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HP/AGILENT ALUMNI CLUB NEWSLETTER HOLIDAY LUNCHEON – 12/1/2009 The first day of December brought perfect weather and 54 people to the annual Holiday Luncheon. The Olive Garden restaurant at Chapel Hills Mall was the gathering place for members and guests who received holiday lollipops courtesy of outgoing treasurer Laura Mattison. She and outgoing secretary Lois Green prepared small cards attached to the lollipops listing the club website (hpagilentalumni.org) and thanking people for coming to the luncheon. Attendees were: Jan Allen, Mary Ann and Ted Allison, Mary Lou and Les Bailey, Marlys and George Blinn, Sharon and Jack Casey, Nancy Craig, Marty Finley, Lois Green, Don Griffith, Lela Havens, Juanita Hartman and daughter Cheri, Joetta Hoewisch, Carol Kibel, Anna Alger Kochis and daughter Barbara, Larry Koperski, Laura and Freeland Mattison, Karen and Dave May, Bennie McCardle, Peggy McClellan, Wanda and Gerry McGonigle, John Meredith, Ivagene Mikesell, Kathy and Jerry Murphy, Barbara and Kingdon Parsons, Helen and Cec Ray, Lillian Rehfeld and her daughter Candace, Betty Rodosevich, Wanda Rogers, Margaret Sales, Phyllis and Jack Sheets, Greg Tarcza, Polly and Chris Tounzen, John Tulloch, Helen Von Gunden, Evelyn Wall, Randy Walters, Niles Whalen, Gerry White, and Jim Williams. Club Officers wish everyone a happy holiday season and hope to see you on January 5th for our birthday celebration and some Bingo games following the business meeting. December Birthdays:
Roy Wheeler, December 1 In Memoriam William Jack Stoner, Bill to his friends, coworkers and family, died in November at 77. After serving in the Army for 22 years, he came to work at Hewlett-Packard with his EE degree and was there many years before retiring. He stayed active by starting a used equipment business and was a very involved Shriner, even creating a clown character, “Sweet William.” We send our sympathies to his wife, Rose, and to their family members. New Monthly Fee at Senior Center We have been notified by the Senior Center that there will be a charge for using their meeting rooms, assessed at $1.00 per attendee per meeting. This charge will be discussed in the New Business segment of the January 5th meeting. Cowboy Cookies Recipe Have you checked out the cookie recipes at the club website lately? We’ve added two new recipes, one for Cowboy Cookies that are good and chewy, and Fudgy Mint Cookies that are easy to make with a cake mix and thin mints. Just go to hpagilentalumni.org and under the Membership section you’ll find the recipes. The user name and the password are provided in your newsletter. If you have a favorite recipe that you’d like included, please email it to LoisGreen3921@aol.com and we’ll see that it is added to the website! Mary Lou Bailey is the Greeter for our January 5th meeting. WELCOME NEW MEMBERS This month we added two new members; so, as we near the end of 2009, we have 210 members in our club. Candace Young spent 13 years with HP. She worked as an inspector in CRT, and also in kitting, the stock area, Fab and the main inspection area. She is now working at Honeywell. In her spare time, she enjoys gardening and helping raise her granddaughter. Ivagene Mikesell worked for HP for 17 years. She was a supervisor in CRT. Since retirement she stays busy with her church and grandchildren, as well as traveling and volunteering. We welcome both of these ladies into our ever-growing club family. GREETER & REFRESHMENT LIST GREETER REFRESHMENTS
JAN Mary Lou Biley
Volunteer Needed VOLUNTEERS NEEDED As you can see, we have quite a few slots open on the 2010 Greeter & Refreshment List. We hope that many of you will see this as a way that you can personally contribute to the successful operation of our club and help us quickly fill in the blanks. A NOTE TO OUR CLUB'S OFFICERS I have had the pleasure of working closely with our club's team of officers over the past few years. As we go through this period of transition, I want to take this opportunity to extend my wholehearted thanks to Joetta, Mark, Lois and Laura for their dedication to making our club a success. Without their willingness to take on responsibility for making things happen, we would not have a club. To the three who have decided to pass the baton, my best wishes. To Joetta, I can only say, "Are you crazy?" Seriously, Joetta is to be commended for her willingness to continue as President. As a result of her enthusiastic leadership, we have grown tremendously; and we can look forward to continuing that growth. I want to welcome the incoming officers, Jerry, Jack and John. You have a tough act to follow, but I am sure you will be up to the task. I pledge to you my full support and look forward to forming the same close bond with you that I have had with those who are stepping aside. I ask our membership to take every opportunity to support our new team of officers by committing yourselves to greater involvement in contributing to the many tasks and initiatives required to move our club ahead. Gerry McGonigle HEWLETT-PACKARD ALUMNI ASSOCIATION We've mentioned the
Hewlett-Packard Alumni Association several times in previous
newsletters. It is an independent association of more than 17,000
former HP employees. It is an Internet-based group that has no physical
location.
AGILENT ALUMNI YAHOO GROUP There is now also an Agilent Alumni website that recently started as a Yahoo Group. Membership is open to anyone who has worked as a direct Agilent employee. Although in its infancy, it may become a useful resource for Agilent retirees. Membership is free and there are currently about 450 members. Go to: http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/AgilentAlumni/
HEWLETT-PACKARD ALUMNI ASSOCIATION IS NOW ON FACEBOOK The HP Alumni Association has created a Facebook section for HP Retirees. You can access these by going to www.facebook.com/HPretiree. Even if you do not have an account on FACEBOOK, you will be able to access quite a lot of interesting material. These can be seen by clicking on the "Wall" tab on the homepage. Among other things there is an interesting recorded audio interview with Chuck House. The link is located about three-quarters of the way down the page and is titled: Heritage of Innovation: Interview with Chuck House - The Next Bench Once you reach the page, the link to the podcast is at the bottom of the article. There is also a good picture of Chuck. Under the "Wall" tab there are also a number of other links to interviews with various notable HP personalities and items showing what other retiree groups are involved in. Randy Walters has also added a link on our club's website (www.hpagilentalumni.org) that will take you directly to the Facebook pages of the HP Alumni Association. From our homepage, click on "Other Links" and then on "Other HP Alumni". You will then see the new link titled "HP Retiree is on Facebook".
NEWS FROM ADDISON AVENUE Do you struggle with big bank dependency? We can help. Do you hate your big bank’s checking account? Getting the runaround for that car loan you need? Is your big bank jacking you with fees for practically everything? Enough is enough! Find out how Addison Avenue can cure your bank dependency. Visit bankintervention.com today! Auto Insurance Replacing your car? Be sure to check auto insurance rates or you could be making a costly mistake. Visit the Insure & Protect section at addisonavenue.com for details. HOLIDAY EATING TIPS Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Christmas spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they're serving rum balls. Drink as much eggnog as you can - and quickly. It's rare. You cannot find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turn into an eggnog-alcoholic or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it. Have one for me. Have two. It's later than you think. It's Christmas! If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Christmas party is to eat other people's food for free - lots of it. Hello? Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention. They're like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind, you're never going to see them again. Same goes for pies, apple, pumpkin, and mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or, if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the mandatory; celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, have some standards. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Re-read tips; start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner. Remember this motto to live by: "Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO, what a ride!" Have a great holiday season! CHRISTMAS CARD STRATEGY A considerable amount of strategic planning is required to ensure that maximum effect is gained from sending Christmas cards. Timing, size and quality are of paramount importance. Sending Christmas cards too early is not only ineffective but can be humiliating for the sender. It reveals one's position, discloses the size and quality of card, exposing oneself to the possibility of a devastating counter-attack. On the other hand, a very late Christmas card runs the risk of negating the recipient's ability to respond, and reduces one's total card count. It is certainly better to be on the early rather than late side, for the get-in-quick Christmas card sets the pace and compels the opposition to reply. It is a brave opponent who will respond with less than an equal-to or better-than card. The next thing to understand is the value of size in Christmas cards. Important people, or at least people who think they are important, send big and important looking Christmas cards. This makes the recipient feel small; which is precisely what is intended. This can be quite costly, but usually worth it. There is also a place for cheap and tacky Christmas cards. They imply bad taste, poverty or disrespect to the recipient, and will guarantee deletion from their Christmas card list. These are particularly effective for terminating pointless long term Christmas card exchanges with people like the Crenshaws you met in Acapulco in 1976, and can't even remember what they look like anymore - or was it Puerto Vallarta? First-time Christmas cards sent on impulse to recent acquaintances should be avoided, for they can have devastating consequences; like those nice Watson people you met in Cancun. While it might be a nice surprise to get a lovely card in return, you might not be very pleased when they arrive at your front door with their four children one morning in July - or was it Mazatlan? JUST FOR LAUGHS What's the Attraction A man wandered into a doctor's consulting rooms and asked if could see the doctor. The receptionist was hesitant to let him in, especially as it was Christmas Eve and she was waiting to turn off the Christmas lights in the waiting room and go home; but he was very insistent. So the doctor, having completed all his consultations for the day and feeling in a 'good will to men' mood, agreed to see him. The man entered in a rather aimless manner and after some hesitation flopped into a chair and looked nervously around the room. "How can I help you?" said the doctor. "Well, it's like this" said the man. "I keep thinking I'm a moth". "A moth?" "Yes" the man replied. "I'm convinced that I'm a moth". "Well I'm very sorry, but you're in the wrong place. What you need is a psychiatrist". "That's what I've been thinking" replied the man. "Well, as it happens, I know just the man", said the doctor. "I'll give him a call and see if he can fix an appointment for you after the holiday." The man agreed and the doctor made the appointment. "Tell me" said the doctor "It must have been very apparent from the sign outside that I'm a general practitioner. So if you already know you need to see a psychiatrist, why did you come in?" "Well" the man said in a resigned voice "The door was open and the lights were on .....". Kids Are Smarter Than You Think A few days before Christmas, two young brothers were spending the night at their grandparent's house. When it was time to go to bed, and anxious to do the right thing, they both knelt down to say their prayers. Suddenly, the younger one began to do so in a very loud voice. "Dear Lord, please ask Santa Claus to bring me a play-station, a mountain-bike and a telescope." His older brother leaned over and nudged his brother and said, "Why are you shouting your prayers? God isn't deaf." "I know", he replied, "But Grandma is!" The Genuine Article Harry bought his wife a very large and impressive diamond ring for Christmas. One or two close friends had actually seen this token of Harry's extravagance and very soon the news was all round the town. His friend Sam, however, had not seen it and made a point of meeting up with Harry to get the details first hand. "I hear you've bought Wendy a very special diamond ring for Christmas." "That's right", Harry confirmed. "Well thanks a lot! Now my wife's telling me what a cheapskate I am. Besides which, you told me Susie wanted a Honda four-by-four for Christmas." "Get real." said Harry, "Where the devil am I going to get a fake Honda?" Mistletoe Shortly before Christmas, a business man was anxious to get home. The business trip had been grueling and he was not in a particularly good mood. The airport loudspeakers blared Christmas carols that he was sick of hearing, and he thought their decorations were tacky. The worst decoration, he thought, was the plastic mistletoe hung over the luggage scale. Being in a grumpy mood, he said to the woman at the counter, "You know, even if I weren't married, I wouldn't kiss you." "That's not what it's there for," said the attendant. "It's so you can kiss your luggage goodbye."
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