Why do I sense a smear campaign?

Outside the Cedars IT office building:

Who knows what our proud name willl mean by the time Hollywood is finished with it?

Vancouver Weekend of August 3rd

UBC Campus

The most beautiful airport I have ever seen. Not that this shot shows it. But I was here!

More LA Pics

Bedroom. 

Living Room. 

The courtyard outside my second floor apartment. 

walkway behind the apartment. 

Pacific Design offices near the WeHo (West Hollywood) library, which I have enjoyed a lot. 

This is what my Sunday nights look like at LAX

Insane. It took an hour last week for me and Benji to board our bus, get to the parking lot, and get on our way. 

Road warrior congestion. 

Only 6 More Days!

Cedars did not renew my contract, so on to the next adventure.

Sagacious named in top 100 best places to work in healthcare

That's my employer now.

http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20130814/INFO/308149999/modern-healthcares-2013-best-places-to-work-in-healthcare

The Far Pavilions - an Awesome book

Enriched ContAnd it's not just me who thinks so.  Just finished the first volume.  

• Can't wait to get my hands on Volume 2.
  
  The far pavilions
  Kaye, M. M. (Mary Margaret), 1908-2004. 
  Summary
  When The Far Pavilions was first published nineteen years ago,
  it moved the critic Edmund Fuller to write this: "Were Miss Kaye
  to produce no other book, The Far Pavilions might stand as a lasting
  accomplishment in a single work comparable to Margaret Mitchell's
  achievement in Gone With the Wind." From its beginning in the foothills
  of the towering Himalayas, M.M. Kaye's masterwork is a vast, rich
  and vibrant tapestry of love and war that ranks with the greatest
  panoramic sagas of modern fiction. The Far Pavilions is itself a
  Himalayan achievement, a book we hate to see come to an end. it is a
  passionate, triumphant story that excites us, fills us with joy, move us to
  tears, satisfies us deeply, and helps us remember just what it is we want
  most from a novel.
  
  • Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

• Author Biography
  M. M. Kaye was born on August 21, 1908 in Simla, India to British parents.
  She wrote numerous books during her lifetime including Death Walks in
  Kashmir, Later than You Think, Shadow of the Moon, Trade Wind, The Far
  Pavilions, The Sun in the Morning, Golden Afternoon, and Enchanted Evening.
  She also wrote and illustrated children's books including The Ordinary
  Princess. She died on January 29, 2004 at the age of 95. (Bowker Author Biography)
  
  • Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Dog Walking Mid-Wilshire

Pics of the lovely area we walk through here. 

Interest statistics on women's wages

This leaves me wondering about the perceptions and influences that create these wage differences. Would it be correct to correlate these wage gap numbers to the perceived credibility of women in these different jobs?  Are women CEOs less credible, less valuable compared to their male peers than IT specialists?  If so, why?

From my work in Human Resources long ago I saw required reporting of hiring statistics to the federal government by race, gender and religion. Why don't we require total transparency in salary gap statistics by race and gender, at least?  Wouldn't it be great to know those numbers before you interview with a company?  They would certainly tell you a lot about the culture and prevailing prejudices. 

Welcome Back to Tucson!

"All That and a Bag of Chips"

Benji has become The Great Lizard Killer.  It's been lizard season in Tucson and he has killed several in the back yard at home.  He sits at the back sliding door watching for them and hollers to be let out so he can chase them.  He goes out of the gate at a full run and chases them down.  I've seen him run them down against the back wall, each lap getting shorter until the lizard is exhausted and Benji gets them.

He shakes them hard like he does his toys.  Then, he doesn't really know what to do with them, why they're not moving and "playing" any more.

At Lisa's, the yard is small and just dirt, but he chases lizards on the leash at her place.  He cracks her up, diving into the bushes after them, shaking the bushes to flush them out, wagging that tail, happy as a clam doing it.

This week he killed two big ones at her place.  She doesn't let him eat on them, but goes "Iccckkk, Benji!" and he lets go of them.

She says he always had an inflated sense of self, but now "He thinks he is just all that and a bag of chips!"

I think he needs rattlesnake and poison toad aversion training.  I'm hoping he would have sense enough to run the other way if he ran into a snake.

Passed my Data Model Exam!

93%!  I needed at least 80% to pass.

Whew! Took a Little Break at Lunch

It has been such a grind here!  They are in go-live frenzy at Cedars and the noise and anxiety are growing by the day.

Me, I'm good.  I took my next section towards my certification today, the Clarity Data Model, and felt very good about it.  I expect to pass and am looking forward to getting the next ones out of the way: Inpatient and Ambulatory.

I was feeling so relieved I actually went out to lunch with my co-worker Ryan and a friend of his, down the street at the Rooftop on Wilshire.  Usually I run downstairs for a bite and a quick break.

This is Ryan.  Yes, he's an "Epic Kid", although he would beg to differ since he's been away from there for a few years.

The Hollywood sign is on that clump of hills in the distance.

June Gloom

Here that's what they call it because the clouds don't burn off until noon or so, messing up life for the surfers. For me, it just means a cloudy morning walk, still beautiful. 

These are million dollar homes, with little sign of life at 6:30 AM. Most people here commute 1-2 hours each way. The home values are about what they were in 2004.  It's an economy unto itself in this area. 

In LA for a while

I drove with Benji to LA Saturday and Sunday, stopping to rest overnight at Blythe, CA. We have been enjoying some nice walks and "us" time.

Tonight We walked the park at LACMA, the LA County Museum of Art. 

http://www.lacma.org

It's a block away, along with the stinky LaBrea tarpits where they have found thousands of prehisoric bones. Did you know there were prehistoric  camels in North America around the time of the mastodons?  I never did. 

http://www.tarpits.org/la-brea-tar-pits/timeline

I caught this cute pic of my little man at the apartment.

We will be here through June or so, depending on what I may need to do in Tucson. This will give me the chance to focus on my certifications and work five 8-hour days instead of cramming 40 into less than 4 days. Whew!!  

Address here is 5600 Wilshire #215, Los Angeles, CA 90036. Phone is (323) 386-8865. Mail is forwarded here. 

Come visit!  There is a lot to see here very close by, and it's 12 miles to the Santa Monica Pier.

http://www.santamonicapier.org

Ma'am can I see your ID please?

Me: Uh...you're kidding, right?

No she wasn't kidding. And no doubt wanted a nice tip. That was at the Olive Garden in Tucson last night with Mr. B when I ordered wine. We had a great time and a delicious meal eating up my Mother's Day gift from Drew and Jess. Yum!

BTW the peach Sangria was really nasty, artificially orange, syrupy and fake like fruit punch. I sent it back. 

Laguna Beach

Mr B  and I drove from LA to Tucson today. Pics of Laguna Beach at about 7:30 AM.  We had a great day!

The Lawn Bowling Green. 

"Voyager" statue.