Pam Warnke's Blog

I'll Take Your Password Please

I think I had a computer meltdown.  Not so much with a p-c per se.  More like with my mind.  As I tried to log on to my computer at work yesterday, there was a malfuction.. with my brain.  I entered my username, but then I just sat and stared at my password.  It's something that comes to me naturally everyday.  I don't really think about it, but on this day I just couldn't come up with it.  I think the neurons were misfiring from lack of sleep. 

This quandry, as I sat there, led me to question how many passwords are associated with life.  A Social Security number issued at birth, is a password of sorts- for most, an unchanging password of a lifetime.  As we grow up, there are more.  Locker combinations, test identification numbers, college student identification numbers, voicemail passwords, pin numbers for debit and credit cards, and that doesn't even include the endless usernames and passwords needed to log onto computers at school and work: the numbers, the phrases, the pet names followed by two numbers.  They are essentially your access to your life.  It amazes me to know that on most days my brain keeps track of them all without so much as a second thought. 

Pam

It’s amazing the sense of renewal the New Year brings.  It seems we all have our own way of tossing out the old and welcoming the new.  I made one real resolution this year: to find an outlet for my life.  No, not an electric outlet, but a place to burn off my energy, my stress, a place to find inspiration.  So, I’m running.  I hope that I can stick with it, as this is not the first time it’s been a resolution.  I hope the days don’t pass by, and I’m suddenly making excuses not to run, instead of remembering the reasons I should be. 

It’s funny how you feel really geared-up about resolutions as the year ends, but once you’re a week or two into the New Year the dedication wears away.  Here’s to you this 2010 and may you do what you said you would!

Making a conscious effort not to spoil our daughter at Christmas my husband and I vowed to stick to two gifts.  Even though it’d be her first Christmas “understanding” presents and the joy they bring, we said we’d stick to two.  I’m just of the mindset that spoiling early complicates the future.  So, with this plan in mind we set off for our two gifts: one from us, one from Santa.  I’m proud--we stuck to our guns, but what I surely didn’t take into account was the spoiling from others.  By the time we finished our 5 days of family Christmas festivities we could barely get everything loaded to get it home.  Gifts were literally oozing from our vehicle. Abby now has more toys then she knows what to do with, and I’m pretty sure she understands Christmas perfectly at this point.  Despite our best attempts, she’s been spoiled.  And while we are grateful to everyone for the beautiful gifts and love, we’ll try to make a run at an unspoiled Christmas again next year.

Do you ever have a moment when you don’t think you can do it all?  I certainly do.  Balancing life takes work.  There’s work itself, tending to a family, keeping a house.  Did I mention eating? Yeah, sometimes I forget too.  These last six months have been particularly challenging.  I’ll spare you the details.  Let’s just say it’s been abnormally crazy.  But with all new experiences in life come opportunity.  For me, there have been several.  I would say the experience that has had the most impact is the new relationships I’ve made.  A few days a week, I’m surrounded by a new group of women who are absolutely inspirational.  Most juggle work, a home and most importantly a family.  Get us together and there are a few comments about how stressed we are, but mostly there’s kind words and encouragement.  For me, it’s refreshing to be around a group of women who are striving to be the best they can and willing to help others do the same.  I feel lucky to know them and even luckier to have them as role models.

I can’t pretend to know how every wife, every family feels, when a loved one is deployed.  I only know how I felt when my husband, Todd, left shortly after we were married.  He was in the inactive portion of his contract with the National Guard.  He only had three months left when he was called to duty.  I’ll never forget the Friday the 13th he got the orders.  He did not flinch.  He signed up knowing that it was a possibility, and he was ready for that possibility until the day he was discharged.  I think Todd got that from his Dad – a strong, proud Marine who served bravely in Vietnam.  You don’t flinch, you move forward. 

I can’t pretend to understand what he and his unit went through in Iraq.  They were responsible for securing a major route.  They were blown up by IEDs many times.  It was a long 18 months.  For me, it was just hoping to hear from him.  For him, it was protecting his country, his unit, his mission and himself.

I know that Todd made great friends over there.  Some I have met, others I’ve just heard stories about.  They keep in touch through phone calls and the internet.  Some stayed in service and are on second and third tours.  Others have bought homes, gotten married, had kids.  Still others are suffering the lasting effects of war.

I am reminded of the service and sacrifice of our brave men and women on Veterans Day.  I am also reminded of the sacrifice families bravely make as they wait at home.

I’ve had my share of sickness this past week.  As a person who is usually not superstitious, I’m knocking on wood that this is it for me for the flu season.  It started with a warm feeling that turned to a prickle that escalated to a full-blown assault of my senses; coughing, sneezing, headache, runny nose.  Just typing it makes me reach for the Kleenex.  While I tell viewers about the H1N1 virus on a daily basis lately, I didn’t think that I’d be assessing my symptoms to figure out if that’s what I’m sick with, but that’s what I’ve been doing the past week from the confines of my home that seemed like a cage some days. 

Which leads me to the guilt that comes with sickness:  I know it’s in everyone’s best interest for a sick person to stay away, but, for me, it’s not that easy to rationalize.  I’m always busy with something, there’s always a To-Do list to go with another To-Do list.  Forcing me to slow down takes effort.  Being relaxed while I’m slowed takes even more effort, especially when I know others have to adjust their busy lives and schedules to pick up my slack. 

After several days of private suffering, I decided I was ready to take myself to the walk-in.  The planner that I am, I called ahead.  The receptionist kindly told me there was a 2 hour wait there, mostly people with H1N1 symptoms.  The question became is it worth it to sit in a waiting room with all the sick people, when there’s a chance I don’t have H1N1.  The answer for me, however ill advised, was no. 

So here I am, back at my desk, catching up on a week’s worth of work and blogging to you.  I feel better.  Not 100 percent, but better.  Good luck to you this flu season.

Often times, we’re asked to go out on stories and find a topic of interest related to it.  That was the situation a few years ago, when we had exhausted many of the traditional stories covered at the fair.  We’d been through the setup, rides, games and animals.  I thought I’d zero in on fair food.  After all, who doesn’t love it and then feel guilty after?  So, let’s just say the goal became eating as much of it as I could (I like to call it taste testing) in the two hours my photographer, Tom Zurawski, and I were there.  I think it was Tom’s idea because he’s had a lifelong love affair with food.  Fast forward those two hours, and I had eaten, among other things, cheese curds, a gyro, an elephant ear and chocolate covered cheesecake on a stick.  The total intake: 2500 calories in two hours.  And, you know what?  I didn’t feel guilty one bit.

Happy Fair Going!

I feel like I have a personal stake in Brett Favre’s decision.  It’s ridiculous, I know, but it’s true.  After all, I grew up very close to Lambeau Field.  Close enough to hear Sunday games, fans and all, from inside our house while we watched on tv.  The years Favre spent in Green Bay were glorious.  I can list stats from the team he led to the Superbowl with the best of them.  Robert Brooks, Dorcey Levens, Gilbert Brown, Antonio Freeman-- they were magic. And, who could forget Desmond Howard (who I loved at Michigan, btw) and his huge return that day.  When they came home we lined the streets as city buses, with the windows out, carried them to a celebration at Lambeau.  We cheered them on, shook their hands, we even gave them hugs. 

My point is those were happy days in a city where much of its identity is wrapped in its hometown football team.  Brett Favre brought rain after a long drought.  He let many of us feel excited again about the game.  He allowed us to regain some pride. 

There are many stories I could share about the Packers and my time growing up in Green Bay.  There are many memories--ask me how my cousin ended up in his legacy book if you see me sometime.  So, it’s sad to see this legacy of his dragged through the mud as he debates, or we debate, his future.  Any team would be lucky to have Favre, but in my mind he’ll always be a Packer.

President Obama held a prime time news conference Wednesday night to discuss healthcare.  What are your thoughts on his proposal?

New reports today say transportation officials kept the dangers of driving while using a cell phone quiet because they feared losing taxpayer money.  In the story we aired Tuesday night, experts said the research would have likely discouraged drivers from using phones while driving and possibly saved lives.

Would that kind of information have changed your cell phone habits while driving?  What are your thoughts on the story?

I apologize for the long delay since my last entry.  As you can see, some major things have changed on the Fox 55 website.  Take some time to explore what this new site has to offer.  The "Offbeat" news tab on the homepage is always a personal favorite.  Don't forget to talk back on our blogs and message boards!

The largest federal increase on tobacco takes effect Wednesday.  The tax jumps from 39 cents to about a dollar.  The money will help pay for a health insurance program for children.  The tax hike follows a move by tobacco makers a few weeks ago that raised prices in an effort to curb lost revenue.

Will you change your smoking habits because of the tax increase?  And do you think the tax should pay for healthcare?

In March 2008, Cindy Bischof's ex-boyfriend shot and killed her.  He then killed himself.  It all happened outside the place where she worked.  Her family came up with "Cindy's Law."  It lets judges decide whether those who violate restraining orders should be required to wear a GPS tracking device.  Several states have put the law into place.  Now, Rep. Scott Suder is pushing to have the law here Wisconsin.

What are your thoughts?