September 30, 2005

The cat continues to be a frustration. She had a couple really bad days. She wasn’t eating. She was just laying around, looking unhappy. Yesterday evening, she perked up a bit. I held a bunch of different open cans of cat food under her nose until she indicated one that smelled good to her. She ate a little bit. She threw up last night, but she still seems to be perky this morning.

I fished a little bit, but didn’t catch anything. The water was still high which spreads the fish out, giving them more places to hide. The creek goes through drastic changes when the water runs strong. The gravel bars move and change shape. The logs jam in new places and clear in others, changing the available cover and the currents in the pools. It adds some challenge to finding the fish.

It also makes it challenging to navigate in and along the creek. It requires paying attention as you step. Sometimes you have to check the depth. Sometimes you have to check the bottom to see if it is solid, gravelly material or deep muck. I have found myself sunk up over my ankles in deep muck. The soil in the lowlands of Alaska is mostly superfine glacial silt and it is unstable. The banks of the creek cut and undercut. At one point I was walking along the creek with the creek on my right. What looked like a small puddle ended up being a small cut in the undercut bank. I stepped near it with my left foot and as I stepped over it with my right, my left foot slipped into the water. I caught myself with my left hand, right foot, and butt, but my left foot never touched bottom even though I sunk in to my thigh. I had my waders on so it wasn’t a problem.

We got out for a bike ride yesterday. We just rode upstream on the greenbelt trail. I wanted to see what was further upstream than we have been. It turns out that the trail ends at the highway which is a couple miles away. There is a trail on the other side of the highway, but they are not currently connected. People have walked and ridden bikes under the highway bridges, but with the high water levels in the creek, it didn’t look all that passable. We turned back at that point.

I got called for an interview for the drinking water position which puts me in the final 5. I go in on Monday, late morning. The job sounds interesting and fun. In most places, our drinking water supplies are at some risk. The risks here include the terrorist type threats as well as natural disasters. A lack of drinking water can create major social disruption, to put it politely. I think the question in everyone’s mind is what do you do about the risk. Some of it is a matter of security, but what level of security should a small community in rural Alaska execute in protecting their drinking water system. The bigger part of protecting society from a loss of safe drinking water is planning for what to do in an emergency. That is what this position is about, helping communities create, maintain, and test those plans. The real reason that I applied for the position is that it also requires travel to remote areas of Alaska. I really don’t want a job where I am stuck in an office all the time. The job doesn’t pay well, but it would cover our monthly budget so it is enough.

I am also going to apply for a position in enforcement of the vehicle inspection program. It involves some field work investigating and documenting violators. It involves some interface with the legal community like providing support for the prosecutor and involving law enforcement. It also doesn’t pay well, but it sounds like interesting and meaningful work. I always hated the emissions inspection program in Ohio, but now that I have seen what it is like to be able to see a mountain over 100 miles away, I think it is really important to prevent Alaska from becoming smogged in like so many of the cities in the lower 48. I am sure it is not a position that wins you friends, but it is unusually appealing to me.

We are finally going to get back some money from the septic system for our old house. It looks like we get $1200. That is nice, but it is still disturbing that so many people in Geauga County are stuck with a financial burden that they don’t even know about. The $1200 returning to us is what is left after putting $15K in escrow for replacement of the septic system. This was all done before the new septic system rules went into effect, so new systems will cost even more. It is going to be a big chunk out of the accumulated equity for many people, especially now that prices are a little soft in Geauga County. With so many people carrying high debt loads including home equity loans, some people are going to have to pay money to sell their home.

I have also been trying to finish off my law suit against my former employer. I won my case. Their objection was denied. As far as I can tell, they have no more options. I called the court and they offered to help me. I told them I would try to collect on my own, first. I called my former employer’s legal department and left a message. The next morning, at about 5:30 AM, I got a call from the company’s lawyer. She made some crappy excuse about not knowing the time difference, and then explained that they weren’t paying yet because they were going to appeal the decision to the appeals court. I don’t know if they have that right. They had their day in court and they lost. Small claims is there to give people an option for getting a resolution to disputes without having to hire a lawyer that will cost more than the amount in dispute. It will be amusing if I have to appear before the court of appeals, but it would eat into the potential award.

I called the small claims court again. I didn’t tell them that the company was going to appeal, but I did ask how they could help me collect. They explained that they can do a bank attachment and collect the money that way. It seems that if there were a legal appeal option, that the court would not have the authority to collect the money until all appeal options were exhausted. I might pursue this option, but there is a catch. There is a $15 fee for the action that you pay when you come in to fill out the forms. The problem is that I am not able to just go to the court house and fill out the forms. I was told that someone can do it for me, but they would need a power of attorney. I also have to verify where Ferro has bank accounts. I can only imagine the reaction when I reach into their pocket and collect my money without their assistance. I can’t imagine why they are fighting this matter. The corporation does have a bit of a culture of stubbornness and ego. I can see their concern about possible precedent, but the truth is that anyone else in a similar situation has missed their deadline for taking action. If they are seeking clarity on the matter, they are foolish. There will never be clarity as individual situations are always unique. It is near silliness that they would pay a law firm more money to appeal this decision than it will cost them to pay it.