious – a chance to apprehend some truth, to experience some beauty, to conquer some evil, to relieve some suffering, to love and be loved, to achieve something of lasting worth. Help us, God, to fulfill the promise that is in each of us, and so to conduct ourselves that generations hence it will be true to say of us: The world is better, because for a brief space, they lived in it.

                                                   ---<  Rabbi John Rayner  

For those who observe, may you have an easy fast.  For those who do not, may you have the opportunities the Days of Awe and Day of Atonement bring, to reflect and restart.

May you be written in the Book of Life for a good year ahead.