Joe's Place

New Hat

haynie.joe@gmail.com (Joe Haynie) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 12:33:00 +0000

On my trip to India a few months ago I found myself admiring a hat that Don (one of my friends in the call center there) was wearing. It was a simple hat but striking. You'll probably remember it from photos of Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India. It's similar to our sailor hats. I asked him where I could get one, but then I ran out of time and came home without it. One of the call center supervisors is here preparing training and yesterday she brought me this hat (a gift that Don had thoughtfully bought for me and sent with her). I'm no Nehru but I like the look.

Brookie's First Birthday

haynie.joe@gmail.com (Joe Haynie) — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 16:57:00 +0000

Brooklyn (our first grandchild) turned one on June 11th but we didn't have the official birthday bash until this past weekend. We met "in between" at Dave and Pam Oka's home (her paternal grandparents) in Las Vegas. Pam and Dave treated us royally including giving everybody a place to sleep, providing food and fun, and taking us out to a delighful breakfast buffet at a local casino on Saturday morning. Brooky was charming at her birthday party. She played with all the presents, she looked cute in her hat, and she was walking all over. Here are some of the photos...

Olivia - Day 4

haynie.joe@gmail.com (Joe Haynie) — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 08:52:00 +0000

Olivia was kinda naughty and kept her parents up all night so they gave her to us early Friday morning and Linda and I took turns keeping her asleep so her parents could get a few hours of shuteye.

After her parents woke up we enjoyed the day playing with Livi, changing Livi, buying new clothes for Livi, and just plain Livi-ing.

This is the new little family trying out the new carpet at their new house. Jon hadn't seen the new carpet (it was installed just before Livi was born and they hadn't been back so we took a trip over to see their new home). They'll be moving out of their apartment and into the new home in a little over a week.

While I've been on vacation (and much to the dismay of my porcupine-averse wife) I've taken a vacation from shaving as well. The general idea is to balance the buzz with some facial hair. I'm going for a sinister Sean Connery look but I'm afraid I'm just coming across as annoying (at least to my wife who winces whenever I kiss her).

Check out the salt-and-pepper mottled way my beard grows in. The gray hair on my head mostly fell out before it grew in, but you can see my 50 happy years in my beard.

Back to Livi. Because of her tendency to sleep all day and stay awake all night we spent the last few hours before bed pestering her to keep her awake (isn't sleep-deprivation classified by the Obama administration as "torture"? Oh well we do what we must). We gave her a bath, bounced her, wiped her face with a wet cloth, tickled her, and anything else we could think of to keep her awake.

This is Livi in her grandpa's famous "burrito-wrap" designed to keep her limbs from flailing and waking herself up. She was so worn out from our several hours of torture that she didn't even stir as I rolled and wrapped her.

Olivia - Day 3

haynie.joe@gmail.com (Joe Haynie) — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 13:27:00 +0000

Olivia (and her parents) came home from the hospital today. She was dressed in a fetching yellow dress that made her look like a little daffodil. She was completely irresistable. She slept most of the day but, as usual, was up most of the night. Our niece Rebecca Haynie, who lives in the DC area, came to visit, have dinner and meet Olivia.

Livi - Day 2

haynie.joe@gmail.com (Joe Haynie) — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 11:53:00 +0000

Her first night Olivia stayed in the room with Sarah and Jon most of the night. She sleeps most of the time but has been awake enough to nurse. The moments when she's awake and not nursing are rare, but here's a video of one of those (it's grainy because of low light conditions but that's the only way she'll open her eyes).

New Grandbaby!

haynie.joe@gmail.com (Joe Haynie) — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 03:10:00 +0000

We are THRILLED to announce the birth our second grandbaby, Olivia Lynn Leininger. She was born June 2nd at 9:17 p.m. ET. She weighed 7lbs 2oz and was a little over 20 inches long. Mother and baby are both well. You can also see other initial photos at http://spanishjunkie.blogspot.com/ (her parents' blog).

Goodbye Bang

haynie.joe@gmail.com (Joe Haynie) — Sun, 31 May 2009 21:41:00 +0000

Having been follically challenged for a few years I've experienced nearly all of its attendant challenges including the terrible hat-hair (from wearing anything at all on my head for the smallest amount of time), wind-swept top-tufts, and all the jokes that used to be funny but long-since waxed old. However, despite the ribbing and the annoyances I did have one (only one) consolation...I still had a bang. Now most people have many hairs growing from their foreheads (hence the plural "bangs") but I had just a single two-inch relatively distorted bang. When you have just one bang it makes you appreciate it more (unlike a single pant which is just plain embarrassing). In any case my surviving bang has kept me from joining the ranks of the balding-but-unencumbered who just shave off the top whisps and shorten the sides (some have gone further and chosen the Steven Covey look, but that's never even been a consideration for me). Not shaving off the whisps on top has meant having to do something with them so I've traditionally parted my hair on the left and combed them across to the right. However, after two recent comments from a couple of nieces about my "comb-over" I realized that by stubbornly preserving that lonely bang I had inexorably slipped into what may have appeared to others to be a state of denial about my coiffure-defficiency. Consequently I have been considering for some time "cutting-back". Since I am in Baltimore for a week (to be with Sarah and Jon for the birth of our second grandchild) I decided to bite the bullet and bring on the buzz. Here is a picture of me before the buzz...

Here is a photo after the operation during which the one long lonely bang (and most of the rest of the hairs on my head) were surgically removed.

I must say it feels a bit breezier up there and I wonder who's in the bathroom with me whenever I walk by the mirror, but Linda still kissed me as passionately afterward as before so I guess I'm gonna be alright...but I kinda miss my bang.

Trip to NY, Baltimore, and DC

haynie.joe@gmail.com (Joe Haynie) — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 20:32:00 +0000

We took a trip to Baltimore to see Sarah and Jon. While we were there we went to New York where we saw Wicked (except Joy who had already seen it so she saw Lion King), shopped, rode the subway, walked, walked, went to Central Park, walked, visited the Statue of Liberty, and walked. We stayed at the YMCA because it was so much cheaper (still expensive but way less than the hotels).

This is spring in Central Park.

Here are four babes I ran into in Central Park.

This is a picture of Central Park from the top of the castle.

I call this one "Knarly Squirrel".

Here's Lady Liberty.

We went to the National Aquarium in Baltimore.

We visited the Washington DC temple.

This is an amazing Redbud in downtown DC with the blossoms on the trunk!

This is us in front of the back of the White House. We didn't see the Obamas (I'm not sure why...we must have had our backs turned for a photo when they came out to wave to us).

We met up with my beautiful niece Rebecca who works and lives near DC. She's the middle one in the picture below at the WW II Memorial.

We got to meet Mr. Lincoln in person at his memorial.
The girls just jumped for joy when we got to the Washington Monument.

Kites at the Washington Monument.

Exuberant rejoicing in our nation's capital...

Gimme a "P"!

The result of Sarah and Jon's attempt to jump for joy...

We all had such a wonderful time Linda and I will be going back in a few weeks (alright a new grandchild may have something to do with it).

More Photos From Agra India

haynie.joe@gmail.com (Joe Haynie) — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 23:57:00 +0000

This was the backyard of my hotel.

This is known as the "Baby Taj". It was a tomb which was the inspiration for the much grander Taj Mahal.

They don't eat beef (the Hindus consider cows to be sacred) but they do drink milk and use cattle for work (even pulling a cart down the middle of chaotic city streets.

Monkeys were everywhere. This little guy was at the Agra Fortress which is where many of the Mogul kings of India lived and kept their armies.

California Trip

haynie.joe@gmail.com (Joe Haynie) — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 02:45:00 +0000

We went to California this weekend to see Brooklyn (our first grandchild). It was cloudy and cool most of the time but we did have a burst of sun Saturday afternoon when we went to the beach. We also went to the famous mission at San Juan Capistrano. Although it was reportedly the weekend that the swallows returned we didn't see any at the mission (we were told later that they don't nest there much anymore because there aren't really enough bugs for them to eat.

Below is Brooklyn riding on her daddy's shoulders.
Here's Brooklyn by a fountain at the mission playing by the water with her grandma.

Christy and Rachel playing on the beach at San Clemente.

Brooklyn in her dad's jacket as he tries to put her to sleep.

Brooklyn in her jumper.

Home Again (After a Wonderful Trip to India)

haynie.joe@gmail.com (Joe Haynie) — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 02:28:00 +0000

Well, I've been 44 hours without sleep so far (save perhaps an hour of fitfull catatonia--which caused me to miss the drink service--on the last flight from Newark to Salt Lake). I couldn't sleep in the air or in the airports during my 30+ hour trip home, I was awake several hours before I left, and I've deliberately stayed awake since I got home this morning so I can get back on a regular schedule. I'm heading to bed any moment but I wanted to post some pictures. The first is of me with the Indian leadership team in Pune (from left to right-Kyle, me, Adrian, and Eliza). They are all both competent and kind. I'm grateful to be working with them and the agents. They have good attitudes, are very hard-working, keep pushing for improvement everyday, and have seen a lot of progress since they started.
Here's a picture of Joseph (my son) and his wife Megan wearing the Indian clothes I brought them.

Then we have Diana and Jonny (is he meditating?)

Finally here are my wife Linda, me, and the three girls that are still at home (Joy, Rachel, and Christy).

This one is of Shane and Maria in California...

And finally, here are Jon and Sarah in Baltimore.

Taj Mahal - Agra India

haynie.joe@gmail.com (Joe Haynie) — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 14:18:00 +0000

I made a weekend trip to Agra to see the Taj Mahal and other world heritage sites. I don't have time to post alot right now, but here are some pictures. Check back soon for more details and photos.

Rangoli at Work

haynie.joe@gmail.com (Joe Haynie) — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 12:03:00 +0000

There's a very ancient tradition in India of painting with colored sand (may have been symbolic of the temporary nature of life) which has been brightly colored and is streamed onto the floor from a small funnel or simply dribbled through the fingers. These paintings are called Rangoni (meaning "colored lines") and it is done on a massive scale during the major Indian holiday Diwali. During the year many families create a new design everyday outside their homes.

At the building where we have our call center they held a Rangoli contest (since it was Holi this week). Four of the young ladies who are agents in the call center came to create an entry. I asked them about their experience and they said this was their first time ever doing Rangoli.

Here are some photos.

This is a panoramic view of the building complex where our call center is (this thing is huge--like the battle star galactica--and is one of four that are being built in the complex).

Patricia (Poonam) and Rose (Rajani) filling the Rangoli "pencil" (a kind of funnel used for drawing with sand).

A view down from the second floor.

Patricia (Poonam), Mary (Maliga), Rose (Rajini), and Steffie work their magic.

Materials for the sand painting...

Rose and Steffie.

A close up of the sand painting.

The artists and their finished work.

"Holi" Smoke!

haynie.joe@gmail.com (Joe Haynie) — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 10:19:00 +0000

Today is a holiday in India called Holi (celebrates the death of the demoness Holika). It's an exuberant aural and visual cacophony of color and sound. All over the country, in every street, park, or open space, people dance to wild music, throw brightly colored paint powders all over each other (often in sneak attacks from all sides), and douse each other with water. It's a day for honking, howling at the top of your lungs, laughing, and practicing any kind of mischief you can imagine. There's nothing quite equivalent in the west unless you combine the old-time traditions of Halloween (thing "trick" more than "treat") with the excesses of Mardi Gras.

I slept through most of it since I'm working nights here, but I woke to the pulsating thump of distant loud music. I looked out from my balcony to see young people on motorcycles covered in colors. The hotel was surrounded by color-stained revellers dancing, and spraying water. I managed to snap a few pictures but, since I didn't bring any disposable clothes, I'm being a boring old guy and watching from afar.

The colored powders are sold in the markets.

First Day in Pune

haynie.joe@gmail.com (Joe Haynie) — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 14:39:00 +0000

After a quick layover and a few hours sleep in Delhi I got to the airport, boarded a Kingfisher Airlines flight and after a couple of uneventful hours arrived in Pune. After gathering my bags I exited and found the driver from the hotel with my name on a placard. A quick check in, wireless internet set-up, and clothing put-away, and I was ready to see the town. This is the beautiful courtyard of the hotel I'm staying in (the Royal Orchid Golden Suites) but it's the greenest area I saw. The rest of the city is city.
The guy at the front desk recommended taking a "rickshaw" and proceeded to call one his friends who drives one. I thought--how quaint to be pulled around by somebody--but it turns out that these rickshaws are motorized (basically a morocycle with a cab--sides open--that has a back seat--no seatbelts) and their drivers are ruthlessly aggressive. Actually the whole flow of traffic is like organic chaos. No on is in charge and yet it all proceeds like a carefully choreographed ballet. We shared the betrafficed streets with dogs, water buffalo, and even a couple of elephants. Check out "Mister Joe's Wild Ride" below.

The Pune Ballet.

The driver took me downtown where there is a produce market and whose streets are filled with shops and vendors. Pune is not a tourist destination so the aggressive hawkers and beggars were no where to be found. I was, however, an enormous curiosity. People were especially interested in my camera mounted on my walking stick (which I use as a monopod to steady the shots).

The market streets were packed with people. There was a brief demonstration I saw go by (sorry no photo--I learned on my mission not to take pictures of demonstrations--for personal security reasons) which turned out to be in honor of International Women's Day.
It was all very exhilirating and fascinating.

Ceramic stand.

A Hindu temple (I learned the hard way that you're supposed to take off your shoes).

This is a gas-powered sugar cane juicer (the juice seems to be a very popular drink).

Baskets of flowers with no stems (maybe to sprinkle in your bath?).

Figs and pomogranates.

Nap where and when you can.

As you may have seen in the traffic video there was a guy riding an elephant down the street. I took pictures and the the driver asked for a tip. I took out a bill and his elephant reached out a trunk, grasped the bill, and then lifted it up to the driver.

I had dinner at McDonalds. As you might suppose they don't serve hamburgers. They have several veggie "burgers" and some chicken and fish, but no beef. It seemed like a popular spot. I had a "Chicken Maharaja Mac" which consists of two grilled chicken patties with a smoke-flavoured mayonnaise, fresh onions, tomatoes, processed cheddar cheese in a toasted sesame seeded bun.

Trip to India

haynie.joe@gmail.com (Joe Haynie) — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 01:24:00 +0000

I'm on a work-related trip to India. The trip started Friday morning in Salt Lake City when I boarded a Continental Airlines Flight bound for Newark NJ from which I took another flight on to New Delhi. After the grueling 24 hour trip I had a layover (I've spent a comfortable night at the Radisson Suites--nice hotel and close to the airports) and will be travelling on this morning to Pune where I'll be working for the next week and a half.
My initial impressions of India are the same unfair initial images you get in any country--a crowded airport, an annoying customs clearance, and a confusing taxi ride. However, I love travelling and I'm patient with the process, partly because it lets me watch people at their best and worst. I'm also able to see that despite wide cultural gulfs in the world we are really quite alike.

Michigan Implosion

haynie.joe@gmail.com (Joe Haynie) — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 05:40:00 +0000

I read a note from a member of the LDS Church in South East Michigan saying that one of the wards in their stake had 2/3 of its members unemployed. He called it the "implosion of Michigan". We lived in SE Michigan (the Grand Blanc stake) for 19 years and have kept our home there even after being transfered 4 years ago. It's sad to hear the magnitude of the impact on people from Michigan that I know and love as well as so many around the world being impacted by this global adjustment. However, what I have come to see over and over again is that at a personal as well as a global level God is in control and that things work together for our individual and collective good when we put our trust in Him and follow His precepts. That certainly doesn't mean we won't have pain and problems (far from being heavenly punishments trials are God's care packages designed to build and strengthen us), but He knows how to turn any situation to our betterment. The trick is we have to replace fear with faith.

Although I expect that the demand for cars in north America will continue to grow in the future along with the population, I'm afraid that there will be a painful adjustment in the next few years relative to what kinds of vehicles, who provides them, and where they are made.

There is no security in a job, a company, a country, or really in any human institution. But we can find safety in following Heavenly Father and his prophets. Our paths may be difficult but when they are followed in faith we inevitably end up where God wants us...and what more could we possibly want?

Brooklyn's First Concert

haynie.joe@gmail.com (Joe Haynie) — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 06:16:00 +0000

Brooklyn favored us this evening with her first piano solo (I knew she was the peein'ist but I never knew she was a pianist) with an occasional pause to take a bite of the keys!

Home For the Holidays

haynie.joe@gmail.com (Joe Haynie) — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 04:51:00 +0000

This holiday season has been exhilirating and exhausting! We had all of our children home for the holidays which was fantastic (everybody especially enjoyed playing with baby Brooklyn and playing in the snow). Sarah and Jon came into town December 19th (actually their flight was delayed and I picked them up after midnight on the 20th). On Sunday the 21st Linda told me she had cabin fever and wanted to go look at Christmas lights. Then she suggested we stop by my dad's house for a visit and when we walked in the living room was filled with all our children, most of my siblings and many of their children, and Linda's sister and mother. They yelled "SURPRISE!" and startled me good. It was a surprise party for my 50th birthday (which was actually on the 23rd). BTW it feels great to be 50!

We had a wonderful Christmas together and everybody was a huge help in getting ready for Diana's wedding which was held on December 27th. The marriage ceremony was held in the Mount Timpanogos Temple and was attended by a powerful and sweet Spirit (so different from many of the civil marriages I've attended over the years). Jonny and Diana were sealed for time as well as for eternity and the experience was sacred. Afterward we celebrated in many ways. There were pictures (it was around 18 degress so the outside photos were done quickly), a wonderful luncheon catered by Jonny's mother (Jonny's dad and I sang a duet, all their siblings and parents said a few words of tribute, there was a video presentation, and then Jonny and Diana played guitars and sang a duet), and finally a wonderful reception (it was held at the large and very beautiful home of Linda's cousin Grant Bangerter the use of which he and his wife Cleadona generously donated). Afterward Diana and Jonny left for their honeymoon and the rest of us cleaned up. With late nights and early airport runs we came out of the whole thing fairly exhausted but thrilled.

Ed Sandgren's Funeral

haynie.joe@gmail.com (Joe Haynie) — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 13:44:00 +0000

On December 5th I attended Ed Sandgren's funeral. Ed was the Orem High School Choir Director that made miracles happen with his award-winning choirs. The music was amazing (he demanded excellence) in his choirs but the real miracles occurred in the lives of his students who developed confidence, capability, camaraderie, a sense of purpose, and vocal skills. He made a difference in the lives of thousands of students, many of whom count him as one of their greatest influences.

The funeral was beautiful. His alumni had been asked to come and sing "Battle Hymn of the Republic". Shawna (Belt) Edwards organized it and accompanied the choir. 70 of his students joined together (see many of them in the photo below) and, after rehearsing a few times, came together for a beautiful rendition of his signature number.

I pay tribute to Ed Sandgren for his influence on my life. He nourished my love of music. That love has flowered into one of the great loves of my life.

Feed a man a fish and he'll eat for a day. Teach him to fish and he'll eat for a lifetime. Teach him to sing and he'll rejoice for eternity!

She's Brilliant I Tell You!

haynie.joe@gmail.com (Joe Haynie) — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 00:35:00 +0000

Several posts ago I pointed out that Brooklyn Marie Oka--our precocious granddaughter--had learned to talk (and presented videographic evidence as proof). However, since then her intelligence has taken several additional spurts that are simply remarkable in one so young. For one thing she excels at math. For instance she knows, almost by instinct, that 2-1=1. If she and I (2) are playing together in a room and I (1) end leaving the room for some reason she tells me (see the talking baby post below) very clearly that only 1 (Brooky) is left. However, the most obvious sign of her deepening intelligence is that, rather than bursting into tears whenever she looks at her grandpa (the way she did in less enlightened phases of her life), she seems willing to demonstrate a certain level of magnanimous tolerance (smart kid eh?).

Halloween at the Haynies

haynie.joe@gmail.com (Joe Haynie) — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 12:34:00 +0000

Despite the dubious delights of the day the Haynie household howls with Halloween happiness. Here are just a few pictures to prove it.
It begins with Rosie the Riveter...
Christy the Go-Go Girl...

Rachel the Hollywood actress...Maria the Geisha...

Brooklyn the apple...
And Linda the enabler of all this fun...

Rachel even had diamonds in her eyelashes.

"Presents of Mind" for Sarah

haynie.joe@gmail.com (Joe Haynie) — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 03:38:00 +0000

In our family we have a tradition of gathering around on each person's birthday, after they've opened the physical presents, and sharing "presents of mind". It means that everyone takes a turn telling the birthday person what they like about them. Since Sarah is so far away on her birthday this year we are going to have a virtual Presents of Mind. Please use the comments facility below to tell what you like about Sarah Haynie Leininger whose birthday is Thursday October 23rd.

I'll start. Sarah has always had a fire inside. She has always known her own mind and had a strong will (even when she was tiny). Because I, as her father, have similar characteristics we have locked horns at times, but it was humbling for me because I learned from her (she was right many times). As she grew she used her strong will to good ends. She has been a positive influence on nearly everyone she has ever known. She spent years of her life serving others on her mission, spending her own money to teach the disadvantaged how to improve their employment opportunities, volunteering her time to share the arts with others etc. She has always made an extra effort to stay close to her family and friends (e.g. she calls us every day). She's drop-dead gorgeous, smart, talented, spiritual, generous, wise, and kind. She was a great first-born because she trained her parents, broke the ice, paved the way for all her other siblings. She's grown from a terrific teen into a remarkable woman. I'm proud to be her papa. I love you Sarah.

Your turn. Leave your thoughts about Sarah as a comment below...

Ultimate Zip Line - Park City Utah

haynie.joe@gmail.com (Joe Haynie) — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 12:47:00 +0000

On Saturday, to celebrate Maria's birthday Linda and I rode with Shane and Maria up to Park City Utah to ride their famous 2,300 foot zip-line. It's very long and the drop is down the same steep mountain side used for the ski-jumping at the Winter Olympics. You can see in the picture below the kind of chairs you hang from. You get going up to 50 miles per hour (depending on how aerodynamic your position is).
In the video below Linda and I are racing. I got a slow start but by pointing my feet and curling my body over to reduce wind resistence I'm able to catch up and pass her (Linda says it's because I weigh more but I like to imagine it had something to do with the coeficient of drag). It's great fun!

Brooklyn Speaks!

haynie.joe@gmail.com (Joe Haynie) — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 01:33:00 +0000

Now you may not believe it but our 4 month-old granddaughter can talk. As evidence I have included a video so you can see and hear for yourself. I have noticed that occasionally someone for some reason just doesn't seen to understand her perfectly clear speech. I have perceived that the really intelligent and good-looking people are the ones who get what she's saying so I'm sure you won't even have to try to understand her perfectly.

Here she is making a speech about global economics (consumption and demand to be specific).