It’s very exciting for Cincinnati!

My next door neighbor is elated; he's been a Bengals fan since he was a kid. So yay! Bengals, I guess? I don't really care so long as Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers lose.

Returning for a moment to the employer rewards thing, my dad spent 42 years at R.J. Reynolds Tobacco company. He retired before the gov't vendetta against tobacco--which still makes me twitch, since alcohol killed, widowed, orphaned, and maimed way more people than tobacco ever did--but the alcohol lobbies were just far more powerful than tobacco. Don't misunderstand--I think both are ultimately detrimental to human health, I just believe alcohol is moreso. And yes, I enjoy single malt and Guinness every now and then. I am a confessed hypocrite.

Anyhoo, RJR was a very paternal company, very "family". They had an employment rewards thing that escalated in value the longer (and better) you worked there. I think it was 35 years my dad got a pecanwood chest with eight place settings of silverplate flatware, plus serving pieces--Reed and Barton's Dresden Rose. Which we wound up with as a wedding present. Very nice. Even nicer was the stock Dad got for later anniversaries. Yay for paternalism!

Wow!! I’d love to see photos of those, Beverly!

They're here, Javachik.

Guinea pig herding

Very nice, thank you Beverly!

Both Beverly's memory and picture, and Matt's video made me smile this morning.

Ah, Monday. Why you here already? I turned on my heat this weekend! I could have survived, but I figure it ought to be run once a year just to make sure it works. It does. I put the settings on 68 and 78. If under 68 heat runs, if over 78 AC runs. So AC 250 days a year and heat 2, and the rest the windows open?

I hope all the snowbound did okay this past weekend. Dang, that was some football. I was cheering for the 49ers, but they didn't deserve to win despite my encouragement.

Wow, I've never thought of guinea pigs in herds! That is a lot of cute, that is.

I guess I was with Bank of America, nee NationsBank, nee, MNC Financial, nee, American Security Bank the longest. Seven years. I think there was a five year gift, but I don't remeber it.

My office the whole time was in a building you can see on the back of a ten dollar bill, though! Claim to fame. I take what I can get. (I have a cute little tin "piggy" bank that is a rendition of that building. It's cute.)

Welp, hello, Monday.

I enjoy the sounds guinea pigs make.

I'm close to 25 years at my current job; I don't think there are any milestone awards. I was complimented on stepping in to keep the office open, doing "housekeeping" (watering plants and reporting problems) as well as collecting the mail and getting checks deposited. I was told I'd get a small-ish bonus, which hasn't turned up ... unless it's being paid in $14/month increments.

My father's company (liquor, alas) was very paternalistic - every year at Christmas we'd get a box of gourmet goodies (hence my liking for anchovies, caviar, smoked oysters, and so on) plus a 20-pound turkey. And they did have milestone gifts - he got an Atmos clock with a plaque with his name and years served ... which the movers stole.

And office news - we STILL can't move into our new offices (official move date was Dec. 1, 2021). The tech guys came in Friday and were supposed to move the servers. Had to go 30 minutes away to get a part they needed. So now anyone who wants to work out of the new office has to log in as a remote worker. Our security access is using a card that has our photos on them, along with our names. Since the old photo has my dyed hair, which I stopped doing two or three years ago, I'm hoping security at the new place never goes by that.