View From the Hammock brought to you by Purple Frog

     The problem of employees’ evaluation is a puzzle. No one likes to be evaluated, no one likes to be stressed out about it, and, especially, no one is looking forward to live in anticipation of it.

My sister finally became a citizen. When she answered the last citizenship question, the INS clerk commented,  “I wish all Americans knew as much about our country as you do.”  My sister called me proudly, “Do you know what the word ‘American’ means?”  To my embarrassment, I didn’t.   Irina explained, “Think about it: ‘ameri – CAN’. It means, I CAN do anything now!” It took me a while to understand what made my sister so ecstatic – the freedom of choice and plenty of opportunities that immigrants get when they become Americans.  Unfortunately, not every American makes full use of it. I met lots of young and older Americans who didn’t believe that if they only try, they can achieve almost anything. If we women and men from other countries can get our second Master’s degrees, get highly paid jobs, then why do so many Americans choose the easy way? If immigrants CAN, Americans CAN do anything even sooner and faster!

       “Honey, I had an accident. I am on the shoulder of I-435, waiting for the police.”        “Oh, no! How did it happen?!” My husband’s voice is full of concern. “Are you OK?”        “My neck hurts, but I think I am fine.”        “What happened?”

      The manager of our favorite restaurant met us at the door early in the morning, winked at my husband, paused with the playful and mischievous smile and flirtatiously danced us to our table.      “Do you think he is gay?”

In Russia, we had one-two suits, two-three dresses, several blouses, a few skirts, and a couple of sun dresses, and never thought we were poor. In America, I filled my closet over the years: ten times more of everything, and I am constantly puzzled what to wear. We are in the time of an economic crisis, and old survival tricks that we practiced once might become needed again.

       I dialed my husband’s number from my kitchen, trying to finish my snack and not to lose site of a never seen strange looking animal walking through our back yard, away from the house. “Honey, I think, we got a fox… wait a second, not a fox. The tail is long and straight. Oh, myyyyy…. I think, this is the cougar in our back yard again.”        My husband had already called the animal control after a few episodes with our uninvited guests. Our house is right behind a stream, and we get raccoons, skunks, and now God knows what this is. This time, I saw the animal much closer comparing with a year ago when we were having dinner and I saw a light color animal landing on a thick branch that went down under the weight of the animal with the long tale. This animal that I first took for a dog looked just like the one I saw through the window. Yes, it was the same color, same shape…        “Yeah, I remember that the animal contr...