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Newly created words

Saw these in Reader’s Digest October issue which were excerpted from “That should be a word” by Lizzie Skurnick:

Bangst – noun; stress over diminishing funds. Example: He read hte ATM printout carefully, filled with bangst.

Fidgital – adjective; excessively checking one’s smartphone.

Flabsolution – noun; pardoning yourself for weight gain.

Palbatross – noun; A friend you’d like to drop.

Tyrunt – noun; child who bosses everyone around.

Wordition – noun; being stuck around people who won’t stop talking.

Laughter is the good for our health

Going through some things and found these funny things in several Reader’s Digests:

  • When people tell me “you’re going to regret that in the morning,” I sleep until noon, because I’m a problem solver.
  • A woman was lying in bed one night when she felt her husband’s hand caressing her neck in a way she hadn’t experienced in quite a while.  The hand then slid down her side, stopping at her knee.  Then he moved closer and did the same on her other side before abruptly stopping and moving away.  Feeling rather aroused and delighted by the unexpected attention,  she whispered, “Honey, that was wonderful.  Why did you stop?”
    He replied, “Because I found the remote.”
  • Why can’t you trust an atom?
    Because they make up literally everything.
  • I saw a guy with a question mark tattoo, which seems like an incredibly permanent commitment to uncertainty.
  • A new patient handed in her medical history form.  On the line marked past traumas, she’d written: Married twice.

A few funnies from the work place:

  • I asked the job candidate if he considered himself a punctual person.  He responded, “well, I’m not a grammar Nazi or anything.”
  • I had a guy show up for his interview drunk and wearing a powder-blue tuxedo jacket. The interview didn’t last long, but before it was over, he was crying about his uncle who had died.  We asked him how long had he been gone: the answer – 6 years!
  • At PetSmart, one of hte questions we ask job candidates is: “if you could be any animal, what would it be?” This candidate replied that he would be a turtle, because he’s always really slow and he’s never in a rush.

A few from lab research notes on their study or process method:

  • We incubated this for however long lunch was.
  • Slices were left in a formaldehyde bath for over 48 hours because I put them in on Friday and refuse to work on weekends.
  • This dye was selected because the bottle was within reach.
  • We didn’t test as many clams as oysters because someone found the samples and ate them.
  • I used that specific sequence of biotinylated DNA because I found some in the freezer.
  • The experiment was carried out from 9:00 a.m. to 5: p.m. because the lab is deserted and creepy after office hours.

History does teach us

At the recommendation of Jack Minster (or maybe he actually ordered it for me), I read a book called Jerusalem by Simon Sebag Montefiore.  What an amazing history that town has seen.  The book covers the history of the town from roughly 2000 BC to current day.  I highly recommend it for any person who likes World history.

One thing stood out to me, in line with the subject of this blog – happened in 1855-1860.  An Italian man named Moses Montefiore, later knighted by Queen Victoria for his service as Sheriff of London and in recognition of his services to humanitarian causes on behalf of the Jewish people.  He followed the Jewish religion and after visiting Jersualem in 1827 he became a more devoted observer of his religion.

In 1854 his friend Judah Touro, a wealthy American Jew, died having bequeathed money to fund a Jewish residential settlement in Palestine. Montefiore was appointed executor of his will, and used the funds for a variety of projects aimed at encouraging the Jews to engage in productive labor. In 1855, he purchased an orchard on the outskirts of Jaffa that offered agricultural training people.

In 1860, he built the first Jewish residential settlement outside the walls of Jerusalem.  Living outside the city walls was dangerous at the time, due to lawlessness and bandits.  Montefiore offered financial inducement to encourage poor families to move there. Montefiore donated large sums of money to promote industry, education and health amongst the Jewish community in Palestine.  

His life’s mission of helping Jersualem’s Jewish people caused him to give so much money that many people became dependent on his charity and that was their sole means of support.  When he tried to wean them off of his handouts, they rioted in his camp.

This is certainly been repeated in countries around the world.  When people get used to receiving support with little or no contribution put forth to earn it, upon the support being reduced, the response too often is to scream and shout and demand it not stop.  This is becoming a problem in Saudi Arabia as unemployment is so high, it costs the government a lot to keep the people complacent by giving out so much money.

I think history shows that the best solution is democracy and capitalism where hard work and effort are rewarded.

FOCM World of Beer Networking Event

I am determined to catch up with my backlog of posts and pictures.  It was March 15, 2016 at World of Beer in Cary, NC where a FOCM Networking Event was held.  It was the night before Arena International’s Outsourcing in Clinical Trials Southeast meeting.

Quite a good turnout and FOCM membership cards were given out to deserving members.  Attendees included: Chad Pollio, Lisa Campbell, Bernie Linner, Jeff Hudak, Vince Hoefling, Constance Hopkins, Deb Carfagno, Mark Paul and a colleague, Denee Oakley, Peter Payne, Paula Heyer, Jennifer with Acurian, Dana Edwards and a colleague, Kim Martinez, Erin Tabet and a colleague, Rosina Pavia, Michelle Jacobson, Sue Joor, Paul Eisenmann, Brian Langin, Jon Gardow, Diane Romick, Alison Greenwood, Laura Peters, Mike Markowitz, Garrett Smith, Chris Ramm, Pippa Wilson, Paul Oldfield, Breyona Fenner and two that I only have down as ‘knows Ken Billard’ and ‘Brit TRX guy’.

Diane Romick
The Crowd
Sue Joor, Michelle Jacobson
Breyona Fenner
Sue Joor
Deb Carfagno, Chad Pollio

Political Correctness Madness

it hit me today while talking to members of my family – just how crazily hypersensitive the world, or at least America is becoming over potential slights masquerading as extreme assaults.

While reviewing some to-do lists with my family, I said, “well thank goodness I’m here serving as task master – OOPS!! – I don’t think the word ‘master’ can be used any more because it conjures up the past when there were slaveholders, known as masters, and slaves.”

So I then said, “maybe I should be called the task manager”, OOPS!! i can’t say manager as that could be considered sexist, so perhaps we need a new word ‘personager’ to replace manager.  I guess i’m the taskminder, that seems to be a safe word and shouldn’t upset anyone, right? I sure hope that’s okay, but please tell me if that upsets someone.

A tribute to our Mom

Our mom, Marilyn, the mother of four children: Betsy, Jenny, Chris and Jon passed away on October 11, 2017.  She was 89 years old.  She died 10 years and 4 days after our dad, Charles.

I remember a friend of mine, David Holt saying he and his brothers were now orphans after the second of his parents had passed away.  Adults are not what you typically picture when you hear the word orphan.  There is, at least for me and my siblings a sense of having our lives’ foundations shaken with this feeling, not just of grief, but also that we have lost something and I can’t find the right word for it – a focus, a purpose, a guiding element.  I think the last one is close and it’s that we’ve lost our family leader, our guiding light.  But we know Mom was confident that we would be all right without her.  And in time we will be.

We four kids had fun together while we worked on the obituary, the memorial service arrangements and visits from friends, etc.  Once I got home to NC, I have been feeling a type of loneliness – a bit like I’m drifting without direction.  To now, not have either of the two people in your life that were so important and always there is a shock.

I realize these feelings are part of the grieving process and we (children and grandchildren) are entering a new phase in life.  What I want to share with you is Mom’s unfailingly positive outlook.  For as long as we can remember, we always subscribed to Readers’ Digest and Guideposts magazine.  Guideposts was founded by Dr. Norman Vincent Peale.  He is the author of The Power of Positive Thinking.  We think she read that book and decided that is how she would live her life.

A few months ago, I had an aha moment which showed the impact of her positive messages.  Ever since I was 8 or so Mom repeatedly told me something that I have believed ever since.  If Mom or my sisters had a necklace or other piece of jewelry that was tangled, knotted or unusable in some way, Mom would give it to me and ask me to fix it, saying, “you’re good at fixing jewelry”.  I have always believed that I’m good at that.  Recently, my girlfriend had a necklace that was knotted and I said, “oh give that to me to fix, I’m good at fixing jewelry.”  Right then I realized something – I’m probably not very good at fixing jewelry, because generally, I’m not very handy or mechanical.  But I believed I was, so like with Deb’s necklace or Mom’s jewelry, because i was good at it, i wouldn’t give up until I had it untangled.

All of Mom’s grandchildren and we, her children will miss the great feeling after talking with her.  She made you feel great.  Phrases we could count on hearing in virtually every conversation:

  • Any company would be lucky to have an employee such as you
  • You’re so smart
  • You’re so handsome
  • You’re so pretty
  • I am so proud of you
  • You’re doing so well in your career
  • It just thrills me to hear you talk about your children/work/friends/activities
  • You’re such a good cook
  • How do you know how to do all these amazing things
  • I love you so much
  • You’re such a good father/mother
  • Your children are so smart
  • I love to talk to you
  • I can’t wait to see you
  • that is such a pretty shirt
  • your hair looks so nice

I know that both Jenny (on the phone) and Jon in person when they would talk to her at night or help put her to bed, htey would say: Good night, sleep tight, don’t let the bedbugs bite, … We would take turns saying each part.  And she would laugh and laugh.

What a great approach to parenting and to life.  Our ongoing tribute to her will be to live the rest of our lives with the same optimism, positivity and kindness that she showed.

FOCM attends Site Solution Summit

I will be attending Site Solution Summit in Boca Raton, October 6 – 8, 2017.   I am appreciative of being asked to faciliate one of the breakout sessions on Saturday.   More than likely I’ll organize a happy hour for October 7.

Site Solution Summit 2017

Site Solution Summit Break out Session

 

Assist a FOCM member

Cara Cartee (joined FOCM in 2017 in Raleigh) of CMC Events, LLC is gathering information on business travel through the use of the survey at the link below.  Let’s help her get a good response.  If you do any business travel, click on the link and complete the survey.

TribeSpring Travel Survey

Thank you in advance.

FOCM Gathers at SCDM

On Monday morning, September 25, there was a definite buzz of excitement as FOCM members attending #SCDM2017 knew that there would be a networking event that very evening.  The location, chosen by FOCM Member with card number 0001, Brian Langin was Bob Marley – A Tribute to Freedom restaurant at Universal CityWalk in Orlando, FL.

Brian is not in the picture below, possibly due to his past undercover work keeping America safe or maybe because he took the picture.

Attending: Vicky Martin, me, Karen Hicks, Charlene Dark, Tina Pietropaolo, Joby John, Karen McPoyle, Hugh Levaux and Jen Price.  A late (post-pic) arriver was Shae Wilkins.

Here’s how we’re connected: Vicky, Karen, Tina, Karen and I met at ICON; Hugh, Brian and I met at Quintiles, Charlene and I met through Karen Hicks at a past SCDM conference, Jen and I met at conferences, Joby and I met at this year’s conference. Shae and I met at some conference or other.

FOCM at SCDM