Greece is Really Going to the Well....Frogs

Those poor people in Greece cannot get a break. First their country announces it's going broke. Riots in the streets, consumer confidence drops in the EU followed by the rest of the globe. A ripple effect to be sure. Today, frogs. The little amphibians closed a major Northern highway today as they hopped across the road. Perhaps they were in search of food, perhaps a better lifestyle (aren't we all nowadays?), we'll probably never know.

Check out the story here

Mitel Goes Public

I worked for Mitel for over 12 years. Over those 12 years there were good times but mostly bad times. There were pay cuts, many years with no raises and stock options in lieu of bonuses. Then there was the company stock purchase program. Yes, for only $1.50 and later $3.50 you could buy a Common share of Mitel stock in this privately held company to be redeemable when it goes public. We were told what a good deal this was, we would be investing in the company's financial future and subsequently ours, we could cash it all in when they went public and they would make it really convenient and do a paycheck debit for us.

Sounds like a good deal doesn't it? Well, it turns out that the rich get richer and the middle class get nothing. Mitel went public (Ticker symbol: MITL) on April 22nd, 2010. They hoped for $18 to $20 a share, it started at $14 and today, less than a month later it's hovering around $ 11.50, probably the reasonable value.

One week before they went public I received in the mail notice of a 15 to 1 Reverse split of my common shares. Basically, if you purchased 1000 common shares through the employee stock purchase program you now have 66 shares. If you bought them for $3500 they are now worth based on today's stock price, $770.22. Yes, every Mitel employee got this "deal". I'm sure not about the big wigs, they probably had something other than "common" shares (I believe they are called Preferred Shares) and probably didn't have to trade those in so I'm sure they made out like bandits.

Welcome to the middle class. Bend over.

My Garden

Spaghetti squash, oh so big, red cabbage, blackberries....yummy, yummy.....

The Next Medical Problem

Jeesh, you'd think I was a sickly kid. Oh, OK, I was. But I had hoped it wouldn't carry into adulthood. It has. I've been fighting off what I thought was just a general cold that always moves into my chest due to either weak lungs and/or the asthma. Yesterday and somewhat the day before my eyeballs have felt like someone is pushing them out of my head from the inside. Squeezing them... My face is puffy, my cheek bones are tender and my teeth hurt like hell. I cannot chew anything because my teeth hurt so bad. It turns out that all of this is sinuses, a severe sinus infection it appears.

My doctor gave me an antibiotic, Nasonex to treat the polyp in my left nostril, Advair for my lungs, cough medicine with codeine and a nasal rinse to relieve the pressure. I'm a regular drug store and thank G-D for insurance. Hey, all you people who think that there isn't a problem with America's medical system and are so against health care reform, how much do you think all those prescriptions would have cost you? Over $400. Cough that up. What about my doctor's visit? $150. Swallow that.

Back to that nasal rinse. That stuff is awesome! Gross, but awesome. It's not the nedi pot because I'm so plugged up that won't work but it relieved the pressure in my head quite a bit and cleaned some of the mucus out. I'll spare you the disgusting details.....