Thursday, May 11, 2000

brad's father pointed him to this site, very nice footage of the life of a peregrine falcon and her baby.
posted by April Fraze 5/11/2000 10:48:01 AM| link

Wednesday, May 10, 2000

some people deserve to be remembered....tony basta is one of those people. i never met him....wouldn't know him if i saw him....and i'll never have the opportunity to hear him tell about his art or see the smile that brightened his parents' days...i feel robbed....

to me, the case of tony's murder should be another story on the news, but it is much deeper....and i think everyone should honor his life by feeling the disgust that seethes through my being.

tony was 17. he was a good kid. everyone liked him. his parent's had no problems with him. he was an art student. he was a teen-ager.

when he didn't return home from his bike ride one night his parents became worried because it wasn't his nature to not come home. his body was found...shot from behind in the way of cowards, while riding his bike around st. paul. police soon ruled it to be a random shooting because he had no enemies.....

last night news broke that the murderers were in custody. three teenage boys had bragged at a party about killing the young man. they were taken in and admitted to the crime. apparently they had decided to rob people by shooting them....they had been cruising around practicing, trying to find the right moment to get a practice killing in....when they saw tony that late night...his back to them, they finally got up the nerve to do the deed. after shooting basta they switched cars and returned to the scene to watch the police secure the crime area....then, they attended the memorial service......they told police that had they not been caught they would have killed again.

yes, i feel robbed....because the world is short one more dreaming young person, who could've softened it's edges.......because i am once again sorry that i ever was a teenager...and because these three boys live another day with little care about the life they ended........

remember tony...for his family, for society.....teach your children well.....
posted by April Fraze 5/10/2000 10:26:59 PM| link

it has been an interesting week. i called in sick on monday...it was well-deserved, but it only compounds the stress. i work in an office by myself, so when i am gone there isn't anyone there to return e-mail or answer the phones. i had 31 voice mail messages and about 30 e-mails to answer. not anything i can't manage, but i was cranky. my e-mail was not working on friday and it returned all of my responses on tuesday. my phone has been jacked for the entire time we have been open. i've dealt with this fellow, dan, at the phone company who has difficulty understanding that i am not a moron and i don't take shit....i'm sorry, but when it comes to dealing with other companies i'm hyper-sensitive to the lies they're feeding me....dan has made the quota.

my other issue, which stems from the fact that i didn't get my computer until last week (had it came earlier these issues would have been resolved), is that i don't have a way to print. i have to go to kinko's, pay out of my pocket to print, and then mail it all away. we are a paper business, so it's spendy and an inconvenience.

so, i've been in a mood....and it wasn't getting better. when i moved here i was made a lot of promises....none have been kept, and i'm spilling out so much money and time that i've lost myself again...the little things that i used to enjoy, like this site, reading, and responding to e-mails have been lost. so, needless to say.....i flipped....and i did it big.

i sat down at my computer and composed an e-mail....one that outlines the short-comings of our company as completely as possible....told them that i couldn't float this boat alone, and that i felt the matters had been handled very unprofessionally. i mailed it to my boss, the hq operations manager....and i copied it to the ceo....

things have never....NEVER moved so fast. within minutes i was on a conference call with the ceo, the coo, and the operations manager....the ceo apparently has little knowledge of the sequence of events....i should've been shocked, but i guess i wasn't....there was a lot of "cover my own ass" going on....passing the blame to me....but i wounldn't have it. i was prepared with the facts and solid evidence of the events over the past few months...i've been living it...i should know.

last night i had an e-mail from the ceo with instructions on picking up a printer, fixing my e-mail, etc., etc....today i had 2 calls from hq to make sure things were in order...both calls were from neutral parties commisioned by the ceo to ensure that i was taken care of and all was running smoothly......it's the most attention my new office has received in months.

at the end of the call, bill, my ceo, and an all-around nice guy (i've watched his kids and his house when he was away...once for 5 days), dismissed the others and asked me if this was fixed...i knew what he meant. i had tried before to quit...bill talked me into staying...he makes sense...i know he believes in me, and i know he can get things done. he told me i should call him when i have problems and they will be fixed. i cried, because i can't take talking to him about these things again. i want to leave it....walk away and forget this job ever existed. my life was happier before it all really, the responsibility i have is so incredibly transparent....i am responsible for getting things done...the creative aspect....that's left to the "great minds" at hq. as long as i mail things, return calls, return e-mails, make the clients and members happy and bring in money....then i'm doing my job...sure, that sounds reasonable....but doing these things requires resources. i have little freedom in this matter...requests for supplies and questions about getting supplies fall on deaf ears. i told the ceo that i wasn't happy and the contract bothered me....we have a call on tuesday to discuss the issue after i have had a chance to evaluate...bill never accepts a hasty decision....

today was much better. having the resources makes things much more doable....and bill says all i have to do is call him....but i have to ask myself if i want to work for a company where i have to go to the top to get anything accomplished? is it worth pissing off the people over me everytime something needs done? please, please send me your opinions....i wonder if it can get better....
posted by April Fraze 5/10/2000 10:12:53 PM| link