found good sony digital cam for 994$...
there might be hope afterall! maybe.

in the meantime, theres soup from the kitchen and my own iced mocha mix:

1 hot mug o water
2 spoonfulls of folgers instant decaf (substitute your favorite coffee..i just have to watch the caffeine)
1 packet of swiss miss


mix all this together and then pour over ice. add half and half and sugar to taste. yum

is that gross? i dont know. i like it.

my dad is freaking out. i receieved this email from him this morning that stunned me...the end of the line and loss of job eminent and SUCH depression. ive never heard him talk this way. i was so worried that i called him on the phone and talked during work time for for 20 minutes. hes at a loss. Aligent is laying off so many people, and i guess his managers have been treating him like dirt. Here's a loyal employee of Hewlett Packard/ Aligent for 30 years being kicked in the face. I tried to convince him that at this time in life, peace of mind was the most important thing. he owns the house, an acre of land, a dog. i mean, his health is failing because of the stress. hes on medication and everything. it just seems like too much and i hate to see him struggle.
but i know theres the generation gap in dealing with the company. im not loyal to the company. i figure they can do what they want with me at any time, so why should i be any more loyal. dad is old school, and believes that his 30 years of service should be repaid somehow. i dig that, but i KNOW thats not the way things are anymore. theres no more assured job until retirement, and only then with a gold watch. you know? plus, as you know, my mom is in remission with cancer that could come back at any time. the whole health insurance issue is big, since no individual plan will take her, with her complications.

i wish i had good advice for him. i told him to weight the benefits of quitting with being layed off. does one come with a better package? afterwards, he should take a month or two off from life. just do whatever. get himself together, toodle around, do housework, sleep, meditate, whatever...
and then when he starts getting bored, think about taking something else up. granted, its Idaho, and theres nothing really gratifying for a senior electrical engineer to do except exersize his intelligence and stanford degree with somethine meaningful...but maybe that time in life has passed. maybe its time not to work so hard.
who am i to say? im just the daughter