A cutting remark

The Cranky Friend is extraordinarily loyal to the woman who cuts his hair, having followed her around from shop to shop over the many years of their relationship.
After his most recent haircut, he enthused about her skills.
"Monica is the ONLY person I know who totally knows what she's doing," he stated.
"Hey!" I retorted, stung. "I totally know what I'm doing!"
He left a perfectly timed little pause.
"That Monica," he said. "She is the BEST!"

Families That Thrive

On the post office bulletin board I spotted this interesting-sounding event that's going to be held at London Grove Friends Meeting on Friday, Oct. 11. It's a parenting workshop called "Creating Families that Thrive," led by John Scardina. It's free of charge, open to the public and kid-friendly: child care and kids' activities will be provided by the Meeting's kindergarten so that parents can attend the program! The family pizza dinner starts at 6 and the program runs from 7 to 8:30 p.m. RSVP to info@londongrovefriendskindergarten.com or on Facebook.

Magnolia Place

Magnolia Place, the new Kennett Square development at the site of the former Shur-Fine market at Cypress Street and Mill Road, is finally getting under way. There's heavy equipment out there doing earth-moving, and a couple of the townhouses are taking shape. I checked out the development's website, www.kennettmagnolia.com, and learned that there are going to be 79 townhouses and twins, starting at $319,000. "Also included in the community will be a wonderful building that will further enhance Kennett Borough with a Nice Restaurant, Fine Retail Stores & Luxury Apartments." Among them, of course, Victory Brewing.
The real estate agents for the development are the Riggin Group of RE/MAX of Wilmington; the builder is SAI Builders, LLC.

The new HR world

Since when are job interviews held in public places? I was sitting outside at Starbucks on a Wednesday afternoon and overheard what was unmistakably an interview for a fairly high-level position happening at the next table.
All the standard questions: What do you like about your current job? Dislike? Any further educational plans? How many people do you supervise? What's a typical workweek like?
Because it was some kind of a data job, there was all kinds of jargon that was incomprehensible to me, like "aggressively growing IOS architecture." ("Sounds like something you'd spray bug killer on," commented a waggish friend of mine when I shared the story.)
The interviewee was pretty smooth. What he didn't like about his job, he said, was all the obstacles the company put in his way in terms of hiring people quickly; it made his team less nimble and less competitive. (Good answer!)
And as part of his management philosophy, he won't ask his employees to work extra hours if he's not willing to do so, and he gave an example of some kind of a recent computer system crash when they all worked 80 hours a week.
When the interviewer started asking frankly about salary, I could bear no more and got up and left. There is no privacy anymore.
Oh, and if you recognize yourself in this item? Let me know if you got the job. You aced the interview as far as I'm concerned.

Stocking up

I've had quite a few proofreading projects to do recently, which means frequent trips to the local office-supply company for ink cartridges and paper. Naturally, they are stocked at opposite ends, which means you have to walk through the entire store. And -- gee, what a surprise! -- inevitably you realize during that walk that you're out of rubber bands or mailing envelopes, or you spot some clever must-have office gadget. Today the Christmas card display caught my eye, and I was actually not outraged by the fact that Christmas wares were on sale a month before Halloween; rather, I made a mental note to check if I had any leftover cards from last year. Might as well buy them while there's a good selection.
(The friend who was with me was perturbed that you couldn't buy just one pen; he was baffled that they were sold by the dozen. Frankly, I don't understand why you would need to buy just one pen, much less ANY pens, in the first place: merchants and banks keep my home well stocked.)

Early verdict on Patton

As regular readers know, the Young Relative and his family had an excellent experience during his five years at Hillendale Elementary. And so far, Patton Middle School looks to be a continuation of the same, I'm glad to say. When I was a kid I resented few things more than "dumbed-down," condescending teaching and being told, "Oh, you can't read that; that's too advanced." Somehow I don't think that's going to be an issue at Patton: the Young Relative is being challenged to excel and grow. I've always said that the Unionville-Chadds Ford schools are the equivalent of a private school anywhere else.
In other education news, I was pleased to see a yard sign proclaiming that an occupant of the house  attended the Pennocks Bridge Technical College High School in West Grove. I receive their course catalog and am always very impressed with the high-level, up-to-date, practical programs being taught there.

Pet blessing

I just got this email from the Rev. Annalie Korengel Lorgus, the pastor at Unionville Presbyterian Church: "My church is hosting a pet blessing on Sunday, September 29, at 3:00 in the backyard of the manse on 812 Wollaston Road. I would like to invite the community." Consider it done! (Speaking of pets, I was just remarking to my lunch pal today that my guinea pig Binnie is seven years old, a long-lived little cavvy indeed!)