I could use a new one.  Just the left one.  The same one that had the surgery a couple weeks ago.  The “eye booger” as my eye surgeon told me.  You would think for that amount of money they would come up with a more exotic name.  Plus, it sounds like i somehow sneezed in my eye.  So the surgery went well, they scraped the thing off (yes, “scraped”) and Marc went home a somewhat happier groggier man.   I had some pain the following week in Austin, but I didn’t tell anyone.  I was there with my research partners and I couldn’t do anything about it anyway.  On Saturday things got bad.  Sunday I was getting kinda irritable.  I know, hard to believe, but it’s true.  Monday was bad… pain, headaches, nausea.  WHEE!

Tuesday I told my lovely bride, Wednesday morning I called the doctor, I called again to get an earlier appointment, and finally went to the emergency room.  To make a long story short (too late), all the tests came back negative.  They think (hope?) that I still have some infection in the back of my eyeball (ick) and that the penicillin will take care of the problem…  which is what they hoped the last time too.

Anyway, lots of people a hell of a lot worse off then I am right now.

+60

+41

-76

-83

-88

-67

-47

-100

-67

-127

-403

-320

-533

Ugly numbers.  Yes, the changes in the number of Americans working.

Over the last year more than 1.8 million lost, 70% of those losses coming in the last three months.  More than a half a million job losses in November alone, the worst performance in 34 years.  Unemployment at nearly 7%, climbing to 9% or more in 12-18 months.

One important sector of the economy teetering on the brink.  Another sector down for the count, coming up for a third, and perhaps last gasp for air.  Another 3-5 million jobs hanging in the balance of another bailout. Foreclosures at record highs, student loan default rates going up every month, gas prices at 4 year lows due to a weakening economic outlook. Makes my eye not seem so bad.

I have to remind myself sometimes that my kids are fat and happy (well, certainly not fat, but at least happy).  My lovely bride continues to grace me with her presence.     I have clients that find value in the training and consulting I do, and the smart ones know that now is not the time to scrimp on the most important resource they have… their employees.

I wish I could have spent another Thanksgiving with my dad.  It was great having all my family here at our house for the holidays, but it sure would have been nice to have brought my dad his “giant turkey leg”, a holiday tradition we had with my dad had for the last few years after my mom died.  But it’s ok.  It is what it is.

More snarky coming next week.  I’ve got a burr up my butt, and it will take a couple days for me to try to extricate it.