General Motors Bankrupt

Well it seems the inevitable is going to happen and I hear it is rumored to be around 8am Eastern time tomorrow. I am sure there are a plethora of commentaries out on the Internets and blog-o-sphere about what is going to happen now, how we got here, and what to do next, but I would like to share a more personal side of this momentous event.

My dad was hired in to, what was at the time AC Delco, in the mid-nineties, I think around 1995 or so. Before then had worked at several companies doing engineering-type work, and at that time was not an issue that he didn't have have any sort of degree; his innate skill were enough to get by. That did not last forever, and he worked several other jobs, most of which I don't remember. Before he started at AC Delco, he was working with my grandfather selling chemicals for DuBois. I remember he did not say much at first about the prospect at AC Delco, because I later found out that he had several rounds of skills testing he went through as well as the standard background check. He was part of a pretty major hire, I think one of the biggest in a few decades, and well, given the current circumstances, probably one of the last.

He was brought in as a line-workers and mainly worked second shift for a few years. Despite the increased job security and increase in Christmas presents, it was not all a bowl of cherries. It was very hard on our family having him gone pretty much most of the time the rest of the family was home. His shift was usually 2-11p. However, we could not complain, we had made it, we were going to be OK. At some point in time before this blessing, things were pretty tight and we ended up receiving food stamps and some other assistant. This was when they were actually stamps and I had to wait in line at the grocery store while my mom tore the little perforated sheets of paper out of the book. I did not know this at the time, but they had to be removed in sight of the cashier to ensure they belonged to the one purchasing the items. I was so embarrassed at times it got to the point that I would go wait outside the store or in the car until she had finished paying.

We had great insurance and my dad was even able to save for retirement; things were looking up. After a few years on the line he was moved in to an apprentice-ship program within, what was now GM. They had taken over AC Delco or dissolved it at some point in time. This was even better for our family situation. He was off the line on to a first shift schedule and had even more job security as a skilled-trademans.

He worked at this position and took his classes for several years in Flint, very close to our home town. He was then transferred to Bay City, which was an hour north and made this commute for 2 or 3 years; an hour each way. This put a serious strain on the family and after I graduated high school my parents moved to Bay City, as Stuart and I were both out of the house and away at college. He has been working at the Bay City plant since 1997 and thankfully still has a job.

His plant has been spared, for now, and will remain open with, as my dad puts it, with a bare-bones work crew. His plant is a parts plant and they provide numerous assembly plants all over the state, which gives them some priority in the GM's scheme (I hope) and given he is skilled-trades, well that helps even more. He lucked out though, it was only because some more senior workers on the list took the voluntary lay-off, that he still has a job, for now.

It is a very scary time and I am quite amazed at how calm he is. He has been frugal, saved most of this life and doesn't have many extravagant "toys" to pay off; he still drives a GMC Safari. We don't talk many specifics, but I know that he is in OK shape now and if or when he does get laid off he will have 26 or more weeks of unemployment, however, my biggest concern comes after that. If he does get laid-off - which now pretty much means fired, and is not like it used to be when you were pretty confident you'd get your job back - what then? What will he do? Him and the rest of Michigan will be looking for jobs and they will all pretty much have the same resume. I know it is not a immediate concern, and that I shouldn't be so worried, but who would have ever thought GM would go bankrupt. Given that uncertainties is the only certainty today, I can't help but worry.

The other major concern is his health insurance and retirement savings. When GM is in negotiations in court all of that is on the table. Granted they can't take away what he has saved in retirement, but it could all be stopped and his medical benefits severely slashed. He shows great resolve about the how situation and does not let on if he is concerned, but I guess, even when we are both adults, that is what parents do.

Last months rent

I paid my rent for the last time here at Country Fair Apartments and will be hittin' the road in 5 weeks. There are a few things left on my 'to-do' list, well besides more packing. I need to cancel and set-up the utilities and cable here and in Ann Arbor, as well as renters insurance.

I will be heading out to Breckenridge, CO a week from today for the PNIRS conference. I think this will be a good way to kick-start my last summer vacation (at least as a student). Once I return on June 7th, it'll be crunch time to pack and get everything wrapped up in the lab.

I did get a bit more packing done this weekend as I was preparing some furniture (matching desk and dresser and a stand-alone dresser) for sale on Craig's List. I have a few more things to put for sale when returning from CO. Can't go too long without a dining room table and microwave.

Lily is getting ready as well :)

Chicken pot pie

Since I have a lot of new found time on my hands, I have had the pleasure of coming home in the early afternoon and have the opportunity to watch some day-time TV. There is a new show on LifeTime, Cook Yourself Thin, that I have been enjoying over the last week or so. The main premise is taking traditional recipes and swapping certain ingredients and making them lower calorie. They have several recipes on-line and I tried on this evening...chicken pot pie.

It was really quite delicious and filling. I think mine might have a closer to 400 calories per serving, because I had a few extra sheet of phyllo dough, probably closer to 10. One hick-up was that even after letting the "pie" sit for about 15 mintues, after removing the 1st slice, there was a flood of juices. The sauce did not thicken nearly enough. I added the correct 1/4 cup of AP flour and still a bit too runny. I am thinking that increasing to 1/3 c AP flour adding a little cornstarch and maybe decreasing the chicken stock to 2c will do the trick.

Skinny Down-Home Chicken Pot Pie

Serves 6
Calories per serving: 372

3 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 small onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 leek, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
1 celery stalk
2 red potatoes, skin on, diced
2 turnips, peeled and diced
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into small cubes
2 boneless, skinless chicken thighs cut into small cubes
1 bay leaf
2 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 1/2 cups chicken stock
6 sheets of phyllo dough
1 tablespoon olive oil, for brushing

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Thaw 6 sheets of phyllo dough overnight in the refrigerator or one hour before using. Bring the chicken stock to a simmer and keep warm.

2. In a 6-quart pot, add the olive oil and flour, and cook until lightly golden, about 3 minutes. Add the onion, garlic, leek, carrot, celery, red potato and turnips, and stir with a wooden spoon, making sure the bottom does not get too dry. Add the chicken, bay leaf and thyme, and continue stirring for about 3 minutes, so that everything is coated with the flour mixture.

3. Add the warm chicken stock, stir and scrape the bottom of the pot to get all the color into the mixture and keep it from scorching. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer. Let the mixture simmer, covered, for another 5 to 7 minutes, until it becomes thick and the chicken is opaque. Remove from heat and reserve.

4. Meanwhile, take 6 sheets of phyllo dough and, with a knife, cut out a square slightly larger than the rim of a 9-x-9-inch cake pan and brush with some olive oil. Set aside.

5. Remove the bay leaf and thyme sprigs from the chicken mixture and transfer the chicken to the cake pan. Top with the phyllo dough and press it down firmly with your hands. Place the pie on a baking sheet and bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, turning the tray around halfway through the cooking time. Remove from the oven, let cool for 10 minutes, cut into six portions and serve.

Summer reading

This summer I will have ample time just to sit and read, whether it be in airports and during my summer travels, sitting in the woods at the cottage in the U.P., or in the next few weeks enjoying a very reduced lab schedule sitting at one of the fine establishment downtown.

My "to-read" list is kind of short, so I am looking for some suggestions. I enjoy a lot of styles of writing, in particular short stories, such as David Sedaris, or fiction-type biographies such as The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. Other books I have enjoyed are Eat, Love, Pray, works by Daniel Quinn, Malcolm Gladwell, and Wally Lamb. I like reading WWII stories and science fiction, but haven't ever been able to get in to mysteries or far-fetched fiction, such as Wicked. I am not sure the exact genre, but I enjoy scientific-based books like The Female Brain (Louann Brizendine) and Freakonomics.

I had started World War Z about a month ago, but did not have much time to devote to reading and have recently started it again. My short list includeds The Last Lecture and Hot, Flat, and Crowded, so as you can see I am in need of your suggestions.

School's out F-O-R-E-V-E-R!!

1986, I have been in school since 1986 and today I am DONE with school, testing, cramming, studying, flash cards, mnemonics, group projects, taking lecture notes, and busy work.

A few educational things that have changed since I started school

1. Email
2. Facebook/Myspace
3. On-line lecture notes
4. Laptops
5. On-line classes
6. Texting and twittering
7. Scientific calculators

Random facts about 1986:

1. The first federal Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was observed.
2. Space Shuttle Challenger disintegrates 73 seconds after launch
   
3. Out of Africa won Best Picture at the 58th Academy Awards
   
4. Chernobyl nuclear plant explodes, creating the world's worst nuclear disaster
5. Iran–Contra affair
6. Gas was $0.86/gallon
7. Pan Am Flight 73 was hijacked
8. Smoking was banned on all public transport including trains, planes, buses and coaches
9. IBM unveiled the PC Convertible, i.e. a lap-top
10. Halley's comet "returned' to Earth
11. "Papa don't preach" was #1 for several weeks
12. "The Cosby Show" was the most popular show on TV

Reflections

Today I am a doctor, Christina Lynn Sherry, PhD, something I never imagined in my wildest dreams. Now that it is over and I have the time to look back on how many never-in-my-wildest-dreams moments that come along with this PhD journey, I am amazed.

I found a letter at my mom's house that I wrote myself circa 5th grade in Mrs. Bookout's class as part of a project. She mailed them to us when we graduated high school and as I read the things I told myself about who I am and who I think I am going to be it is all I can do not to laugh. I am still the same bull-headed, out-spoken, independent person as I was in 5th grade. I always thought I was going to be a high-school teacher and I guess in certain ways I am a teacher.

There are things I haven't done yet, but many more I never thought I would do. People in my life have changed me in ways I never thought possible and beloved family are no longer around to see the first Dr. Sherry. I have been faced with many hard decision and unexpected complications all the while having the support of amazing friends and family. I feel I have truly found a passion in my work and love the questions science poses. It is hard to put in to words the feelings of graditutde and humility I have for all of those who have supported me in this journey, because it would not have been possible without you.

Up date on toilet seat mystery...

It is a MAN!! They also ripped off the stall door, so of course it has to be a man.

Up date on the scientific progress

I finally started my experiment yesterday, kind of ironic it was two months to the day that we heard back from the reviewers asking for this experiment. I guess all in all, it was within a reasonable length of time, but then again, I like to get things done yesterday.

Weekend wrap-up

After a fun-filled weekend of celebrating me, my liver, and my Visa are taking a hiatus (at least until this weekend).

Friday
1. Champagne tasting @ Corkscrew
2. Dinner @ Radio Maria - delicious coffee encrusted fillet and mashed sweet potatoes and plantain with a yummy cream sauce
3. Early graduation celebration @ Esquire and The Pig
4. Super nachos

Saturday
1. Lots of napping
2. Jackie's graduation party and several intense games of flip cup
3. Happy birthday Glenn and Bon Voyage Shawn festivities @ The Pig, Boltini, Revisit to The Pig, and C-Street
4. Taco bell

Sunday
1. Bunch at Jim Gould with Elizabeth
2. Lab
3. Study
4. Intern meeting
5. BED

Busy week ahead: Internship banquet, cooking club, whiskey Wednesday, Star Trek (hopefully), mom's coming, graduation, graduation P-A-R-T-Y!!

Origin of the swine flu?

I just couldn't help myself

Two bottles of wine and a stranger

It looks like while on the home stretch of my "what I have done over the last 5 years" list I am apparently make a sprint for the finish to add as many items to the list as possible.

I went to whiskey night at 7 Saints last night to try and begin to learn to drink whiskey before I got to Scotland. I had told a few friends, but figured it'd just be me. That was kind of the point, I think I need to go to a bar by myself - for the whole night. I have been at bars by myself for, say less than 30 minutes, waiting to meet people, but I have never just gone to a bar, intentionally by myself.

So that was the intention. I sat at the bar, near the west end, on a stool right next to post, so there was no one on my right, an open seat at my left, two women beyond that, and open seat around the corner, and a man by himself.

It was busier than expected, so it took a few minutes to get a menu from the bartender. I took a look at the bourbon and rye list, this weeks specials, and didn't really have any idea. I moved the menu away a bit and was going to wait and ask the bartender his opinion. Some people had arrived and were talking to the two ladies to my left, and then the single man got up, to let them have the open seat and his, and sat next to me.

"Oh so I see you are drinking whiskey tonight," he said.
"I am trying to learn how before I go to Scotland this summer."
"I really don't drink it anymore. Which are you thinking of?"
"The only one I recognize the the Jim Bean, and I've had that, so, I really don't know. I was going to see what the bartender recommends."

The bartender walked over and asked if I have decided. I then asked him for some help, and explained that I am just learning about whiskey. He gives a few suggestions and says he's really been liking this Eagle 17 year rare (or something like that). Just then my new 'neighbor' gives his comments about it and says, "I think she'd like that. Get her a pour, and one for me too." He looks over at me and says, "you can't drink whiskey alone."

We get our drinks, toast to whiskey, and introduce ourselves. Some small talk, chit-chat. His name was David and he was in town, from Peoria, checking on his medical equipment that he sells. I guess he goes in to surgery with the docs and sees if everything is going OK.

Then Mina showed up so we moved to the little table at the end of the booths to accommodate everyone. I introduced Mina to my new found friend, David and our waiter, Jim, came over to check on us. David bought Mina some whiskey, and I went to give my regards to Andy the owner. He is the main reason I had made it out. Last time we were there for dinner, the waitress over heard me mentioning I needed to learn whiskey and she sent Andy over, as I found out he LOVES whiskey. So I told him I'd come in for whiskey Wednesday.

I saw Andy at the far end of the bar and said hello; man has the best hand shake. He came over to our table, and in the meantime, David was looking at the wine list - there went my whiskey lesson. He spent sometime asking Andy what he had in the 'back room.' A few minutes later Andy came out with this Spanish blend that was just AMAZING (I'm kicking myself for not keeping the cork). Smooth and chocolaty, full-bodied, but not harsh. He sat and had a glass of wine with us and told use about the plans for the place in the future.

After we finished that bottle, he flighted us up to the next on the list from the 'back room.' An equally amazing Spanish blend - they both were just delicious!!

David had bought both Mina and I our drinks and food that night, and I am guessing he was looking for something in return; but I didn't want to add that to my list. I think being bought drinks by a stranger at a bar was good enough.

Things that make you go hmmm...

...walking in to a stall in the women's bathroom and the toilet seat is up.

Now normally on a Monday this would not raise questions, however, it is well in to the day, and I know, since I've already used this particular stall, the seat has not been left up from the janitorial cleaning the night before.

What leaves me even more perplexed, is that there is tinkle on the toilet bowel edge, leaving me only to conclude that someone squatted over the bowl with the seat up, which just does not make any sense.

And by the way ladies...

No obligation or anything...

As I am getting ready to end this chapter in my life, I have been doing a lot of reflection. Thinking and reminiscing on all of the event over the past 5 years. I have started to write a little list of memorable events and things, such as getting a tattoo, the birth of my nieces, buying a car, and things of that nature (the full list is coming). As of last night, I now have a new item to add to this list. Like most items on this list, it is not something I expected to happen, but, well it did. Now mind you, this scenario could have opened the door to lots more very unexpected additions to the list, but alas, it didn't, and me, myself, and I are very thankful.

While at C-street last night, in the non-dancing lounge/bar area, we all were struck by a women who walked in, in a very memorable dress. It was a (very) short, sleeveless, body-hugging, black dress, accompanied by red heels. This particular dress also had a deep plunging V-neck that went past her navel, and the two "sides" of the dress that were covering her lady-part were held together with three silver buckles. Something similar to this, but with buckles and no sleeves. Others who saw this and may have found a better visual are more than welcome to share.

As it normally is with this particular (fashonistis) crowd of friends last night, there were significant comments on her outfit. Given the type of dress and others I have seen wear something similar, she did not look that bad. She was not "falling out" or "pugging" through the buckles, and from a distance it was OK. However, I soon learned that up close this was not the case.

After a trip or two to the dance floor, I was taking a break at our table in the lounge area. T and E were across the table chatting and I was sipping my rum and coke. G had finally made it to the dance floor with single T, his girlfriend and her friends. Just then, memorable-dress-lady was on the move heading in my direction. In those first few seconds I did not think much of it, as the door was just a few feet behind me. Then there she was, standing right next to me, arm around my chair, chest just about in my face (they were short chairs) giving me a very up close view of what one should only see from a distance.

"My boyfriend over there," she points to the pool table just past T & E "has been watching you tonight and thinks your really hot." She flings her hair and moves in a little close. "No obligation or anything, but if my boyfriend think someone is hot, I feel I should let them know...ya know, if they are interested..."

I picked up my drink to buy a few seconds in which I could think what the hell I was going to say. After a huge sip, I sent my drink down. "Thank you, that is very flattering."

"We've been watching you and think you dance really good. And I saw you trying to do some sign language. I used to know sign language, and thought it was really cool you did, and I wanted to come over even more, since I thought that was cool."

"Oh, well, I must've just been waving my hands around a lot. I talk with my hands a lot."

"I'm Amanda, by the way, and my boyfreind," she points again, he waves, "is Jason."

I look over and give a head knod.

"I'm Christina." We shake hands. "Nice to meet you."

We chatted a little more. I found out she is studying the Alexander Technique, which is

"is a way to feel better, and move in a more relaxed and comfortable way...the way nature intended"

I told here a little about myself and what I was doing. I don't really remember how the conversation ended, but eventually, after what seemed like 10-15 minutes, it finally did. At the end of the night, during the last few dances, we spotted Amanda and Jason on the dance floor with another couple. The two women were dancing facing either other, with their respective gentleman friends dancing behind them. And there it was, the girls were full on making out. We left quickly afterwards, I did not want to add that to my list.

To end the week

With uber enthusiasm THANK GOODNESS ITS FRIDAY

The week ended with consummation of my dietetics internship!! To be honest, as most of you know, this has not been the most favorite part of my life over the past 8 months. I am jubilant it is over, and I am able to get back to what really is a favorite part of my life - my research.

I signed the lease for my new place this week. I officially have a new address and expect lots of visitors.

As an up-date to a previous post, we finally received the actual approval on our new protocol and I will be able to start experiments next week!

Looking forward to the weekend and:
X-Men Origins Wolverine
Birthday 'tinis
Celtics vs Bulls Game 7
Shopping for some new spring stuff