As my first semester of my return to school comes to an end I thought I’d spend a moment to reflect on some highlights of what I have learned.

I forget sometimes when I’m speaking to people, they don’t know me. These people are age’s 20 through 50+; it’s quite a mix bag of people, from all walks of life, from all sorts of businesses and business levels.

We had a discussion on the topic of, “What would it take or is it too late for U.S. businesses to stop outsources to overseas companies?” (and therefore US workers would keep their jobs.)

I wrote, what I called a simple plan of action, which I thought was quite thorough.

Here is my plan to reduce (not eliminate) outsourcing:

The first thing that needs to happen is to stop the bleeding.

The Federal Government needs to step in (as they do with other things) and before a company just shuts down and leaves, ask the following questions:

What are you doing?

And

Why are you doing this?

New rules would be implemented to assist businesses in making the right decisions, help reduce unemployment and help the business become more profitable.

BE EFFICIENT!

Before a company moves they must show they have tried all the so called management programs; MRP/Six Sigma/Lean MFG whatever, they have tried something! If they haven’t they must try one technique for a period of one year. They must report these monthly numbers to some branch of the government.

This would not be too unusual as there are other reports sent into the government on a regular basis, i.e. OSHA information, Safety information, etc. This could be called: Efficiency Report

EXTRA CHARGES!

Before final approval has been granted for a company to outsource they should be made aware of some tough regulations such as: Components coming back into this country from an outsourced business, are be subject to some special import tariff. Before final approval the business must recalculate all the numbers that showed the savings they would receive by outsourcing, and include in these numbers this tariff, to see if it is still cost effective to move overseas.

MADE WHERE ??? !!

If it’s still cost effective to move, the business must be made aware of the following:

Components produced in a foreign country, assembled here in the U.S. and then sold, cannot say:

“Made in the USA” (And by the way imports from Asia or Europe are not NAFTA produced so these products will incur some other charges when exported to Mexico or Canada)

RETRAIN OUTGOING EMPLOYEES!!

Employees of the firm planning to leave the U.S. must be given a one year notice. (currently it is 90 days) This will allow them the opportunity to find another position in the last six months.

During this one year period employees should be taking the same manufacturing efficiency courses the firm is conducting for the government. (MRP, Six Sigma, Lean Mfg) This will not only keep the business moving, it will provide small efficiencies for the company during this one year period to help recoup monies lost and also for the employee, will give them an asset for their next employer.

During this one year period, if the company shows in good faith progress in the efficiency numbers, the training performed, they will receive a federal tax reduction, again to offset monies lost during this one year period.

The future:

I believe right now the way the economy is everyone is in a panic. We have been through other financial downturns in the past and have recovered. I believe back then we wouldn't think about using a foreign country to produce product. We rode it out and we recovered. If business is not willing to ride this out, the economy will never recover.

Take the small mom-and-pop businesses that are producing product in Anytown, USA. If these people don't stay in business, it effects: the local restaurant, the truck driver, UPS pickups, the landscaper, etc. multiply this by 10,000 mom-and-pop businesses. Now bring it up a level to an IBM, Ford, Coca-Cola, these firms are typically employing half a town! What if these firms decide, 'nah let's just move it all over to Singapore' ???

Maybe these corporations need to stop (for a short period of time) putting the buck in front of everything else and remember where they came from AND WHO GOT THEM THERE!

THE NOW UNEMPLOYED CONSUMERS.

Some people in my class called me a Socialist!! Go Figure.

Okay I’ve finally done it!

I’m finally a student. I’ve been really busy the past few weeks trying to keep up with the “kids”. Yes, I might be spending seven plus hours a day: reading a chapter, writing notes about the chapter, doing three individual assignments, writing theme papers, responding intelligently (I think anyway) to questions place on our discussion board, and you my friend can flip through the book after work and write two line responses and feel you’ve done it… well you haven’t done it. Yes, you may have a job and work forty to fifty hours a week, and, yeah okay, you’re chasing after two toddlers, but I have my distractions too! Yes, yes I do. I have a short attention span, cracky knees, bad eyes, and non-dexterous finger tips. I could almost apply for and receive social security. But no. I’m using my reserve energy at 3:30 in the afternoon to finish one of the above named tasks. And you know, there’s one thing I have that you don’t have. Determination! That’s right, Determination. And what does that mean exactly? Well that means I’m sticking with it, I know this will be one of the last times that I attended classes. The last time I’ll be changing my career. I know it’s your time. I know this. I accept this. But I’m determined to finish this. And you young lady or young man don’t take education for granted. To learn something new every day is a gift.

And one more thing… I got an “A” on my term paper …what did you get?

Bitacchhhh!

So what do you think of autumn so far?

Autumn, or Fall, as we usually call it, is one of those seasons that can go either way. It can be considered; a cooling from the summer heat, a transition to what we know is coming, or simply the beginning of Winter. You remember Winter don’t you? It’s that time of year when, if you really must leave your house, you do so dressed like Na-Nook of the North.

Everyone has heard the story of how one or both of your parents had to walk five miles to school in blizzards. I’ve checked there hasn’t been a year in the annals of weather recordkeeping where any city, anywhere, has had blizzards every school day. So you can just tell your parents … well, you know what you can tell them.

Autumn, the leaves here in Connecticut are starting to turn bright red and orange and like any New England day it could be seventy degrees today and forty-five tomorrow. It’s the time of year when mum planting, pumpkin selections, and apple picking is taking place every weekend. Families are off to the fairs.

We then prepare for that blessed holiday, Halloween. My favorite. I may have mentioned this before but it is truly the only holiday where you can please people with twenty-five cents worth of candy. And they are happy. Try putting twenty-five cents worth of candy under your Christmas tree. It’s not going to work.

Following Halloween, that great family tradition of Thanksgiving – or as I like to call it, Food-a-thon. How many other days in the year do you sit down to a deliciously cooked meal and you’re already full? So why are we still making all that food? No one has given you permission to go off your, healthy living-low carb-low calories-lifestyle changing eating plan. So why do it? This year we are not, oh, we’ll have a turkey and definitely cranberry sauce, but we are going to be eating lite this year. Sweet Potatoes instead of mashed. Sautéed Brussels sprouts, boiled onions, maybe pie. Custard pie. And we are making enough for leftovers!

Don’t forget to donate to your local food pantry’s – visit a retirement home – write a letter to a soldier (hand writing not emailed) – do what’s right.

START NOW! , get a basket, throw in 2-3 canned vegetable this week, a box of stuffing mix next week, some pudding mix, and so on, you won’t even notice and when you go and pick up you big 35 pound turkey, grab a small frozen one, you know the 8-10 pound ones. What will that be $6.00? And deliver that to the family across the street whose father was laid off in September, or deliver it to the elderly couple down the road.

Times are tough for everyone, I know and things will get worse, many people are out of work. We need to help each other out.

Always remember my life’s motto: There’s always someone out there worse off than you!

What’s Wrong with Using a Power Chair?

Power Chairs. You’ve seen them on TV. The old lady who receives her new power chair doing wheelies in her kitchen, she’s doing her parade wave as she spins slowly around and smiling.

You’ve probably also have seen the power chair gang commercial where everyone outside (where ever they are) are riding in their power chairs. Yes, okay that one is a little un-nerving. But what’s wrong with having one or just using one in Wal-Mart?

I’ve seen plenty of people tooling around in Stop N Shop using them. Okay so you think when you see the extremely overweight person using the power chair that if they just got up and walked, they’d be in better shape and maybe wouldn’t need a power chair. Let’s assume they have other issues.

The power chair is fast becoming a symbol of, well, POWER! Imagine: you tool around your house in your power chair, get in your car and drive to the store, where you get yourself loaded into the stores powered carriage and do your power shopping.

Think about, don’t you give the right of way in the aisle to a power chair person? Of course, it’s polite. So you’re doing your power chair shopping, you are relaxed, you cash out, back in your car, get back home, and back into your private power chair – and you haven’t even broke a sweat!

Man…what a life. I want one!

For the younger crowd. Seriously my town, East Hampton, Connecticut, has just opened a new store. Are you ready for this? It’s called: Scooter-town. This townie went out and purchased fifteen to twenty scooters, (similar to a Vesper, but smaller) and sells them. You drive by the store and they are all line up on the grass, all different colors. There are colorful flags stuck in the grass...It’s something to see. The sad part of this is he isn’t what you would call a ‘healthy man’ – he is rather large and it’s a visual struggle to watch him riding one of the scooters around town at 10MPH. Not a good advertisement. No, it’s not. I bet the old lady in her power chair could beat him going uphill while doing wheelies and waving.

I might suggest to him to add a new line of power chairs.

The Ugly American Customs

The other day in class someone said, “Why are we expected to following and obey other country’s customs, but when they come here (to the U.S) they don’t follow our customs?”

So I’m thinking…What exactly are the customs of the U.S

First I thought it would be best to define what a custom is, as opposed to something being a tradition or culture.

Definition: A usage or practice common to many or to a particular place or class, or habitual with an individual. Long established practice considered as unwritten law. So yeah… the definition didn’t help me.

So I quizzed my good friend, Mr. Internet… and although I found the information I was looking for, I had to find it on web pages that were made for people coming to the United States.

Our customs are very generic – holidays, 4^th of July (but not Easter or Christmas or Chanukah) ... fried chicken, meatloaf with tomato sauce on top, county fried steak, Thanksgiving (another food related thing), so I’ve come to the conclusion that we really don’t have any US customs. (with the exception of partying and food!)

America is ultimately a nation of immigrants and as a result is a cultural mish-mash in every sense of the word. Not only is the country populated by people from foreign countries but all Americans in one way or another trace their ancestry back to another culture, whether Irish, German, Italian or Scottish. Looking around any major city one will notice the ‘melting-pot’ that it is. (stolen from the web)

I believe to solve this problem we have to make a decision – a federal decision!

The United States does not have an official language. (can you believe that?) Eighty-two percent of the population speaks English, but apparently the federal government hasn’t decided yet what the language should be. Why?

While searching for the incredible information above, I did find some critical warnings provided to our visiting international friends, please pass these on to your foreign friends:

When two Americans are standing and talking to each other they stay at least 16 inches away from each other. (else they will be labeled and possibly beat up)

In America, time is a very important commodity. People 'save' time and 'spend' time as if it were money in the bank. (so please, make sure you stop and ask for assistance I am sure each of us will stop and politely help)

It is also not acceptable to spit, blow your nose with your fingers or urinate on the street. 

(damn, I wish someone told me this – no wonder I get looked at strangely)

Can you imagine the look on the face of the 75 year old Finnish grandmother coming to the US to visit her grandkids after reading that?! No wonder the rest of the world calls us the Ugly Americans!

Today is Saturday … We have an EMERGENCY blog!

Well I’ve finally done it. I’ve hit a new all time low in life.

As most of you are aware I have health “issues”… which I try to take care of as best I can. Which, if done properly will enable me to live a normal, healthy life.

And as you know I’ve started back to school.

So Wednesday or so I notice a little twinge in my left elbow (now we all know I’m left handed) so I figured “ah I must have done something”, but like every other ache and pain you have you schlep it off and keep going.

Thursday, it was still there, still achy. By Friday afternoon I couldn’t straighten my arm or bend my arm, so walking around I’m looking a little Quasimodo’ish. Not pretty.

Let me tell you ONE important rule of life, when you hit 50, EVERYTHING is starting to fall south! Your face, eyelids, chin, arms, knee caps, thighs…EVERYTHING… so to compensate you MUST have very good posture and smile a lot! With good posture and a smile you can pull off being Sixty! People will walk by and comment to friends…”look at that poor old woman…but she looks happy!”

So I’m doing the Quasimodo shuffle, holding my arm up at this gawd awful angle, not moving my left shoulder to compensate the non-movement of my left arm. I’m thinking to myself “this isn’t getting better is it?’ and I said back to myself, “No...No it isn’t”, so we decided to take our sorry ass to the emergency medical clinic in town.

Now I’m not one to run to the doctors every five minutes. I really need to be pretty bad to get me to go. (must be some family trait) but I decided I should go when getting into the car I couldn’t close my door OR put my seat belt on. Luckily my housemate was there. We did look pretty regal, him running around the other side of the car to close it, then getting into the passenger seat, reached around and pull the shoulder belt around and clipped me in. And off we went.

Once arriving I immediately started with the “it’s not really an emergency” … “it’s really not that bad” but they took X-Rays and after checking them out, determined I have Bursitis, WHERE DID I GET THAT?

When I got home I did a little internal investigation. Where/What could I have possibly done? And then it came to me – writing. I’m in a sling for 3-4 days, I’ve been issued pain killers, I’m suppose to ice it, heat it, rest it, stationary for 3-4 days. All from taking notes! This is the only thing I’ve been doing differently, Note taking.

So now mothers, keep an eye on your children, school has started, they will be around, alcohol, drugs, sex, and notes!

I'm Baackk!!

Okay let me see if I can get this going… it’s been seven days since I’ve posted and I must have a lot to say…let’s see …um..

Oh yeah, have you ever read the book: O Pioneer? It’s actually a pretty good story. It takes place in 1873. Swedish families move to Nebraska and attempt to make a go of being successful farmers. After the death of the father, the mother, two brothers, some cows, a stallion, pigs and their crops, they finally become successful and rich. Okay that’s basically the whole story.

In the past four days I have written; not one, no… not two, but FOUR different essays on this book! FOUR! Now I remember why I hated English class in high school. How many ways can you analyze one book! So my brain is slightly fried! Our next two books are: Never Let Me Go (which is about to be released as a movie) and that all time high school favorite: Brave New World! I went to high school in the 70’s… I don’t remember much about high school, but I do remember I hated that book then, why are they trying to punish me now??

My other class is International Management. So far we’ve done four chapters and what I have learned is: Never go to Saudi Arabia. Did you know that if you are an American, British, or French, whatever, female and you visit this country, you cannot leave without a male’s permission? Yes that’s correct. You could be oh let’s say, Hillary Rodham-Clinton on a Secretary of State jaunt , you’re all packed and ready to leave but before you board the plane, someone at the airport will need to call Bill and ask if Hillary can get on the plane. How easy would it be for Bill to say “No”? If he did, she wouldn’t be allowed on the plane and her passport would be taken. Oh I’m sure the President would get involved and rescue her ass, but, still. So lesson #1 – Avoid Saudi Arabia.

Okay here’s some odd news…

A woman from a village in southwestern England says that a severe migraine attack left her speaking with what sounds like a French accent - a striking example of a rare syndrome that neuroscientists say can leave lifelong locals sounding like they come from thousands of miles away.

Can you imagine? You’re home getting dinner ready, folding laundry, kids are screaming in the background which leads to a headache and BOOM you have a Russian accent. Explain that to your friends. Of course they’d think you’re faking it. So if you go to Russia for six or seven months would you then pick up a British accent? Hmmm bet those scientists didn’t think of that!

And we have some sad new for us. Our town friend Amber M. died last week. She and her husband had fight on Monday night (over money probably…what else do people really fight about). On Tuesday she left for a scheduled dental appointment, checked into a local hotel, took a bottle of pills and she was found on Wednesday. She left her husband and two daughters, 21 and 18. I know this is sad but there is a reason I’m mentioning this to you…depression is running rampant in this country, the medicos so easily prescribe pills to make us feel better… which we then become addicted to. Call your friends, let them know you are there for them, check on an elderly person living two doors down that is alone…be a good neighbor…be a good person. Your one phone call may just change someone’s despondent mood and you’ve saved a life.