This moment at Company X, I am annoyed. We are putting together some websites and there is a technical element that I have tasked out. The person working on it needs a black or white answer to something that isn't black or white. I don't know if the client wants 'A' AND 'B' on their site. I know half of their projects have both, but some only have 'A'. The co-worker can't work with the element of the unknown. He needs to know if it is both or only one. I DON'T FREAKIN' KNOW!!!!! The client doesn't even know. They might add 'B', but for now, some have both, some only have 'A'.
WORK WITH ME PEOPLE! GROWL!
December 27, 2006
What I liked about the movie ROCKY BALBOA...
Christmas night I went to the movies with Stephanie and her friend Megan. It was a tossup between Night at the Museum, which I had seen Saturday or Rocky Balboa. We decided to see the later. Rocky Balboa - is the latest and I am sure LAST addition to the Rocky films. Yeah, there were some really cheesy things and at times it was even borning. And it isn't as good as the original (which is true in MOST film sequels), but there were a couple of scenes I really enjoyed.
1. Rocky chewing out his son - Rocky's son is moping around life feeling that he is living in his father's shadow. Rocky lays into him telling him to suck it up. It was a pretty good father-chewing-out-son-for-his-own-good monologue. Way to write, Syl!
2. Training hardbody Rocky - Like with all of the Rocky movies (most noteably the first one) Rocky has to get his old fart body into shape. The montage of his training was wonderfully entertaining. The only thing missing was the "Eye of the Tiger" song which should have played during it. And for a guy Sly's age, he is in great shape. Go SLY!
3. The BIG FIGHT - Rocky is walking into the arena and we can hear Frank Sinatra singing "High Hopes" in the background. Rocky asks his brother-in-law Paulie about the song. Paulie tells him that he picked it out himself. It was just a really funny moment because of Rocky being such the old man in the fight and most likely to lose (but then we wouldn't have a movie, would we?) and the song is so peppy and light hearted in an intense part of the story (intense for the characters, at least.) The fight scene itself was predictable, but I couldn't help cheering Rocky on outloud. Lucky for me, there were only about 10 of us in the theater. Go ROCKY!
Entertaining and so much better than at least #3-5!
1. Rocky chewing out his son - Rocky's son is moping around life feeling that he is living in his father's shadow. Rocky lays into him telling him to suck it up. It was a pretty good father-chewing-out-son-for-his-own-good monologue. Way to write, Syl!
2. Training hardbody Rocky - Like with all of the Rocky movies (most noteably the first one) Rocky has to get his old fart body into shape. The montage of his training was wonderfully entertaining. The only thing missing was the "Eye of the Tiger" song which should have played during it. And for a guy Sly's age, he is in great shape. Go SLY!
3. The BIG FIGHT - Rocky is walking into the arena and we can hear Frank Sinatra singing "High Hopes" in the background. Rocky asks his brother-in-law Paulie about the song. Paulie tells him that he picked it out himself. It was just a really funny moment because of Rocky being such the old man in the fight and most likely to lose (but then we wouldn't have a movie, would we?) and the song is so peppy and light hearted in an intense part of the story (intense for the characters, at least.) The fight scene itself was predictable, but I couldn't help cheering Rocky on outloud. Lucky for me, there were only about 10 of us in the theater. Go ROCKY!
Entertaining and so much better than at least #3-5!
December 26, 2006
I wish I didn't like food... I am depressed
I have now gained back EVERY pound I lost before I moved to Burlington. I can't even begin to tell you just how depressed I am over it. Nobody made me make the choices I made. I made them all by myself. It is really depressing.
I hate food.
I hate that I like food.
I am out of control, yet somewhere deep inside the little Sporty Girl is hanging on wanting me to be better, healthier and happier. Evil Kdar is laughing all the way to the scale at W2 weekly. I am glad that at W2, they don't kick you out for gaining weight like Jenny Craig did to me. But still.... WHAT THE HELL IS UP? Yeah, yeah. I know reasons why I don't follow the program. I LOVE eating the things that help make me fat - cheese, bread, junk food, high fatty food, saucy things. And the holidays don't help. Some of it self control. Some of it is years of bad habits (Rome wasn't built in a day...blah, blah, blah. Shut up.)
My friend Carrie and I went to W2 Saturday and we both gained weight. At least she has still 19 lbs off her body to show for her hard work over the last six months. What do I have to show for my eating? Tighter clothes and a fatter ass. Yeehaw!
I hate food.
I hate that I like food.
I am out of control, yet somewhere deep inside the little Sporty Girl is hanging on wanting me to be better, healthier and happier. Evil Kdar is laughing all the way to the scale at W2 weekly. I am glad that at W2, they don't kick you out for gaining weight like Jenny Craig did to me. But still.... WHAT THE HELL IS UP? Yeah, yeah. I know reasons why I don't follow the program. I LOVE eating the things that help make me fat - cheese, bread, junk food, high fatty food, saucy things. And the holidays don't help. Some of it self control. Some of it is years of bad habits (Rome wasn't built in a day...blah, blah, blah. Shut up.)
My friend Carrie and I went to W2 Saturday and we both gained weight. At least she has still 19 lbs off her body to show for her hard work over the last six months. What do I have to show for my eating? Tighter clothes and a fatter ass. Yeehaw!
ADD Two stories
ADD - Attention Defficit Disorder - My mom has it. Though I haven't been officially tested, I know I have it. So does one of my co-workers at the g-store and one at Company X. It is a very frustrating thing to deal with and observe. Here are a few stories to read or take this test.
1. ADHD Joe
Joe is a 20 year old who I work with at the g-store. He has a troubled past - been in jail, parents dead and drinks too much. He also has ADHD. When he was a kid, he was on just about every ADHD medication, probably to the point of overmedicating. As a result, he decided to do away with all meds, not get any non-med help and drinks. He is moody and swings way out of control. He is great with little kids that come through checkout and with customers. However, with co-workers he is extremely moody and prone to snap. He won't do the simplist chores without groaning and complaining or just plain refusing to do them. He wanders off for many minutes at a time (unless he is trapped on a register.) I was supervising him the other night and he took off. No idea where he was. He wouldn't answer his page. He said he was 'helping' another co-worker who was cleaning the bathrooms. She denied it. Said he was just following her around. Needless to say, it was extrememly frustrating working with him. He and I have had some good moments together, but even if I am not supervising him, just watching his bad behavior go on and on and ON is more than I can bear. Nobody corrects him. He's been talked to, apparently, but it doesn't seem to stick (I think that is the selective forgetting part of his ADHD.) If I continue being scheduled on his shift, I will quite. THAT'S how bad it is for me. Though the G-store isn't a career for me (or for him) I think it is important do do what you need to do to help out the team, get the crap done that needs to get done.
Company X - ADD moments
A co-worker at Company X has ADD, though he hasn't been tested. The reason I know this is because I see similar traits that G-Store Joe has as well as myself. GUY (Not his real name) is easily distracted, and I mean EASILY. Thankfully Guy doesn't have the anger outbursts that G-Store Joe has, but Guy gets depressed easily. He's very forgetful and gets frustrated easily. Has a hard time sticking with things that are boring to him. Wanders around for long periods of time. Has a hard time managing time - comes into work late, so works late out of guilt (sounds like me). Locks on a target and has a hard time getting off at times. We use Instant Messaging at work and Guy gets sooooo distracted chatting with his friends (who are in another department). I understand this because I have some moments like that. But I don't think I do it nearly as much. I see Guy is really frustrated with this issue and wants to get some help, which would be great. I too, am going to get tested in the new year and see what I can do to make it better. It's sad. I want to help, but I can't. But I think when I learn how do deal with my own ADD, that will make things easier in dealing with Guy and seeing Guy's frustration.
1. ADHD Joe
Joe is a 20 year old who I work with at the g-store. He has a troubled past - been in jail, parents dead and drinks too much. He also has ADHD. When he was a kid, he was on just about every ADHD medication, probably to the point of overmedicating. As a result, he decided to do away with all meds, not get any non-med help and drinks. He is moody and swings way out of control. He is great with little kids that come through checkout and with customers. However, with co-workers he is extremely moody and prone to snap. He won't do the simplist chores without groaning and complaining or just plain refusing to do them. He wanders off for many minutes at a time (unless he is trapped on a register.) I was supervising him the other night and he took off. No idea where he was. He wouldn't answer his page. He said he was 'helping' another co-worker who was cleaning the bathrooms. She denied it. Said he was just following her around. Needless to say, it was extrememly frustrating working with him. He and I have had some good moments together, but even if I am not supervising him, just watching his bad behavior go on and on and ON is more than I can bear. Nobody corrects him. He's been talked to, apparently, but it doesn't seem to stick (I think that is the selective forgetting part of his ADHD.) If I continue being scheduled on his shift, I will quite. THAT'S how bad it is for me. Though the G-store isn't a career for me (or for him) I think it is important do do what you need to do to help out the team, get the crap done that needs to get done.
Company X - ADD moments
A co-worker at Company X has ADD, though he hasn't been tested. The reason I know this is because I see similar traits that G-Store Joe has as well as myself. GUY (Not his real name) is easily distracted, and I mean EASILY. Thankfully Guy doesn't have the anger outbursts that G-Store Joe has, but Guy gets depressed easily. He's very forgetful and gets frustrated easily. Has a hard time sticking with things that are boring to him. Wanders around for long periods of time. Has a hard time managing time - comes into work late, so works late out of guilt (sounds like me). Locks on a target and has a hard time getting off at times. We use Instant Messaging at work and Guy gets sooooo distracted chatting with his friends (who are in another department). I understand this because I have some moments like that. But I don't think I do it nearly as much. I see Guy is really frustrated with this issue and wants to get some help, which would be great. I too, am going to get tested in the new year and see what I can do to make it better. It's sad. I want to help, but I can't. But I think when I learn how do deal with my own ADD, that will make things easier in dealing with Guy and seeing Guy's frustration.
December 07, 2006
December 04, 2006
Dreams DO come true!!
This is a dream come true for me - this SNEEK PREVIEW shows just how great George Lucas is. Wow. I am wowed just thinking abouty it. This combines two of my favorite movies of all time - Singin' in the Rain and Star Wars.
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
Write a novel month success stories
Congrads to Stephanie and Boss for completing their 50,000 words! I did a proud 15,000. I will get the rest done in December. I am inspired.
November 30, 2006
Write a novel in November - the challenge
I bet most of you didn't know it was National Novel Writing Month for November, did you? Well, my friend Stephanie told me about it and I was up for the challenge. Turns out, my boss was doing it too. It is now the last day in November. And how did we do?
Boss - completed 50,000 words by Monday
Stephanie - almost there too. I am sure she will finish it tonight.
Me - 14,590.
My challenge - ADD, discipline, evil TV, Thanksgiving and working more than normal at the g-store. There were times when I was really bumming out. Times when I would challenge myself about being a writer. Things like,"If you were serious about writing, you wouldn't have let anything come in between you and getting that done." or "Obviously you can't do it. You didn't even reach a halfway mark! What a joke!" That's when Evil Kdar was speaking. Then Sporty Girl kicked in. "Look, you said you gave it a go, and you did. If you hadn't tried that, you would be where you were at last month - writing NOTHING. You can finish this. Give it until the end of December." So, that's my goal. End of December I will reach the 50, 000 word goal. There are a couple of people who have expressed interest in reading it. I may let them. It's a really lame story, but that was my plan all along. It was not my intention to write something really good. Just write. Let the words flow.
I am proud of the 14,000 + I DID write. Good for me! Pat myself on the back. I think I will do it next year too. That was a great challenge.
Boss - completed 50,000 words by Monday
Stephanie - almost there too. I am sure she will finish it tonight.
Me - 14,590.
My challenge - ADD, discipline, evil TV, Thanksgiving and working more than normal at the g-store. There were times when I was really bumming out. Times when I would challenge myself about being a writer. Things like,"If you were serious about writing, you wouldn't have let anything come in between you and getting that done." or "Obviously you can't do it. You didn't even reach a halfway mark! What a joke!" That's when Evil Kdar was speaking. Then Sporty Girl kicked in. "Look, you said you gave it a go, and you did. If you hadn't tried that, you would be where you were at last month - writing NOTHING. You can finish this. Give it until the end of December." So, that's my goal. End of December I will reach the 50, 000 word goal. There are a couple of people who have expressed interest in reading it. I may let them. It's a really lame story, but that was my plan all along. It was not my intention to write something really good. Just write. Let the words flow.
I am proud of the 14,000 + I DID write. Good for me! Pat myself on the back. I think I will do it next year too. That was a great challenge.
November 29, 2006
Giving thanks on Thanksgiving - to be pissy or not to be...
Let's back up to a few weeks ago. I had just come from vacationing in California. (More postings on thta trip in the near future.) Nobody invited me to Thanksgiving with them. I didn't invite myself over either. Part of me really, really wanted somebody to ask me what I was doing. Then I would say,"Nothing." Then they would say,"Join us!" But it didn't happen.
I told the G-store I would work. I amped up the days - Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Turkey Day was time and a half, so why not? Then Tuesday before the event, Carrie invited me to her folks' house. I had to decline, but it was nice to be invited. I was feeling a little sad and lonely. Then Wednesday, something clicked. I was actually looking forward to working Thursday. My family has non-traditional Thanksgivings anyhow, so what makes this one so different? Nothing, except I get to make some mulah.
So Wednesday night I worked until 11pm. It was pretty busy. Not unreasonably so, just steady. Thursday morning, I was back at the store at 7am. It was a really slow morning. Then, all those people who remembered they needed to get X, Y or Z came in. There was a steady flow of people for about an hour. They closed that puppy up promptly at 3pm. All in all, it was a good shift.
When I got home, my wonderful landlady had left me a plate of Thanksgiving food. YUM! Later she brought me slices of pie. YUMMMMMM! I spent the afternoon and evening watching movies, writing and reading.
It was a good day. I am thankful for my friends, family, health, apartment, cats (despite Sammy's antics), living in the USA (despite some of our President's policies) and having the freedom to agree or disagree. Thankful for food on the table and clothes on my back. Thankful for a car. Heat for the apartment. The trees that help us breathe. The animals and plants that provide me food and entertainment. Church. Starbucks coffee. Laughter. Water. Computers. Money I can save to travel and spend. Clients. A job.
I can honestly say in retrospect, that I am even thankful for Client Flintsone and Rep N. Though it was a painful process and I wasted months being bitter and resentful, I have learned from that experience. I am thankful for that.
So, think of the things you can be thankful for. There are so many more things I could list, but I hope you get the picture.
I told the G-store I would work. I amped up the days - Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Turkey Day was time and a half, so why not? Then Tuesday before the event, Carrie invited me to her folks' house. I had to decline, but it was nice to be invited. I was feeling a little sad and lonely. Then Wednesday, something clicked. I was actually looking forward to working Thursday. My family has non-traditional Thanksgivings anyhow, so what makes this one so different? Nothing, except I get to make some mulah.
So Wednesday night I worked until 11pm. It was pretty busy. Not unreasonably so, just steady. Thursday morning, I was back at the store at 7am. It was a really slow morning. Then, all those people who remembered they needed to get X, Y or Z came in. There was a steady flow of people for about an hour. They closed that puppy up promptly at 3pm. All in all, it was a good shift.
When I got home, my wonderful landlady had left me a plate of Thanksgiving food. YUM! Later she brought me slices of pie. YUMMMMMM! I spent the afternoon and evening watching movies, writing and reading.
It was a good day. I am thankful for my friends, family, health, apartment, cats (despite Sammy's antics), living in the USA (despite some of our President's policies) and having the freedom to agree or disagree. Thankful for food on the table and clothes on my back. Thankful for a car. Heat for the apartment. The trees that help us breathe. The animals and plants that provide me food and entertainment. Church. Starbucks coffee. Laughter. Water. Computers. Money I can save to travel and spend. Clients. A job.
I can honestly say in retrospect, that I am even thankful for Client Flintsone and Rep N. Though it was a painful process and I wasted months being bitter and resentful, I have learned from that experience. I am thankful for that.
So, think of the things you can be thankful for. There are so many more things I could list, but I hope you get the picture.
November 14, 2006
I love my dentist!
Can you believe anybody would actually say that? I do. I really do. Unlike the dentist in Little Shop of Horrors, my dentist is wonderful and not at all into pain for his clients.
http://www.lyricsdownload.com/little-shop-of-horrors-dentist-lyrics.html
I had my very first cavity and had it filled yesterday. It was a lovely experience. They shot me with novocaine and fed me laughing gas. Now, I wasn't particularly giggly or spacey. Just calmer than I think I probably would have been without it. I even watched for a few minutes. The shots of novocaine were the worst part of the whole experience, and only the first shot at that.
Though I felt I was drooly for about two hours afterwards, I managed to eat some soup and potstickers, albeit carefully. The cavity was between two teeth and not very big. The dentist said I was a very good patient. GOLD STAR FOR ME!
You know, I felt nothing during the proceedure to the point where if he had filed off all of my teeth, I wouldn't really have noticed or cared. THAT'S good dentistry!
November 13, 2006
More from August
I just thought I should add a tiny bit more about my time with Sarah in August. I re-read my blog and realized I said NOTHING about the concert.
- I went to the Dave Mathews Band concert in Hartford, CT. Met up with Stephanie and her friend Jesse. Though it wasn't Jesse's kind of music, he was a good sport for coming along. (Though the big reason he was there was just to be with Stephanie. tee hee!) The concert was great, though not quite as spectacular as the Saratoga Springs show. I don't remember the opening band, but Dave was good. The arena was in an amphitheater that holds about 25,000, which was bigger than the Saratoga Springs show. I think it was a pretty good venue. There were a couple of things about the Saratoga Springs amphitheater that makes me not want to go back there. But I recently found out that on the latest CD set from DMB, they have a song from the day we went to Saratoga Springs. It's almost like you can here me cheering in the background!
- I drove back to New Milton, to Sarah's house (she was in NYC and I was to let myself back in with the spare key) and couldn't open the door. I slept in my car and took a spit bath in the evil Walmart. It was a bad night and my car wasn't that comfy.
- Sarah took a pregnancy test and confirmed what she thought was a positive. Hurray!
- NYC was really great. It was fun riding the trains and subways. Sarah was a good tour guide. The area we were in reminded me of a taller version of Las Vegas. There were big neon lights everywhere. It was crowded. Vendors on the street. Smells (good and bad) and it was loud. It's something I don't miss when I am in Burlington. Nope. Don't miss it at all. I do have to go back there to see how it looks in the winter. I think I need to go explore it again next summer. I want to do some of the touristy things one should do in NYC. (And see more shows!)
- I stopped off not only at Target, but Trader Joe's as well. I missed them so much!
November 09, 2006
Swollen tongue
Not as exciting as it sounds, but it's true. I had an allergic reaction to something I ate last night and now my tongue is swollen. Not so I have to go to the doctor, but enough where it is really uncomfortable to talk. And those of you who know me, know what a harship THAT is. It's bringing me down. I have to work at the g-store tonight and it will be painful greeting and being all smiles to people when all I want to do is keep my tongue stuck out so it doesn't chaff against my teeth.
On a more positive note, payday is tomorrow AND I am going to a retreat in the mountains with Carrie and a bunch of church people. Chicks bonding in the woods. It could be a smarmy thing, but come on now. These are church folk!
On a more positive note, payday is tomorrow AND I am going to a retreat in the mountains with Carrie and a bunch of church people. Chicks bonding in the woods. It could be a smarmy thing, but come on now. These are church folk!
November 07, 2006
November 05, 2006
Visit to Ohio
This one is brief, because I have to go catch a plane.
In early October, I went to Ohio to spend some time with Helen and the kids. Mike was out of town, so I could give Helen a hand with the kids. Mikey turned 3, so we had a b-day party (Thomas the Train themed) which was really fun. I had met some of Helen's friends before, so it was great to see them again.
I spent a day playing soccer mom, as Helen had a shower to go to. That Patrick can really sock it to the ball! Both Joe and Patrick did a good job. I think though, Patrick has a bit of the Dark Side of the Force in him. He kept pushing the other kids. But in fairness to him, they were crowding him a bit. I also had a little lightsaber battle here and there. Played a little baseball. Giggled. Laughed. Cried with laughter. Relaxed. Had good chats with Helen. Went to a wood duck festival (not a wooden duck festival. No, these are really ducks that live in the woods!)
All in all, it was a great time and a perfect little getaway from Vermont.
In early October, I went to Ohio to spend some time with Helen and the kids. Mike was out of town, so I could give Helen a hand with the kids. Mikey turned 3, so we had a b-day party (Thomas the Train themed) which was really fun. I had met some of Helen's friends before, so it was great to see them again.
I spent a day playing soccer mom, as Helen had a shower to go to. That Patrick can really sock it to the ball! Both Joe and Patrick did a good job. I think though, Patrick has a bit of the Dark Side of the Force in him. He kept pushing the other kids. But in fairness to him, they were crowding him a bit. I also had a little lightsaber battle here and there. Played a little baseball. Giggled. Laughed. Cried with laughter. Relaxed. Had good chats with Helen. Went to a wood duck festival (not a wooden duck festival. No, these are really ducks that live in the woods!)
All in all, it was a great time and a perfect little getaway from Vermont.
October 23, 2006
August - music and stuff
The summer was going pretty well. I had seen Dave Mathews perform in Saratoga Springs, been in a sailing class and actually went out a few times. But there was still more fun for the summer to be had.
Dave Mathews - Connecticut
Stephanie, who was now a DMB convert, told me about another Dave show in August. My friend and old roomie, Sarah was going to be in CT at the same time for an education workshop, so I just had to go. Stephanie and I drove to CT where I dropped her off with a friend and headed to Sarah's.
Sarah's mother-in-law has a place west of Hartford, where the concert was. We stayed there a couple of days with another friend, Bryna. Though Bryna had to depart, Sarah and I went into New York to see a few shows. I had never been to NY before. Though we didn't make it beyond Rockefeller Center and Broadway, I had a great time! I saw two Broadway shows - The Producers and The Spelling Bee. Though there was an unfortunate event when I locked myself out of the house after the concert and slept in the car, I had a really great time at the concert and in NYC. I would like to go to NYC again. Maybe to see it in all of it's snowy glory?
There were a few concerts at Battery Park this summer too - Carbon Leaf and The Samples. That was really fun. I went with Heidi, Tim and Stephanie and ate cheese, crackers and wine. It was really great to hear live music and it was FREE. That is another thing I would like to do more of - concerts (free or not).
I have been advised to keep my blogs shorter, not let this stuff pile up. So at this point, I am moving beyond the summer and will work on less catch up and blog more regularly.
Dave Mathews - Connecticut
Stephanie, who was now a DMB convert, told me about another Dave show in August. My friend and old roomie, Sarah was going to be in CT at the same time for an education workshop, so I just had to go. Stephanie and I drove to CT where I dropped her off with a friend and headed to Sarah's.
Sarah's mother-in-law has a place west of Hartford, where the concert was. We stayed there a couple of days with another friend, Bryna. Though Bryna had to depart, Sarah and I went into New York to see a few shows. I had never been to NY before. Though we didn't make it beyond Rockefeller Center and Broadway, I had a great time! I saw two Broadway shows - The Producers and The Spelling Bee. Though there was an unfortunate event when I locked myself out of the house after the concert and slept in the car, I had a really great time at the concert and in NYC. I would like to go to NYC again. Maybe to see it in all of it's snowy glory?
There were a few concerts at Battery Park this summer too - Carbon Leaf and The Samples. That was really fun. I went with Heidi, Tim and Stephanie and ate cheese, crackers and wine. It was really great to hear live music and it was FREE. That is another thing I would like to do more of - concerts (free or not).
I have been advised to keep my blogs shorter, not let this stuff pile up. So at this point, I am moving beyond the summer and will work on less catch up and blog more regularly.
October 19, 2006
Sailing photos
I totally forgot to add pictures of the sailing trip to this blog. I still have much to blog about, but I will have to wait on this one. Enjoy the pictures.
Heading out to sea...er...lake
The Harbor
Heading out to sea...er...lake
The mighty crew
The Harbor at sunset (photo by Dennis)
September 29, 2006
July - fireworks, swimming and sailing
So June was gone and I found myself in the middle of summer. It rained a whole heck of alot in June, which really sucked. But it was then time to celebrate our nation's birthday - the 4th of July (in case anybody was wondering what the date was.) What to do, what to do? The nation's birthday bash was pretty darn good here in little ol' Burlington. I met up with Stephanie and a few of her friends down by the waterfront and marina in Burlington. The pictures I took don't even remotely represent the fireworks show I saw, so there's really no point in posting them. But I did find one taken by Adam Huff (thanks Adam!) I think it was one of the best fireworks shows I have ever seen. It was awesome. I can't even describe it well enough. THAT'S how good 
I thought it was. So you will just have to read my mind. I do have to day that they did have a few of the drippy, weeping willow-like ones I love to see. After the fireworks display, we walked over to Church St. and had a few drinks at the Church St. Tavern. It was a great time. A splendid way to wish America happy birthday.
In order to spiff up my summer, I started going to the gym again and signed up for a couple of classes. I began a water aerobics class. It is three days a week at 6:15 in the morning. The class is filled with mostly senior ladies. They are a hoot! The music ranges from Broadway tunes to the Beatles, Beach Boys and disco (mostly Beach Boys). Sue, one of the instructors, is particularly fond of the Beach Boys tunes. She will sing along while either instructing us or as one of the students. They are all very nice and seem to know each other pretty well. We have a good time together. I am one of the youngest in the class. Almost all of us are a little lumpy in the physical sense, but getting out and moving feels great. I would like to try to step it up a bit and start doing laps again. I may sign myself up for a personal trainer coach. THAT would be spectacular! I really miss not training. I really enjoyed that training for the triathlon. I have just been such a couch potato and uninspired. Working too many hours brought me to an epiphany - I need to sail.
My sailing class was a quick decision. I decided to take the class because things had finished up with Client Flintstone and I didn't want to spend my whole summer wishing I had done something interesting. My dad has been sailing and my sister and her husband crew a boat. I had been on boats before, but never sailed. So, I found a 4-5 week class through the Y. It was one of the best things evah! We learned all about rigging a boat, rights of way, parts of the boat, how to read the wind and actually sailed. I LOVED it! It really made a difference in my attitude after the drudgery and anger I was feeling about the whole Client Flintstone thing. What a difference a little air, ocean and sunshine make. I understand why the guys at Company X who have boats have them. I loved it. I can't wait to try sailing again. Our department had an outstanding date from last year to go sailing on "Pops'" boat, which we were finally scheduled to do. But that (and pictures) are for another blog time.
Sailing rocks!
I thought it was. So you will just have to read my mind. I do have to day that they did have a few of the drippy, weeping willow-like ones I love to see. After the fireworks display, we walked over to Church St. and had a few drinks at the Church St. Tavern. It was a great time. A splendid way to wish America happy birthday.In order to spiff up my summer, I started going to the gym again and signed up for a couple of classes. I began a water aerobics class. It is three days a week at 6:15 in the morning. The class is filled with mostly senior ladies. They are a hoot! The music ranges from Broadway tunes to the Beatles, Beach Boys and disco (mostly Beach Boys). Sue, one of the instructors, is particularly fond of the Beach Boys tunes. She will sing along while either instructing us or as one of the students. They are all very nice and seem to know each other pretty well. We have a good time together. I am one of the youngest in the class. Almost all of us are a little lumpy in the physical sense, but getting out and moving feels great. I would like to try to step it up a bit and start doing laps again. I may sign myself up for a personal trainer coach. THAT would be spectacular! I really miss not training. I really enjoyed that training for the triathlon. I have just been such a couch potato and uninspired. Working too many hours brought me to an epiphany - I need to sail.
My sailing class was a quick decision. I decided to take the class because things had finished up with Client Flintstone and I didn't want to spend my whole summer wishing I had done something interesting. My dad has been sailing and my sister and her husband crew a boat. I had been on boats before, but never sailed. So, I found a 4-5 week class through the Y. It was one of the best things evah! We learned all about rigging a boat, rights of way, parts of the boat, how to read the wind and actually sailed. I LOVED it! It really made a difference in my attitude after the drudgery and anger I was feeling about the whole Client Flintstone thing. What a difference a little air, ocean and sunshine make. I understand why the guys at Company X who have boats have them. I loved it. I can't wait to try sailing again. Our department had an outstanding date from last year to go sailing on "Pops'" boat, which we were finally scheduled to do. But that (and pictures) are for another blog time.
Sailing rocks!
September 27, 2006
Backing up - More Memorial photos
I am too unorganized to have a photo gallery on snapfish or one of those places. That's what I want to use this blog for. But when I post pics, I seem to have trouble posting more than one. This time, it seems to have worked. Here are a few more from Memorial weekend at the Knox Fort.
Scary hallway #1
Scary hallway #2 (and doggone long!)
Stephanie believes she is the hallway champ. I am about to thwart her plans of victory.
L'araignée
La chat avec Stephanie (the cat was a recent resident of the fort.)
Lighthouse on the way to Fort Knox. My first East Cost in-person house of light!
September 19, 2006
G-store - doing dishes stealing sushi
I know I have much to blog about summer. However, this is a short update I can do while I have my wits about me at the end of a long day.
So last week, I was working at the g-store. I got there a little early so I could get a little dinner for later. I got some sushi. It looked almost exactly like this:
Yum. I left it in the store bag in the employee kitchen. I went to work doing checkout and bagging as always. The Sup asks me to go help Deli out with closing down. I had never done that before. I asked them what I could do to help, and they set me up to washing dishes. 
I didn't really mind it, but I kept thinking about the pile of dishes I had in my sink at home. After piles of trays, spoons and knives, I was done. From what I understand, the night manager is suppose to help Deli out, not a checker. She didn't want to do dishes. I think that is lame.
Around 9:15, it was time for my break. I go upstairs to eat my sushi. No sushi. I looked through the piles of bags and containers. No sushi. What the hell happened? There hadn't been any other sushi. I had checked that before leaving it. Did somebody throw it out? Did somebody eat it? WHERE'S MY SUSHI? Luckily, I had backup food that I had bought for dinner Thursday. I was pissed. I put up a sign asking the thief to slip the $5 I paid for the food in my locker. When I packed up for the end of the day, the sign was in the trash can. Did the thief do that out of guilt? There were only a handful of peoples working in the evening between 7 and 9 when the sushi went missing.
I was pissed, but never got the sushi thing resolved. Next time I will clearly label my food and set a thumbprint activation scanner on the outside of the package.
So last week, I was working at the g-store. I got there a little early so I could get a little dinner for later. I got some sushi. It looked almost exactly like this:
Yum. I left it in the store bag in the employee kitchen. I went to work doing checkout and bagging as always. The Sup asks me to go help Deli out with closing down. I had never done that before. I asked them what I could do to help, and they set me up to washing dishes. 
I didn't really mind it, but I kept thinking about the pile of dishes I had in my sink at home. After piles of trays, spoons and knives, I was done. From what I understand, the night manager is suppose to help Deli out, not a checker. She didn't want to do dishes. I think that is lame. Around 9:15, it was time for my break. I go upstairs to eat my sushi. No sushi. I looked through the piles of bags and containers. No sushi. What the hell happened? There hadn't been any other sushi. I had checked that before leaving it. Did somebody throw it out? Did somebody eat it? WHERE'S MY SUSHI? Luckily, I had backup food that I had bought for dinner Thursday. I was pissed. I put up a sign asking the thief to slip the $5 I paid for the food in my locker. When I packed up for the end of the day, the sign was in the trash can. Did the thief do that out of guilt? There were only a handful of peoples working in the evening between 7 and 9 when the sushi went missing.
I was pissed, but never got the sushi thing resolved. Next time I will clearly label my food and set a thumbprint activation scanner on the outside of the package.
September 07, 2006
June - Longest month evah - Thank heavens for Dave Mathews!
Here's Part 1 of 3 for HOW I SPENT MY SUMMER VACATION...
When I returned from the glorious Memorial Day weekend, I was back to the Client Flintstone nightmare. We weren't launched yet. I was really burned out (albeit a little more energized from the long weekend) and was ready to go postal. Then again, I think I had been ready to go postal on this project about a month into it. But that's partially my fault for not telling my boss that I was drowning. When I did get the help, I still couldn't get the water out of my lungs. But I wasn't drowning. I digress. Anyhow, I was hoping to be done with it soon, and I was. We had a company picnic party which I spent 20 minutes at since I had so much Client Flintstone crap to do, and really wasn't in the mood for having fun. As we reached the middle of the month, I began looking forward to my next brief vacation - going to see the Dave Mathews band in Saratoga Springs, New York. But it was a painful few weeks. Rep N and Mini Rep N were sending me 20 emails a day and were still not getting that they needed to start taking over the project more. We were a couple months past the initial launch date. There were several factors - besides the whole drama of drowing and not asking for help, the company didn't seem to notice. They had moved on to other more important things. I wanted to get Rep N to admit that they really weren't set up to manage 47 websites all at once. Their former company, it seems, held their hands all along the way. When we started the project, Rep N said that she expected us to do everything. Mini Rep N was totally overwhelmed, and wanted us to hold their hands. At Company X, we don't. We teach the birdy to fly and push them out of the nest. That's not to say we won't continue educating or help them if they are having a problem, but it's not my job to do their job. We even sent one of our best sales people out to be there to train them in person. That is something we normally don't do. The Big Enchilada made an exception for them. The trainer was there for two half days. There was a point when Rep N told Trainer Dude that she wanted him to do some homework. HOMEWORK? Are you freakin' kidding me? He's there to train THEM not work for them. She also told Trainer Dude that it was unacceptable that he wasn't staying longer and told him (not asked) to change his flight plans to stay longer. He didn't. When he came back, I felt vindicated. He sent out a really nice email about the pain he experienced in dealing with Rep N.
Anyhow, It was finally time for my glorious 3 days with Dave Mathews Band. The moment had arrived. I didn't book a hotel until the last minute, so the prices were out of the roof. But I didn't want to drive back the same night of the show, so we dealt with it. Stephanie drove again and we headed about 2.5 hours to New York. Saratoga Springs is home of the famous racetrack and of course everything there is very horse-themed. I would like to go back to check out the racetrack now that it is getting into the racing season. After settling into our hotel, we headed out to the venue. I had bought a parking pass online with the tickets, which was absolutely pointless. There was a gigantic line of vehicles streaminginto the parking area. Along the way, we met up with some drunk kid who was sloshing his way and words through the long line of cars seeking parking. There was an SUV behind us packed with chicks that he kept talking to. Finally, he sloshed his way up to our car and asked if we could give him a ride. I figured what's the worse he could do? Maybe he is a psycho killer who will slay us infront of all these people? Maybe he'll pass out or throw up in Stephanie's car? He was really harmless and we offered him a lift. Not much of a lift, as we were inching our way through the road to the show. He told us all about losing his ticket and getting a scalped one for almost $90. He was from St. Albans (north of Burlington) and was really excited to see Dave (as we were). He thought we were awesome for giving him a ride (Which we were.) Finally we dropped him off and parked. Once inside, we met up with Kyle (from work). We planted ourselves near the fence before the assigned seats and went over to Kyle. After a bit, I decided I was tired of standing (what was I thinking - it's a concert!) and planted myself for what was going to be a brief time. The crowds piled in so thickly, that I stayed where I was at because I didn't want to lug our crap over to where Stephanie was. She had a perfect view as Kyle's height prevented people from crowding around. It was just easier that way. Though threre are always diverse crowds at DMB, I think the average age around me was 25. And how dedicated they were! Knowing all the words to all the songs. Even the girls next to me who decided to take a pee (too many people to pass through to go to the bathroom) about 5 feet from me were DMB fanatics. The opening band was forgettable. So forgettable I can't even tell you who they were. Then Dave came on stage. Sigh. Amazing and wonderful as always. He sang mostly their oldies, and very few from Stand Up. However, he also played two new songs from an upcoming album. Stephanie had never been to a DMB concert before, and she had a delightful time. I had a good time too, though next concert I won't bring so much crap. I think I also got high from all of the people smoking up around me. I am not saying that was a bad thing. ha ha ha There are a few things I love about going to DMB concerts - The band is so appreciative of their fans and really seem to enjoy themselves. They always sound better live than in studio (which you can't say about many bands). The crowds are all relatively nice to each other and the band played and played and played. They played for over three hours! It was awesome! I love DMB! We even downloaded the concert, so I have a copy of the music to go with the memory.
As this is summer, and there are lots of large bodies of water, there are mosquitos everywhere, especially at dusk and in the warm summer evenings. Saratoga is no exception. The mosquitoes were abundant, and though I was still recovering from a mosquito attack a few days earlier, the mosquitoes didn't seem to care. They were relentless. And they seemed to like to bite in the same places I had been bitten previously. I had a bite above my left eye from a few days earlier and they bit there again. When I got back to the hotel, my eyebrow was a little swollen, but I didn't think much of it. I put a little ice and a cold wash cloth. I also put a little anti-itch cream because it was itchin' like crazy. I had a relatively peaceful night sleep, but when I woke up in the morning, I couldn't open my eye. I thought it was sleepers, so I went into the bathroom. You know those moments when you wake up in the morning and you are still sleepy and reality hasn't hit you yet? I was shocked to see my eyelid in the bathroom light. SWOLLEN shut like something out of a comedy film. It was hilarious, though at the time I was freaking out a bit. Stephanie was a little suprised as well. I tried more ice and nothing helped. We had planned on going to the Great Escape, but I was thinking with my eye, that wouldn't be such a hot idea. We decided to go back home with a stop to the G-store so I could tell them I wasn't coming in and to the emergency room to see if there was anything they could do. Once we got back to Burlington, Stephanie stopped at the G-store so I could call out sick...injured. One of the supervisors, Shorty McCoy (not thier real name), basically told me to suck it up. But here's my thought. Would you want someobdy helping you with your food whose eyelid was swollen shut the size of a half softball? I thought it was gross. But Shorty McCoy is a G-store lifer and I guess isn't bothered by such things. Shorty said that all they would do is give me some Benadril and send me home. She was right. At the emergency room, the cute physician's assistant and I had some nice laughs about how I wish he could drain it and how he wish he could drain it, or pop it up with toothpicks. I siad that reminded me of "A Clockwork Orange", and he totally got it. I think he wants to marry me. Well, he said he could give me Benadril and I declined the offer. But I didn't go to work, which I was very grateful for. The eye was swollen for a couple more days, but I did recover as Shorty McCoy predicted.
When I returned from the glorious Memorial Day weekend, I was back to the Client Flintstone nightmare. We weren't launched yet. I was really burned out (albeit a little more energized from the long weekend) and was ready to go postal. Then again, I think I had been ready to go postal on this project about a month into it. But that's partially my fault for not telling my boss that I was drowning. When I did get the help, I still couldn't get the water out of my lungs. But I wasn't drowning. I digress. Anyhow, I was hoping to be done with it soon, and I was. We had a company picnic party which I spent 20 minutes at since I had so much Client Flintstone crap to do, and really wasn't in the mood for having fun. As we reached the middle of the month, I began looking forward to my next brief vacation - going to see the Dave Mathews band in Saratoga Springs, New York. But it was a painful few weeks. Rep N and Mini Rep N were sending me 20 emails a day and were still not getting that they needed to start taking over the project more. We were a couple months past the initial launch date. There were several factors - besides the whole drama of drowing and not asking for help, the company didn't seem to notice. They had moved on to other more important things. I wanted to get Rep N to admit that they really weren't set up to manage 47 websites all at once. Their former company, it seems, held their hands all along the way. When we started the project, Rep N said that she expected us to do everything. Mini Rep N was totally overwhelmed, and wanted us to hold their hands. At Company X, we don't. We teach the birdy to fly and push them out of the nest. That's not to say we won't continue educating or help them if they are having a problem, but it's not my job to do their job. We even sent one of our best sales people out to be there to train them in person. That is something we normally don't do. The Big Enchilada made an exception for them. The trainer was there for two half days. There was a point when Rep N told Trainer Dude that she wanted him to do some homework. HOMEWORK? Are you freakin' kidding me? He's there to train THEM not work for them. She also told Trainer Dude that it was unacceptable that he wasn't staying longer and told him (not asked) to change his flight plans to stay longer. He didn't. When he came back, I felt vindicated. He sent out a really nice email about the pain he experienced in dealing with Rep N.
Anyhow, It was finally time for my glorious 3 days with Dave Mathews Band. The moment had arrived. I didn't book a hotel until the last minute, so the prices were out of the roof. But I didn't want to drive back the same night of the show, so we dealt with it. Stephanie drove again and we headed about 2.5 hours to New York. Saratoga Springs is home of the famous racetrack and of course everything there is very horse-themed. I would like to go back to check out the racetrack now that it is getting into the racing season. After settling into our hotel, we headed out to the venue. I had bought a parking pass online with the tickets, which was absolutely pointless. There was a gigantic line of vehicles streaminginto the parking area. Along the way, we met up with some drunk kid who was sloshing his way and words through the long line of cars seeking parking. There was an SUV behind us packed with chicks that he kept talking to. Finally, he sloshed his way up to our car and asked if we could give him a ride. I figured what's the worse he could do? Maybe he is a psycho killer who will slay us infront of all these people? Maybe he'll pass out or throw up in Stephanie's car? He was really harmless and we offered him a lift. Not much of a lift, as we were inching our way through the road to the show. He told us all about losing his ticket and getting a scalped one for almost $90. He was from St. Albans (north of Burlington) and was really excited to see Dave (as we were). He thought we were awesome for giving him a ride (Which we were.) Finally we dropped him off and parked. Once inside, we met up with Kyle (from work). We planted ourselves near the fence before the assigned seats and went over to Kyle. After a bit, I decided I was tired of standing (what was I thinking - it's a concert!) and planted myself for what was going to be a brief time. The crowds piled in so thickly, that I stayed where I was at because I didn't want to lug our crap over to where Stephanie was. She had a perfect view as Kyle's height prevented people from crowding around. It was just easier that way. Though threre are always diverse crowds at DMB, I think the average age around me was 25. And how dedicated they were! Knowing all the words to all the songs. Even the girls next to me who decided to take a pee (too many people to pass through to go to the bathroom) about 5 feet from me were DMB fanatics. The opening band was forgettable. So forgettable I can't even tell you who they were. Then Dave came on stage. Sigh. Amazing and wonderful as always. He sang mostly their oldies, and very few from Stand Up. However, he also played two new songs from an upcoming album. Stephanie had never been to a DMB concert before, and she had a delightful time. I had a good time too, though next concert I won't bring so much crap. I think I also got high from all of the people smoking up around me. I am not saying that was a bad thing. ha ha ha There are a few things I love about going to DMB concerts - The band is so appreciative of their fans and really seem to enjoy themselves. They always sound better live than in studio (which you can't say about many bands). The crowds are all relatively nice to each other and the band played and played and played. They played for over three hours! It was awesome! I love DMB! We even downloaded the concert, so I have a copy of the music to go with the memory.
As this is summer, and there are lots of large bodies of water, there are mosquitos everywhere, especially at dusk and in the warm summer evenings. Saratoga is no exception. The mosquitoes were abundant, and though I was still recovering from a mosquito attack a few days earlier, the mosquitoes didn't seem to care. They were relentless. And they seemed to like to bite in the same places I had been bitten previously. I had a bite above my left eye from a few days earlier and they bit there again. When I got back to the hotel, my eyebrow was a little swollen, but I didn't think much of it. I put a little ice and a cold wash cloth. I also put a little anti-itch cream because it was itchin' like crazy. I had a relatively peaceful night sleep, but when I woke up in the morning, I couldn't open my eye. I thought it was sleepers, so I went into the bathroom. You know those moments when you wake up in the morning and you are still sleepy and reality hasn't hit you yet? I was shocked to see my eyelid in the bathroom light. SWOLLEN shut like something out of a comedy film. It was hilarious, though at the time I was freaking out a bit. Stephanie was a little suprised as well. I tried more ice and nothing helped. We had planned on going to the Great Escape, but I was thinking with my eye, that wouldn't be such a hot idea. We decided to go back home with a stop to the G-store so I could tell them I wasn't coming in and to the emergency room to see if there was anything they could do. Once we got back to Burlington, Stephanie stopped at the G-store so I could call out sick...injured. One of the supervisors, Shorty McCoy (not thier real name), basically told me to suck it up. But here's my thought. Would you want someobdy helping you with your food whose eyelid was swollen shut the size of a half softball? I thought it was gross. But Shorty McCoy is a G-store lifer and I guess isn't bothered by such things. Shorty said that all they would do is give me some Benadril and send me home. She was right. At the emergency room, the cute physician's assistant and I had some nice laughs about how I wish he could drain it and how he wish he could drain it, or pop it up with toothpicks. I siad that reminded me of "A Clockwork Orange", and he totally got it. I think he wants to marry me. Well, he said he could give me Benadril and I declined the offer. But I didn't go to work, which I was very grateful for. The eye was swollen for a couple more days, but I did recover as Shorty McCoy predicted.
August 11, 2006
Memorial Weekend Part 2 pics
Mrs. Han Solo, Amanda, Stephanie
Amanda spins (not dancing)
Ocean
Stud
Footprint
Memorial Day weekend Part 2 of 3
I know. I have sorely neglected my blogging. I was spiraling after Client Flintstone and was a bit into some darkness. Now that I am coming out of the darkness and shadows, I can blog again.
Here's part 2 with pics of my Memorial Day weekend excursion....
Amanda (Stephanie's old roomie) lives in Bangor, which is not too far away from the Atlantic ocean. I had been to the Atlantic last year with Sherri in New Hampshire and was really excited to see it again. I think Bangor is about the same size as Burlington, only it looks bigger because is is so spreadout like a typical city in SoCal. It also had more big chain stores and restaurants, though it did have it's quaint old town areas. We didn't explore Bangor very much as we had many other adventures to pursue. There were two big highlights of the trip - Acadia National Park and Fort Knox.
We went to Acadia National Park, which is near Bar Harbor (I kept calling it Baaah Haaabah much to everyone's annoyance...) It is BEAUTIFUL there. It was much like the coast in the Northwest - rocky beaches, forest. Not like Sunset Beach or Huntington Beach. There was a nice, winding road which took us up through the park and down to the beach. On the winding road towards out destination, a deer jumped from the steep hillside and ran across the road right in front of us. That was my first deer sighting since I moved to Vermont. I know, you are thrilled. Luckily we didn't hit it or this would have been a very different story.
Finally we arrived at the beach and spread out our stuff. The water was a bit nippy, but Amanda dared me to get in. I wimped out and only dared to get in at my knees. But as I was showing off how daring I was, I tripped over rock and fell - kersplat! in the chilly water, thus soaking the rest of me. As Amanda and Stephanie were laughing at me (I did look pretty funny) Amanda took pictures. For shame, Amanda. For shame. Really though, it was funny. It was really beautiful. It wasn't too crowded. There may have been about 40-50 people there. We had a good time relaxing, lounging, strolling on the beach and people watching. There was a family about 15 feet from us with two parents and their grown kids (in their 20s). The daughter wore lots of foundation, eyeshadow and had her hair perfectly coiffed. I just couldn't see wearing that much makeup on such a warm day let alone at the beach. Maybe she had a skin condition. Anyhow, the son, who was kinda cute, kept flexing his muscles for us. It was hilarious. We were watching him watch us. At one point he asked his mother if he was toned or rock solid or something dumb like that. Later he was played frisbee with his father and flexed in between frisbee tosses. The temperature began dropping pretty quickly as the sun started to slip away, so we decided to head out. I couldn't have asked for a more lovely day in Maine.
All photos will follow. For some reason, I can't seem to post the pics to this day's blog...
Here's part 2 with pics of my Memorial Day weekend excursion....
Amanda (Stephanie's old roomie) lives in Bangor, which is not too far away from the Atlantic ocean. I had been to the Atlantic last year with Sherri in New Hampshire and was really excited to see it again. I think Bangor is about the same size as Burlington, only it looks bigger because is is so spreadout like a typical city in SoCal. It also had more big chain stores and restaurants, though it did have it's quaint old town areas. We didn't explore Bangor very much as we had many other adventures to pursue. There were two big highlights of the trip - Acadia National Park and Fort Knox.
We went to Acadia National Park, which is near Bar Harbor (I kept calling it Baaah Haaabah much to everyone's annoyance...) It is BEAUTIFUL there. It was much like the coast in the Northwest - rocky beaches, forest. Not like Sunset Beach or Huntington Beach. There was a nice, winding road which took us up through the park and down to the beach. On the winding road towards out destination, a deer jumped from the steep hillside and ran across the road right in front of us. That was my first deer sighting since I moved to Vermont. I know, you are thrilled. Luckily we didn't hit it or this would have been a very different story.
Finally we arrived at the beach and spread out our stuff. The water was a bit nippy, but Amanda dared me to get in. I wimped out and only dared to get in at my knees. But as I was showing off how daring I was, I tripped over rock and fell - kersplat! in the chilly water, thus soaking the rest of me. As Amanda and Stephanie were laughing at me (I did look pretty funny) Amanda took pictures. For shame, Amanda. For shame. Really though, it was funny. It was really beautiful. It wasn't too crowded. There may have been about 40-50 people there. We had a good time relaxing, lounging, strolling on the beach and people watching. There was a family about 15 feet from us with two parents and their grown kids (in their 20s). The daughter wore lots of foundation, eyeshadow and had her hair perfectly coiffed. I just couldn't see wearing that much makeup on such a warm day let alone at the beach. Maybe she had a skin condition. Anyhow, the son, who was kinda cute, kept flexing his muscles for us. It was hilarious. We were watching him watch us. At one point he asked his mother if he was toned or rock solid or something dumb like that. Later he was played frisbee with his father and flexed in between frisbee tosses. The temperature began dropping pretty quickly as the sun started to slip away, so we decided to head out. I couldn't have asked for a more lovely day in Maine.
All photos will follow. For some reason, I can't seem to post the pics to this day's blog...
August 09, 2006
Memorial Day weekend Part 3 of 3
Finally, the last installment of Memorial Weekend. Sheesh! It's only been three months. Imagine all the other blogging I have to do. I have much to catch you up on.
Here's the end of my Memorial Day story...
The next day, we packed a lunch and drove out to meet up with some of Amanda's family at Fort Knox. Fort Knox, you say? YES! THE (other) Fort Knox. There are two. Both named after the same general. Only this one was never quite finished. It was built in the late 1800's during the Civil War. I guess to keep the French out? There are role-playing recreations conducted there. I think reinactments are big here on the East and in the South.
I never hear about people doing that in Southern California. Maybe because we aren't so proud of running out the Indians, Spanish and French? I don't know. ANyhow, the fort was really neat. 
We walked all aound it, inside, on top, underground. There were lots of parts that were really creepy. 
You could feel the dead people haunting it. It would be a good place to go back to with a flashlight. There were some parts that were pitch black. Between Amanda, Stephanie and I, we took lots of really good pictures. Though Amanda's family never showed up, we still had a good time. We had a nice picnic overlooking a river.
On the way back, Stephanie and I found a few more things on our scavenger hunt. For my birthday, they took me out to dinner and gave me a photo album with prints from the trip! I would really like to go back there soon.
Here's the end of my Memorial Day story...
The next day, we packed a lunch and drove out to meet up with some of Amanda's family at Fort Knox. Fort Knox, you say? YES! THE (other) Fort Knox. There are two. Both named after the same general. Only this one was never quite finished. It was built in the late 1800's during the Civil War. I guess to keep the French out? There are role-playing recreations conducted there. I think reinactments are big here on the East and in the South.
I never hear about people doing that in Southern California. Maybe because we aren't so proud of running out the Indians, Spanish and French? I don't know. ANyhow, the fort was really neat. We walked all aound it, inside, on top, underground. There were lots of parts that were really creepy. You could feel the dead people haunting it. It would be a good place to go back to with a flashlight. There were some parts that were pitch black. Between Amanda, Stephanie and I, we took lots of really good pictures. Though Amanda's family never showed up, we still had a good time. We had a nice picnic overlooking a river.On the way back, Stephanie and I found a few more things on our scavenger hunt. For my birthday, they took me out to dinner and gave me a photo album with prints from the trip! I would really like to go back there soon.
MEXICO - where you can buy drugs, alcohol and firearms!
Okay. So this is really the TOWN of Mexico. Still, it sounded interesting, didn't it? And where else but EVIL WALMART can you buy drugs, alcohol and firearms? If you look closely in my hands you will see the loot. It was a very exciting moment for me. For those of you who know me, I try to boycott Evil Walmart as much as possible. But here in this godforsaken place, sometimes one has to lower one's standards and morals. Sad, but true.
Drugs. Alcohol. Firearms. Evil Walmart.
A practically perfect day!
July 27, 2006
Blogging the past... Memorial Day weekend Part 1
It's been a long time since I have had a chance to blog. I have lots to catch up on. As I am off to another adventure this weekend, I thought it was important to start catching up with some of my other adventures.So here is a brief part one of what I did Memorial Day weekend...
Stephanie (standing by the giant maple syrup container) and I had made plans to visit her former roomate, Amanda in Maine. I had never been to Maine, and Stephanie had not yet seen Amanda's new place. Amanda put together a totally awesome photo-scavenger hunt ranging from taking photos of common signs to the more obscure Indian totem pole.
Stephanie was driving and I took pictures and navigated. As we had a 6+ hour drive ahead of us, there was little stopping along the way. However, we made a wonderful trip to Mexico, where we bought drugs, alcohol and guns at the local evil Walmart. Evil Walmart photos coming soon!Here are a few photos from the scavenger hunt.
June 06, 2006
Some clients freak out - others don't...And Flintstone sucks
On Monday, Client DL was freaking out. There were 4 issues he had that he was upset about. Issue 1 - fixed quickly. Issues 2, 3 need more technical help, which I told him. Issue 4 - his own issue that he was getting bent out of shape over. His sites are good to go in my mind, but not his. I spent most of the afternoon working on his issues. Tuesday as well. And this other client, Client FF's, site went down. Sure they were concerned and unhappy, it's a big deal to have your website go down. But they didn't freak out and threaten to quit. Just wanted us to do what we can. Whenever we can. The quicker the better, but whatever we can to to resolve their issue would be great. Totally calm.
I managed to deal with several non-Flintsone clients Tuesday and today. It felt good, though I also felt bad since so many of them have been ignored because of Client Flinstone. So, today Rep N sends me just a couple of lists after I asked her for all issues by 2pm. I called her twice and left messages. She managed to email me about five times today, including one at the end of the day appologizing for not calling. Her assistant Mini Rep N, is really frustrated with the amount of work she has to do (aren't we all on this project?) She indicated that Rep N is making mountains out of molehills (which we, here at Company X agree whole heartedly with). The issues never end. I am trying. I still have several big things to set up for them but with all the little issues, I can't get to the bigger ones. I know. Delegate. The problem is either new people (who are totally willing to help, but are new) or old people who have too much to do and really don't have time. Still... if we want to get this thing out, I really need them to understand that working a few extra hours this week won't kill them. Look at me - I have worked for over 15 hours a day this week and three days last week. It's not killing me. (Well, yet. I keep threatening suicide as a joke which really isn't that funny. I know that, but it's a stress reliever saying that I am looking for a high place to off myself. There are NO really big, high places in Burlington to do this act. And in all honesty, I have a Dave Mathews Concert coming up in two weeks. Why off myself now?)
Sigh. Time to go home. Big brother is watching, and I am pooped.
I managed to deal with several non-Flintsone clients Tuesday and today. It felt good, though I also felt bad since so many of them have been ignored because of Client Flinstone. So, today Rep N sends me just a couple of lists after I asked her for all issues by 2pm. I called her twice and left messages. She managed to email me about five times today, including one at the end of the day appologizing for not calling. Her assistant Mini Rep N, is really frustrated with the amount of work she has to do (aren't we all on this project?) She indicated that Rep N is making mountains out of molehills (which we, here at Company X agree whole heartedly with). The issues never end. I am trying. I still have several big things to set up for them but with all the little issues, I can't get to the bigger ones. I know. Delegate. The problem is either new people (who are totally willing to help, but are new) or old people who have too much to do and really don't have time. Still... if we want to get this thing out, I really need them to understand that working a few extra hours this week won't kill them. Look at me - I have worked for over 15 hours a day this week and three days last week. It's not killing me. (Well, yet. I keep threatening suicide as a joke which really isn't that funny. I know that, but it's a stress reliever saying that I am looking for a high place to off myself. There are NO really big, high places in Burlington to do this act. And in all honesty, I have a Dave Mathews Concert coming up in two weeks. Why off myself now?)
Sigh. Time to go home. Big brother is watching, and I am pooped.
June 01, 2006
Ain't he one of the cutest boys you've ever seen?
May I present Kyan! His mama FINALLY sent me a picture. I met him when he was just a couple of days old. I can't believe how big he is now! (Notice the Disney seat, shirt, hat and pants. Parents are big fans. Me too.)May 31, 2006
Client Flintstone - not dead yet...
I have to keep this brief as I am just on a break. Client Flintsone isn't out of my life yet. I am still painfully involved with it. Today, Rep N. sent me 10 pages of changes/fixes, plus the same emails 2 more times. I am guessing it's to make sure I really take care of the issues. It's been four months - which is longer than some Hollywood marriages.
When will it end, you ask? NEVER. Even when we fix these issues, there will be more. And more. And more. Nobody except my boss and I are willing to work tonight to try to get this shit done. Shocker? No. I wouldn't either except that I am so desperate to get this done, if I have to work another 24 hour shift, I will. Lucky for me there are things that I can't fix, so I won't be here 24 hours. Maybe 18-20.
I had such a great weekend in Maine. I would love to blog about it, but can't as I really have to get back to Client Flintstone. I feel really sorry for me right now. There is a company picnic going on right now. Normally I would be such a cheerleader and meet all the new people, etc. but I am so bitter right now that I couldn't think of anything good to say about anything.
It will be over soon enough. Whether we launch them tomorrow or next month, it WILL be done soon.
When will it end, you ask? NEVER. Even when we fix these issues, there will be more. And more. And more. Nobody except my boss and I are willing to work tonight to try to get this shit done. Shocker? No. I wouldn't either except that I am so desperate to get this done, if I have to work another 24 hour shift, I will. Lucky for me there are things that I can't fix, so I won't be here 24 hours. Maybe 18-20.
I had such a great weekend in Maine. I would love to blog about it, but can't as I really have to get back to Client Flintstone. I feel really sorry for me right now. There is a company picnic going on right now. Normally I would be such a cheerleader and meet all the new people, etc. but I am so bitter right now that I couldn't think of anything good to say about anything.
It will be over soon enough. Whether we launch them tomorrow or next month, it WILL be done soon.
Thank the stars - Brangelina's baby has arrived!
It's been a long time in coming, but finally Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have had their baby. It's a girl. From what I can gather, the name Shiloh Nouvel means something like "new Messiah". Though I can't put all the math together, does this mean she is the anti-Christ? Afterall, Shiloh and Nouvel are both six letters. But it's the last name that has me. Between Jolie-Pitt, it's only 9 letters.
The world can now continue to revolve now that the Cruises and Pitts have birthed their babies. Interesting that they are both girls. I guess girls are all the rage. Three people I know have had girls this year.
The world can now continue to revolve now that the Cruises and Pitts have birthed their babies. Interesting that they are both girls. I guess girls are all the rage. Three people I know have had girls this year.
May 22, 2006
Robin Hood
From my Netflix queue, I saw that I had a movie I had never seen before but had wanted to for ages - Robin Hood. Now, this isn't the Errol Flynn version, nor the abominably dismal Kevin Costner version (where the best casting choice went to Alan Rickman as the Sherrif of Nottingham), nor was it the hilarious Men in Tights. This is a SILENT motion picture. Have you ever seen one of these? THEY DON'T SPEAK AT ALL! I have seen several silent films in my time. I appreciate the film history and there are lots of things I can find to appreciate in these films. This is no exception. Douglas Fairbanks (co-founder of United Artists) was one of the biggest stars during this period of early film. He produced and did his own stunts. The sets ranged from what seems to be an actual castle to very studio looking castle interiors with really fake looking backgrounds. His lovely co-star was Enid Bennet, who didn't seem to have much of 
a career beyond the silents. I wonder if her speaking voice was horrible or if she really turned out to be a bad actress with the talkies? Anyhow, I had to fast foward through many of the scenes because the music was horrible and it seemed that the action seems go really slow without the clang of metal and grunts or stabbing sound effects. Makes me appreciate sound engineers so much more. Nevertheless, I watched the whole thing. I was glad to have seen it. Also on the DVD was a clip from a short by humorist Will Rogers. That was worth the whole thing. It was a spoof of the Douglas Fairbanks Robin Hood character. There was one seen in the Robin Hood movie where Robin Hood struts his stuff showing off how talented he is in jumping out of trees, shooting arrows etc. In the Will Rogers parody, there are about 10 rocks in varying sizes in a row. "Robin Hood" (Will Rogers) jumps onto rock 1 and throws his hands up in a ta-da pose. It cuts to the Merry Men cheering him on. He jumps again and again. Slips on rock 3 and climbs back on again with the ta-da pose. Cut to the Merry Men cheering again. This continues across the rocks with "Robin Hood" falling off and stepping back on. In another scene, he is shooting at a target and hits the bullseye. Cheers from the Merry Men. He steps farther back and manages to shoot the arrow into the feathers of arrow 1. Cheers again. He jumps backwards and lands in the tree, shoots and - ta-da! Again the cheers of the crowd. He continues shooting arrows and the camera pans down to a man in present day (1922) attire shooting arrows as "Robin Hood's" arrows fall to the ground. The man on the ground is a stunt man. It was really funny. I guess you had to have been there to see it. I am working my way through another silent film. This one is with Gloria Swanson, of Sunset Boulevard fame. So far, it is a bit of a yawner, but she's pretty good. Even for a silent film star.
May 11, 2006
Client Flintstone - when will it end?
I don't think this project will ever end. But now, I get to have daily meetings with a bunch of people to report where we are at. That is a good thing, but that also means I have to be on top of my shit, which I don't feel I am. This project is huge and there is not a whole lot of people available to help. I also have 7 other clients now to juggle. It doesn't matter how easy or difficult they are. The fact is that now I am dealing with about 56 websites. That's more than I have ever had at one time. I am experiencing major burn out. I did get away for the weekend (to post later) but now I am back into the swing of things. Sure, this week I will work 15 hours today and tomorrow. I will work after the gstore shift on Saturday and Sunday. And I will continue the long hours until Client Flinstone launches. But then, I am done. Getting my life and mental health back is important to me. Back to getting out while the sun is shining. Back to going outside for a lunch break. Ah - peace is coming!
Now, to get Client Flinstone to launch....
Now, to get Client Flinstone to launch....
May 01, 2006
Funny things that make me think of other things
I just heard the following song on the web-radio I am listening to and "Somewhere Over the Rainbow". The latter song makes me cry. I freakin' love it. Call me sentimental, I don't care. Anyhow, I thought the following song lyrics were sweet and sappy.
As sung by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong...
Can Anyone Explain?
Can anyone explain the thrill of a kiss
No! No! No!
But when two eager lips are pressed against yours
You'll know, yes, you'll know
Can anyone explain the glow of romance
No! No! No!
But when you hear the phrase "It's you I adore"
You'll know, yes, you'll know
And you will find, to give love a start
Don't think with your mind, just feel with your heart
Can anyone explain the wonder of love
No! No! No!
But now that you and I are sharing a sigh
We know, yes, we know
(Orchestal Break)
And you will find, to give love a start
Don't think with your mind, just feel with your heart
Can anyone explain the wonder of love
No! No! No!
But now that you and I are sharing a sigh
We know, yes, we know
As sung by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong...
Can Anyone Explain?
Can anyone explain the thrill of a kiss
No! No! No!
But when two eager lips are pressed against yours
You'll know, yes, you'll know
Can anyone explain the glow of romance
No! No! No!
But when you hear the phrase "It's you I adore"
You'll know, yes, you'll know
And you will find, to give love a start
Don't think with your mind, just feel with your heart
Can anyone explain the wonder of love
No! No! No!
But now that you and I are sharing a sigh
We know, yes, we know
(Orchestal Break)
And you will find, to give love a start
Don't think with your mind, just feel with your heart
Can anyone explain the wonder of love
No! No! No!
But now that you and I are sharing a sigh
We know, yes, we know
Saturday - The WEIGH IN
Saturday was the end of the fast. I feel it was a really good and important thing for me. I don't suggest it to everybody. You have to be in the right state of mind to do it and do it right.
I had no hunger issues.
I wasn't tired (except for working an 18 hour day here, a 30ish hour day there...)
I learned how to feel the "throat" hunger (which is really that I am thirsty, bored, stressed, need to chew something like gum...) and stomach hunger. Durning this process, I was tempted with food several times and didn't succumb. Nor did I feel cheated and left out.
Spiritually I am calmer about the whole eating and Client Flintstone thing. Though I think Rep N is wacked out of her head, I know everything will work out eventually. I worked hard and did make mistakes here and there, but tried to do the best I could.
Kick staring WW again was important to me with this fast. So, when I weighed in on Saturday morning I was informed that I had lost 14 lbs. I know it's not a shocker considering what my daily diet consisted of. But it was a great way to start my week. I also have written down in my journal what I am eating, which is an important WW thing to do. I couldn't be more pleased.
It is nice to eat food again, and I am trying to remember what I learned this past week about recognizing hunger. For those of you with more normal eating habits you already know this part. Those of us who have used emotions to guage our hunger have a hard course to chart out in order to learn how to be more like you.
I had no hunger issues.
I wasn't tired (except for working an 18 hour day here, a 30ish hour day there...)
I learned how to feel the "throat" hunger (which is really that I am thirsty, bored, stressed, need to chew something like gum...) and stomach hunger. Durning this process, I was tempted with food several times and didn't succumb. Nor did I feel cheated and left out.
Spiritually I am calmer about the whole eating and Client Flintstone thing. Though I think Rep N is wacked out of her head, I know everything will work out eventually. I worked hard and did make mistakes here and there, but tried to do the best I could.
Kick staring WW again was important to me with this fast. So, when I weighed in on Saturday morning I was informed that I had lost 14 lbs. I know it's not a shocker considering what my daily diet consisted of. But it was a great way to start my week. I also have written down in my journal what I am eating, which is an important WW thing to do. I couldn't be more pleased.
It is nice to eat food again, and I am trying to remember what I learned this past week about recognizing hunger. For those of you with more normal eating habits you already know this part. Those of us who have used emotions to guage our hunger have a hard course to chart out in order to learn how to be more like you.
The kiss
Does it count if a guy kisses you even though he is drunk and tells you how great you are? How beautiful you are?
Somehow, I don't think it does. Still... it was nice even though I was exhausted and delirious from lack of sleep and fasting. :-)
S. O., thanks for inviting me to the party.
Somehow, I don't think it does. Still... it was nice even though I was exhausted and delirious from lack of sleep and fasting. :-)
S. O., thanks for inviting me to the party.
Client Flintstone - still alive and kicking
Friday morning at around 9:15, I left the office to sleep for a couple of hours. It didn't go well, since I kept waking to kids playing out front. (Damn kids having fun.) I went back to the office around 1pm. Tried to concentrate but was very tired. Had a conference call with Big Enchiladas and Rep N and her lacky Darth Consultant. As with the calls prior, I don't think it went well. She was very insistant on certain things happening, and as she is out of her mind, there is no getting her to see our side. I think it's a very black and white issue for her. She's always right, we are the enemy and wrong. She feels she has done everything she could to make it right. If you belive that, I'm the Queen of England. Soooo, another long call. We are basically going to continue adding content, making fixes, revising pages until she says go. I don't expect that to happen before Mother's Day. I still had a shitload of work to do, so I didn't leave until 6pm.
This is deffinately the worst project I have ever worked on.
This is deffinately the worst project I have ever worked on.
April 28, 2006
5:50am - and I am still here...
Between the hours of 2-5am, the world in Burlington is really, really quiet. Hardly a vehicle went by while I have been working this fine evening, or should I say morning.
Good Morning! I am pooped. Almost at the point of going home, but I need to wait for people to come in. I may fall asleep at my desk.
Good Morning! I am pooped. Almost at the point of going home, but I need to wait for people to come in. I may fall asleep at my desk.
Fasting Day 5 or should I say 6?
It's 2:22am and I am still at work. I came in at 8am or 8:30. Can't really remember at this point.
Client Flintstone. What else can I say?
Oh, about the fast - I haven't been drinking the concoction at all today. I am not hungry either. Besides water, I have had three large mugs of tea. We bought pizza for the people staying late tonight and though it smelled heavenly and looked divine, I didn't have any and wasn't that tempted. This is a really interesting experience for me. Those of you who eat normally and can monitor yourselves without thinking about it, just don't understand. I am a woman who obsesses over food. Being bored or stressed are the main triggers. I am bored and stressed. If I have to look at another Flintsone colored page and content, I may go postal. But it won't be because I am hungry. ;-)
Back to work. Too much to do. Rep N is out of her freakin' ass mind. Lord help the next company that works with these people.
Client Flintstone. What else can I say?
Oh, about the fast - I haven't been drinking the concoction at all today. I am not hungry either. Besides water, I have had three large mugs of tea. We bought pizza for the people staying late tonight and though it smelled heavenly and looked divine, I didn't have any and wasn't that tempted. This is a really interesting experience for me. Those of you who eat normally and can monitor yourselves without thinking about it, just don't understand. I am a woman who obsesses over food. Being bored or stressed are the main triggers. I am bored and stressed. If I have to look at another Flintsone colored page and content, I may go postal. But it won't be because I am hungry. ;-)
Back to work. Too much to do. Rep N is out of her freakin' ass mind. Lord help the next company that works with these people.
April 25, 2006
A possible CAT-astrophe
My friend Stacie, who's mom took Smudge and Steve is moving to Colorado and can't take the cats. What to do, what to do? I think I may try shipping them out again. But that costs a pretty penny to do so. Then I have to give Allen back his cats. That's not a problem, but I just don't know if I have any friends in LA who would adopt them. That is sad. They are a great pair of cats. :(
April 24, 2006
Detox or How to Stop the Madness
After a a few long weeks of anger, frustration and exhaustion, I had an epiphony. You might say it was from beyond my realm, as I tend to fixate and wallow in self pity from time to time and my moments of introspection have been mostly about beating myself up lately. Higher power, God, whatever you want to call it - it was a bit of an intervention. Friday, I started to think about the Master Cleanser program I did several years ago at another company. At Company Tuburculosis, there was a guy named Skipper who did this detox with me (something I had learned about from a roomate.) We did it for two weeks. It was great. The first three days, I wanted to gnaw off my arm, I was so hungry. But then, I was on cruise control for the rest of the time. I lost weight, had lots of energy and felt like I was having a fresh start.
So late last week, the thought of doing it again came to me. Why not do it while working on Client Flintstone? Detox from Client Flintstone in their last week with me? It's not going to hurt me. Besides the physical cleansing, it also has a mental and spiritual cleansing to it. Whatever your demons are. One of mine is Client Flintstone. So I bought lemons at Costco and started the detox yesterday. So far, so good, though this morning I did cheat and had a peptobismal and tylenol (nausea and sinus headache not related to the detox, or was it?) S'all good now. I plan on doing this for about a week.
Daily diet:
2 tbl lemon juice
2 tbl maple syrup (pure grade A or B)
1/10 tsp Cayenne pepper
spring water- drinking 5-10 servings of that concoction a day
herbal tea/herbal laxative (important to flush everything out)
That's it. Funny thing too is, I just read about celebs doing this SAME thing in Star magazine. ha ha. Even Brad Pitt does it!
Today is Day 2 and I have to say it's going quite well. Sure, Rep N is avoiding my calls and chooses to communicate with me via email only. Sure, the project feels like it is going to hell. But I am not feeling stomach-hungry. I want to eat, but that's the stress and bad habit talking. I even spied some pretzels in the kitchen a little while ago, and thought about taking just one. The Evil Kdar can be so tricky! Sporty Girl said "NO WAY! Evil Kdar - be gone!" And I left the kitchen without a look back. I don't really like drinking the concoction, but it's not as bad tasting if it's chilled. I am sure I am destroying some of the value of it by chilling it, but the cayenne pepper is nasty!
So late last week, the thought of doing it again came to me. Why not do it while working on Client Flintstone? Detox from Client Flintstone in their last week with me? It's not going to hurt me. Besides the physical cleansing, it also has a mental and spiritual cleansing to it. Whatever your demons are. One of mine is Client Flintstone. So I bought lemons at Costco and started the detox yesterday. So far, so good, though this morning I did cheat and had a peptobismal and tylenol (nausea and sinus headache not related to the detox, or was it?) S'all good now. I plan on doing this for about a week.
Daily diet:
2 tbl lemon juice
2 tbl maple syrup (pure grade A or B)
1/10 tsp Cayenne pepper
spring water- drinking 5-10 servings of that concoction a day
herbal tea/herbal laxative (important to flush everything out)
That's it. Funny thing too is, I just read about celebs doing this SAME thing in Star magazine. ha ha. Even Brad Pitt does it!
Today is Day 2 and I have to say it's going quite well. Sure, Rep N is avoiding my calls and chooses to communicate with me via email only. Sure, the project feels like it is going to hell. But I am not feeling stomach-hungry. I want to eat, but that's the stress and bad habit talking. I even spied some pretzels in the kitchen a little while ago, and thought about taking just one. The Evil Kdar can be so tricky! Sporty Girl said "NO WAY! Evil Kdar - be gone!" And I left the kitchen without a look back. I don't really like drinking the concoction, but it's not as bad tasting if it's chilled. I am sure I am destroying some of the value of it by chilling it, but the cayenne pepper is nasty!
Utterly and completely overwhelmed...
I am taking a moment to blog because I am so overwhelmed right now, I am frozen mentally. So much to do. Sure, I have lists. And lists. And a list or two or three of what is a high priority and what isn't.
Client Flintstone.
I am so behind, I don't know if this will get done this week. I am the biggest bottleneck in the process. I have a couple of people to help me, but they can't help me until I tell them what to do. In order to give them direction, I have to set stuff up. In order to set stuff up, I have to research the issue. And that is the same for almost every task. I can't handle it. I admit that. I admitted that weeks ago. It really sucks to be me this month.
Client Flintstone.
I am so behind, I don't know if this will get done this week. I am the biggest bottleneck in the process. I have a couple of people to help me, but they can't help me until I tell them what to do. In order to give them direction, I have to set stuff up. In order to set stuff up, I have to research the issue. And that is the same for almost every task. I can't handle it. I admit that. I admitted that weeks ago. It really sucks to be me this month.
April 22, 2006
I'm going home now...
...and it's only 1:15am! Back in the morning for more fun. I did get a bunch of stuff done, which was great.
In fact, I am feeling quite chipper!
In fact, I am feeling quite chipper!
April 21, 2006
Calgon... take me away! Vomit/blog
- I am sure most of you won't get the Calgon reference. It was a tag line from a bubble bath product in the 80s. Escape. That's what it's all about.
Client Flintsone will be the death of me. I know I have said this before, just a few posts ago. I hate this project more than I can say. I am sick and tired of me, myself and this @#$%ing project. Did I mention that I hate this project? It's out of control. Some of it is my fault which I totally admit. Some of the blame goes to other persons in Company X, but I feel most of it goes to Rep N. I call her to say we need to review blah 1 and blah 2. She can give me an hour, but is interrupted with calls, people coming in. Or we set up a date to review a tool she wants to use. She's in a meeting and reschedules for a half hour later. Her assistant N2 calls me to say she is delayed and will call me. I don't get a call. I get an email with an appology. That's nice and all but she's too @#$%ing busy to call me back even at the end of the day. She owes me an answer on blah blah 1.346 and blah blah 285. Yet expects, demands, insists that we will be done with her project next Thursday. I ahve given up fighting with her. She had expectations set too high at the beginning of the project and threatens me with how important it is for her to be happy which in turn, will make Mr. Flintstone happy, and the consultant who might give us more business and a large manufacturer of Product V that we deal with. If Mr. Flintstone says how wonderful we are, there is the possibility of Manufacturer F will fall in love with us. I want to yell at her, punch her in the face. (I have anger issues right now and hormones out of balance, so I can't really control what may happen next. I am beginning to understand people who go postal. Really. ) She won't lift a finger to do her own @#$%ing content. Who's @#$%ing idea was it to volunteer ME/US to do her content? That's really a minor problem at this point since Scott did a terrific job migrating the bulk of it. I have had people from all over Company X helping me out, which has been nice. Just not enough help. And Rep N not calling me back doesn't help anything. She's Mr. Flintstone's right hand gal. She wears too many hats. She filters info to me, which sometimes works, but most of the time leaves me with hours of emails to sort and task out. Did I mention how much I hate this project?
Company X needs this done to meet monthly goals. (And it has been so painful, who would WANT it to stay around?) Everybody in my department is overworked and tasked too thin and is feeling stressed. One dude gave notice and is out this week (not having anything to do with this company or my project, just pointing out we are down a person.) Scott is getting married next week, so he's got lots to do and on his mind. I can't blame him. I would too. Thank heaven I can let the martyr in me out in this blog. I have no husband/boyfriend/child/ailing parent/ sick pet or life to push me home. I have a @#$%ing retarded work ethic that makes me feel guilty for leaving when there is so much to do. I only really have me to blame for that. So I will do whatever it takes, no matter how much bitching and moaning it takes to get this project over and done with.
Did I mention how much I hate this project? At this point, I am almost glad I have the g-store tomorrow. I will work before and after that shift at Company X, but at least I will be in a job where I have no worries about leaving at the end of my shift.
Ahhhh. I feel better now. I needed to get that out.
Client Flintsone will be the death of me. I know I have said this before, just a few posts ago. I hate this project more than I can say. I am sick and tired of me, myself and this @#$%ing project. Did I mention that I hate this project? It's out of control. Some of it is my fault which I totally admit. Some of the blame goes to other persons in Company X, but I feel most of it goes to Rep N. I call her to say we need to review blah 1 and blah 2. She can give me an hour, but is interrupted with calls, people coming in. Or we set up a date to review a tool she wants to use. She's in a meeting and reschedules for a half hour later. Her assistant N2 calls me to say she is delayed and will call me. I don't get a call. I get an email with an appology. That's nice and all but she's too @#$%ing busy to call me back even at the end of the day. She owes me an answer on blah blah 1.346 and blah blah 285. Yet expects, demands, insists that we will be done with her project next Thursday. I ahve given up fighting with her. She had expectations set too high at the beginning of the project and threatens me with how important it is for her to be happy which in turn, will make Mr. Flintstone happy, and the consultant who might give us more business and a large manufacturer of Product V that we deal with. If Mr. Flintstone says how wonderful we are, there is the possibility of Manufacturer F will fall in love with us. I want to yell at her, punch her in the face. (I have anger issues right now and hormones out of balance, so I can't really control what may happen next. I am beginning to understand people who go postal. Really. ) She won't lift a finger to do her own @#$%ing content. Who's @#$%ing idea was it to volunteer ME/US to do her content? That's really a minor problem at this point since Scott did a terrific job migrating the bulk of it. I have had people from all over Company X helping me out, which has been nice. Just not enough help. And Rep N not calling me back doesn't help anything. She's Mr. Flintstone's right hand gal. She wears too many hats. She filters info to me, which sometimes works, but most of the time leaves me with hours of emails to sort and task out. Did I mention how much I hate this project?
Company X needs this done to meet monthly goals. (And it has been so painful, who would WANT it to stay around?) Everybody in my department is overworked and tasked too thin and is feeling stressed. One dude gave notice and is out this week (not having anything to do with this company or my project, just pointing out we are down a person.) Scott is getting married next week, so he's got lots to do and on his mind. I can't blame him. I would too. Thank heaven I can let the martyr in me out in this blog. I have no husband/boyfriend/child/ailing parent/ sick pet or life to push me home. I have a @#$%ing retarded work ethic that makes me feel guilty for leaving when there is so much to do. I only really have me to blame for that. So I will do whatever it takes, no matter how much bitching and moaning it takes to get this project over and done with.
Did I mention how much I hate this project? At this point, I am almost glad I have the g-store tomorrow. I will work before and after that shift at Company X, but at least I will be in a job where I have no worries about leaving at the end of my shift.
Ahhhh. I feel better now. I needed to get that out.
More babies - another girl
Congratulations are in order to Wick and his lovely wife Meg - they just had a baby girl on Wednesday night. Her name is Sunny Hollis. Funny thing is they didn't know Baby's gender prior to birth. Dady-to-be had a task for Client Flintstone that I had needed him to do. Baby was due last week. I told Daddy-to-be that Baby wasn't coming out until the task was done. Funny thing is that the task was done Wednesday morning. I told Daddy-to-be Wednesday morning that Baby could now come out. And she did! ha ha ha ha ha
Baby talk is so much more interesting to me right now than Client Flintsone. That subject will have to have an entry of it's own.
Baby talk is so much more interesting to me right now than Client Flintsone. That subject will have to have an entry of it's own.
April 19, 2006
It's a girl!
Even though I have more exciting things to discuss, I thought I should let you all know how thrilling it is to know that Katie and Tom have FINALLY had their baby.
Now my life is complete.
Now my life is complete.
April 14, 2006
One for my baby (that's me) laments with edits
I really have only one thing to say...
It’s quarter to three (well, just after 2),
There’s no one in the place ’cept you and me (well, just me really)
So set ’em’ up joe (valium? vodka? I'd take anything about now)
I got a little story
I think you oughtta know
We’re drinking my friend (if only it weren't a work night!)
To the end of a brief episode (it ain't brief enough)
So make it one for my baby (I guess that's really just for me. Two fisted drinker that I am)
And one more for the road
I know the routine (gotta lock up, turn off the coffee pots)
Put another nickel
in that there machine (that would be gas in the car?)
I’m feeling so bad (ain't that the truth, brother!)
Won’t you make the music easy and sad (I love sad music when I am tired and angry)
I could tell you a lot (but I ain't got the time with this damn Client Flintstone!)
But you gotta to be true to your code (is that like being true to your school?)
So make it one for my baby
And one more for the road
You’d never know it
But buddy I’m a kind of poet (sing it out, Frankie. Sing it out.)
And I’ve got a lot of things I wanna say
And if I’m gloomy, please listen to me (or else I will go postal)
Till it’s all, all talked away
Well, that’s how it goes
And joe I know you’re gettin’ anxious to close (hmm, I thought about staying up to watch the sunrise. After all, it's only in 4 hours)
So thanks for the cheer (We did have pizza for dinner and lots of help from my co-workers)
I hope you didn’t mind
My bending your ear
But this torch that I found
It’s gotta be drowned
Or it soon might explode (I am beginning to have a mental breakdown)
So make it one for my baby
And one more for the road (don't drink and drive, Frank. That'd be an asshole thing to do.)
(Writer(s): johnny mercer/harold arlen)
It’s quarter to three (well, just after 2),
There’s no one in the place ’cept you and me (well, just me really)
So set ’em’ up joe (valium? vodka? I'd take anything about now)
I got a little story
I think you oughtta know
We’re drinking my friend (if only it weren't a work night!)
To the end of a brief episode (it ain't brief enough)
So make it one for my baby (I guess that's really just for me. Two fisted drinker that I am)
And one more for the road
I know the routine (gotta lock up, turn off the coffee pots)
Put another nickel
in that there machine (that would be gas in the car?)
I’m feeling so bad (ain't that the truth, brother!)
Won’t you make the music easy and sad (I love sad music when I am tired and angry)
I could tell you a lot (but I ain't got the time with this damn Client Flintstone!)
But you gotta to be true to your code (is that like being true to your school?)
So make it one for my baby
And one more for the road
You’d never know it
But buddy I’m a kind of poet (sing it out, Frankie. Sing it out.)
And I’ve got a lot of things I wanna say
And if I’m gloomy, please listen to me (or else I will go postal)
Till it’s all, all talked away
Well, that’s how it goes
And joe I know you’re gettin’ anxious to close (hmm, I thought about staying up to watch the sunrise. After all, it's only in 4 hours)
So thanks for the cheer (We did have pizza for dinner and lots of help from my co-workers)
I hope you didn’t mind
My bending your ear
But this torch that I found
It’s gotta be drowned
Or it soon might explode (I am beginning to have a mental breakdown)
So make it one for my baby
And one more for the road (don't drink and drive, Frank. That'd be an asshole thing to do.)
(Writer(s): johnny mercer/harold arlen)
April 06, 2006
Headbanger's Ball
No, not a heavy metal concert. Just the sounds of me cracking my head against a very firm brick or steel wall. Though I am not at the point of throwing myself off of a building over Client Flintstone, I do feel like slamming my head against a hard surface might make me feel better. It's insane. Tuesday night I worked in the office until 1am! Thank heaven for bowling, otherwise I would have been here last night until then as well. Tonight I plan on being here until midnight. There is waaaay toooooo much crap to do if we expect to launch in a week and a half. I really doubt we will get it done, but I will do whatever it takes to make that happen.
I know it's not good to joke about people cutting themselves to feel physical pain over emotional pain, but I feel like I can understand why they do that. Now, don't go nuts-o and call me asking me to not hurt myself. I am just saying that I can understand that. I feel like doing that with this project. It is by far, one of the more painful projects I have worked on here at Company X. Working on LA1's site was painful last year. Working with Client Dutch and Client D last year - also painful. This one is all of those put together. Between N not getting in touch with me when I need her to and all of the sites Client Flintsone has, I am going insane. Though Scott G (the new dude) has been extremely helpful, I can see this many sites with this many issues is really a three person effort.
Remind me next time, to not overly volunteer myself for the next big group.
I know it's not good to joke about people cutting themselves to feel physical pain over emotional pain, but I feel like I can understand why they do that. Now, don't go nuts-o and call me asking me to not hurt myself. I am just saying that I can understand that. I feel like doing that with this project. It is by far, one of the more painful projects I have worked on here at Company X. Working on LA1's site was painful last year. Working with Client Dutch and Client D last year - also painful. This one is all of those put together. Between N not getting in touch with me when I need her to and all of the sites Client Flintsone has, I am going insane. Though Scott G (the new dude) has been extremely helpful, I can see this many sites with this many issues is really a three person effort.
Remind me next time, to not overly volunteer myself for the next big group.
April 04, 2006
Running to stand still...
Yesterday I finally cracked and had a nice, 15 minute emotional breakdown because I am so stressed over Client Flintstone. There is so much @#$%ing crap to do that I sometimes don't even know where to begin or which list to look at. There are lots of people around to help me when I need help. That's not the problem. The problem is me (and the client). Rep N (is that what I called her before? I can't remember) is hard to reach and expects us to do everything for her yet, get her @#$%ing sites up in 10 weeks. I have bitten off more than I can chew, that's for sure. I have been having little anxiety attacks for the last week. Saturday morning I woke up with the Client Flintstone jingle in my head. I feel much like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day. Is the lesson "don't volunteer to do groups" or "you're not who you think you are, so get over yourself?" Can't be sure. No time to sort that out. All I know is tonight it's work-til-you-drop. Boy, I am so excited about that!
March 16, 2006
The week so far, by me
Here are a few highlights of this past week. I am really tuckered out and am beginging to really hate computers, so I will be brief.
- Last week, we lost our bowling game.
- This week, we beat our co-workers (thanks to our handicap!)
- I gained 2 lbs
- I stress eat
- Client Flintstone is driving me mad. Still hasn't finalized designs, so technically, we aren't suppose to work on their stuff. If we did that, we would never launch their many websites. I think we are nearing the end of the design approval process. I sent Client Flinstone's rep, Rep N an email with some dumb industry analogies which I am imagining got her all worked up and she told Mr. Flinstone who will see about getting rid of me. I know that sounds damn paranoid, and I am sure (deep down) everything will be fine. Still, I am going to remain paranoid until the project is done. That's just my MO. The good thing is that with the new guy in our department, we just may get this thing done on time. He's been really helpful. I think if he wasn't there, I would still be at work and not writing this at 10pm.
- I am PMSing or just really annoyed with Client Flintstone. Can't really tell, except for the fact that other women in our office are on a similar cycle. Maybe they are just really pissy too?
- Debbie Downer appologized (sort of) for coming down on me when I told her we had a suggestion box. She feels Company X doesn't really listen to people. It's sometimes really hard talking with her because she is so negative almost ALL of the time.
- I watched a dumb movie this week - tonight it was that Failure to Launch with Sara Jessica Parker. Maybe Cache will be better. Thank heaven for Netflix. I got The Greatest Show on Earth, a Cecil B. DeMille classic movie with a huge cast. The best part is the storyline with James Stewart. I freakin' love that part. The Charlton Heston part I can do without.
- Tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day. I don't even remember what I did (probably nothing) last year. This time, I am brining corned beef to the office to share with a few people. It should be fun.
That's it. It's longer than I thought it would be. I think after I put the corned been in the crockpot, I will go to bed.
March 13, 2006
March 04, 2006
New Chiropractor, Flintstone, Oscar things
Yestersay morning I went to a new chiropractor, suggested by a co-worker. Though I didn't actually see the xrays, she said that there was a slight deterioration on my lower spine and a slight scoliosis. Yikes. I think with all of the falls I have had, it's a good thing I go. Plus, my neck has lost it's curve. Ah - to be young again. Anyhow, our insurance enables me to go 12 times witha $20 co-pay, which isn't too bad.
Client Flintstone is going so slowly. They still haven't picked a design. I keep finding new things to have our tech team add and republish, which I know is frustrating for them. I need to really start migrating content over from their old sites, but there are other things we have to do first. It's very frustrating. I know Client Dutch and the other big one were also painful. It's just par for the course. I know in 10 weeks, I will be feeling so much better about it, because it will be LIVE.
The Oscars are tomorrow. I think there will be about 16-20 people there. That is sooo cooooool!!! I am super excited. I wish I didn't have to work at the gstore tonight. I would sit at home and watch movies. I have two that I would like to have done by Monday, but I don't see that happening.
OOh - My friends VeAnn and Michael are due to have their baby any moment, any day now. I am so excited. I have been working on a baby blanket for them.
Alex is off in Alaska now to see the Iditerod. I am so excited for him as well. That is an awesome opportunity.
Client Flintstone is going so slowly. They still haven't picked a design. I keep finding new things to have our tech team add and republish, which I know is frustrating for them. I need to really start migrating content over from their old sites, but there are other things we have to do first. It's very frustrating. I know Client Dutch and the other big one were also painful. It's just par for the course. I know in 10 weeks, I will be feeling so much better about it, because it will be LIVE.
The Oscars are tomorrow. I think there will be about 16-20 people there. That is sooo cooooool!!! I am super excited. I wish I didn't have to work at the gstore tonight. I would sit at home and watch movies. I have two that I would like to have done by Monday, but I don't see that happening.
OOh - My friends VeAnn and Michael are due to have their baby any moment, any day now. I am so excited. I have been working on a baby blanket for them.
Alex is off in Alaska now to see the Iditerod. I am so excited for him as well. That is an awesome opportunity.
March 01, 2006
It's MARCH! And I have finally slipped on ice!
I am overjoyed that it is now March. Why? Well, besides several friends' birthdays, and the nearing arrival of Baby Lynch, and that Rob Thomas is playing in Burlington AND that CATS is playing in Burlington, AND I am having my Oscar party this weekend it also means spring is right around the corner.
THAT means that SUMMER IS COMING!!!!!!!!
And I finally wiped out on the ice. I was walking to my car this morning in the middle of the street and WHAM! On my ass went I. I did a half-assed splits. Left leg straight out, right leg bend and behind me. Not a pretty picture, but at least my laptop didn't break. My right leg was sore for just a few minutes. But now, as the day has progressed, my back is really starting to hurt quite a bit. I have to bowl tonight. Might be a night for big meds. I did make an appointment with a chiropractor for Friday. Ouch. Well, as this is my second winter here and I didn't fall the first round, it was about time. :-)
THAT means that SUMMER IS COMING!!!!!!!!
And I finally wiped out on the ice. I was walking to my car this morning in the middle of the street and WHAM! On my ass went I. I did a half-assed splits. Left leg straight out, right leg bend and behind me. Not a pretty picture, but at least my laptop didn't break. My right leg was sore for just a few minutes. But now, as the day has progressed, my back is really starting to hurt quite a bit. I have to bowl tonight. Might be a night for big meds. I did make an appointment with a chiropractor for Friday. Ouch. Well, as this is my second winter here and I didn't fall the first round, it was about time. :-)
February 28, 2006
This is totally gross....
Having a cold and sinus headache at the same time is messing with my equilibrium. My head is pounding (albeit softly), my nose is congested and I ache. I just went into the bathroom to blow my nose, to relieve some of the pressure. I blew and blew and BLEW. I think I gathered about 2 tablespoons of mucus. I know it's gross, but I felt compelled to write about it. Normally I wouldn't disucss such functions. But I have to say, that doing that relieved some of the pressure. But I can already feel it growing again. Sigh. I have taken meds, but they don't seem to help. I need some stronger drugs. Something to dry me up.
February 27, 2006
Snow - glorious snow!
It snowed. Everything is nice and white again. I could do without the wind chill factor, but it's nice to drive about and see the lovely snow.
Saturday - Went to WW and lost 1.7lbs. yippee!! I don't know if it's the bowling or the dark chocolate, or working so much I am eating less. I am sure it's a nice combo. The cold that I have helps out too. After WW I did some napping then went to Company X for a couple of hours. Then it was off to the gstore. Nothing exciting happened at the gstore. In fact, it was kinda quiet towards the end of the evening, which was fine with me. I finished watching "Adam's Rib", a great George Cukor film starring Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn. Great dialog, witty banter, good cast, good directing. I really liked it.
Sunday - At church, there was a really great college choir that sang a few old spirituals. They were so good! I miss hearing live music. I think this summer, I will get more into going to hear things. I wish I had gone to the Mozart festival last year. One of the kids at the gstore is going to Austria with his German class this summer. I am so envious! After church, I was feeling really icky with the cold, so I napped instead of going to Company X. I worked at the gstore until 11pm. I managed to finish watching a really interesting documentary called "Murderball" before I went to bed. It's about a team of paraOlympic athletes who play quadrugby. It was really a great movie. Very inspiring. Not a woe-is-me kind of film. Really fascinating people.
February 24, 2006
Client Flintstone just may be the death of me...
It's too early for me to really say that, but after a 89 minute call today and an hour-58 minute-29 second call Wednesday, it might just happen. Though we covered some good ground, there is a degree of "You will do this because I said so." in the converstation. Not from my people, from Client Flintstone. It grates on my nerves. Then in the same breath, they-who-have-not-a-clue say, "You are the experts. Whatever you think is best." I am exhausted and I have about 8 more weeks!
My client has been having trouble picking a design. First we tried something completely different than what they have. This went through a few iterations. Then we gave them almost exactly what they have. Didn't like that either. Went with the version before (with changes, of course.) I tried to get them to just pick one damn design and run with it. After talking about the changes on the one version, I said,"It's like shoe shopping. You don't know how it will fit until you try it on." What I really wanted to say was," It's like shoe shopping. You either buy flats, 1" heels, 2"heels, 3"heels or screw-me pumps. You want screw-me pumps AND flats. You can't have both." We offered them screw-me pumps. They'd get all kinds of desireable action. But nope. They are more comfortable in flats. Lame.
In becoming a good co-dependent martyr, one needs to dedicate as much time to the project as possible. Not that it is necessarily needed. Between my martyr complex, control issues and my ADD, if I work long hours 7 days a week, I just may get this baby birthed within a reasonable amount of time.
My client has been having trouble picking a design. First we tried something completely different than what they have. This went through a few iterations. Then we gave them almost exactly what they have. Didn't like that either. Went with the version before (with changes, of course.) I tried to get them to just pick one damn design and run with it. After talking about the changes on the one version, I said,"It's like shoe shopping. You don't know how it will fit until you try it on." What I really wanted to say was," It's like shoe shopping. You either buy flats, 1" heels, 2"heels, 3"heels or screw-me pumps. You want screw-me pumps AND flats. You can't have both." We offered them screw-me pumps. They'd get all kinds of desireable action. But nope. They are more comfortable in flats. Lame.
In becoming a good co-dependent martyr, one needs to dedicate as much time to the project as possible. Not that it is necessarily needed. Between my martyr complex, control issues and my ADD, if I work long hours 7 days a week, I just may get this baby birthed within a reasonable amount of time.
Sometimes, Harrison Ford and his movies suck...
Last night started out well. I went with one of my co-workers to Asian Bistro, a yummy eatery in Williston (about 10 minutes from Burlington.) We then met up with Carrie to see Firewall, the latest Harrison Ford motion picture. Not so good. Typical story of average-rich-dude with "lovely family" held hostage so he can do THE THING for the bad guys (leader-with-accent) who then, after he does THE THING, renig on letting "lovely family" go (now in peril) so average-rich-dude must use his average-rich-wits to stump and get rid of said bad guys and save "lovely family". Directed by Richard Loncraine ("Wimbledon", "Richard III"), it could have been a good movie. I enjoyed those movies. Okay, there were a couple of nice twists in the story, but for the most part, it stank. The only really good things about the movie were Paul Bettany (the aforementioned leader-with-accent) and newcomer Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (who looks a bit like Sean Bean). Normally, I would have included HF in that list of oh-so-attractive men, but he seemed to yawn his way through some of the film. I heard he did most of his stunts, which I guess is pretty good for a 63 year old. But not enough to make me say "Wow, Harrison. I forgive you for dating a woman who is not only younger than ME, but is in the body of Calista Flockhart." Nope. Not enough.
I heard him say recently on a show that they were in pre-production for Indiana Jones IV. It's been almost 20 years since the last one. Can you believe that? There are people I work with who never had the joy of seeing Raiders of the Lost Ark on the big screen. That is sad. I certainly hope that George Lucas won't be the main writer on this one. Otherwise, it may suck.
I heard him say recently on a show that they were in pre-production for Indiana Jones IV. It's been almost 20 years since the last one. Can you believe that? There are people I work with who never had the joy of seeing Raiders of the Lost Ark on the big screen. That is sad. I certainly hope that George Lucas won't be the main writer on this one. Otherwise, it may suck.
February 23, 2006
Bowling fun, Applebees and Client Flinstone
Let me start at the end and work my way backwards....
Bowling was really fun. We lost, but had a great time.
Went to Applebees with Cindy before bowling. I have to say the WW menu they advertise is really small. Had the shrimp and steak skewers, which were pretty good. But also had an appetizer and split a dessert. Yum. I am sure I gained the 5lbs I lost last week.
Having a cold sucks.
Talked with Client Flintstone for 1 hr, 57 minutes, 28 seconds. The chick I deal with is all over the place. And I thought I was bad about doing that. It was really frustrating. The good thing is the longer she delays the longer her project is delayed. Well, that may not be good for Company X in terms of revenue. Of course I will try to still meet our original deadline. I am dedicating most of my weekday to it and some of my weekend time (between that and the Gstore, I will be one busy girl.) I could have stayed for another 3-4 hours last night. Thank heaven for bowling! I did miss my OA meeting, but will make it next week.
Bowling was really fun. We lost, but had a great time.
Went to Applebees with Cindy before bowling. I have to say the WW menu they advertise is really small. Had the shrimp and steak skewers, which were pretty good. But also had an appetizer and split a dessert. Yum. I am sure I gained the 5lbs I lost last week.
Having a cold sucks.
Talked with Client Flintstone for 1 hr, 57 minutes, 28 seconds. The chick I deal with is all over the place. And I thought I was bad about doing that. It was really frustrating. The good thing is the longer she delays the longer her project is delayed. Well, that may not be good for Company X in terms of revenue. Of course I will try to still meet our original deadline. I am dedicating most of my weekday to it and some of my weekend time (between that and the Gstore, I will be one busy girl.) I could have stayed for another 3-4 hours last night. Thank heaven for bowling! I did miss my OA meeting, but will make it next week.
February 21, 2006
Grizzly Man - creepy, fascinating people and what's this - SNOW?
A few weeks ago, my friend Alex blogged about watching "Grizzly Man", a documentary by film director, Werner Herzog with footage shot by Timothy Treadwell, the unfortuneate soul who died at the hands of the bears he loved so much. Sometime before the film came out, I had read a Reader's Digest short story about Treadwell. I remember reading it thinking it would be interesting to see all of the video he shot. Little did I realize just how interesting it was. Some of the photography is really terrific. It's amazing to me how the foxes befriended him almost like a dog would - following him around, sitting by his feet or in the camp (which seemed near their fox hole anyhow.) Treadwell was a little creepy and kooky. In some of his video diaries he would talk to the animals like some people talk to their pets or children. Though many times these large creatures never glanced his way. Even Herzog comments on Treadwell's strange behavior. Treadwell knew what he was getting into by invading (or protecting, as his organization
February 20, 2006
Busy week, eh? And da shit goes down at da stower...
Last week was extremely busy. Here's a rundown....
- Valentine's Day - I got an e-card from my swell friend (thanks Stephanie!) I already talked about work. But sadly I didn't even get a card from my family. I know they love me and don't need a card once a year to remind me, but I thought I would get something in the snail mail! Sheesh! Whatever.
- Wednesday - I ended up chatting with a co-worker and missed my OA meeting. However, I did manage to book my suite for my Oscar party. That should be a blast. Bowling was great. We kicked the Boyz asses. We had a sub (Brian) who did very well considering he had no handicap. I found that I need to work up to the ball I own, so as to not strain my back. It was really fun.
- Thurs-Fri - a complete blur. I worked long hours on Client Flintstone. It was hard because there is so much to do. Not hard to do, just 46ish times over. Whew.
- Sat - Lost 5lbs at WW. Yippee. I worked 1-7 at the gstore, then hung out at home. Exciting.
- Sun - Went to church. Went to Costco with Asian Girl. I scoped out things for my Oscar party. I need to remember to be more moderate, though that isn't really a concept. I think if I was super rich, I wouldn't go tacky glam like Liberace, but I would be broke from spending in a short amount of time. Though lots of my spending would be for my friends, being the generous person I am. I napped and worked 5-11. The usual crazies there. There was some big action though. A guy tried to steal DVDs. Was busted with his girlfriend/wife by the cops when he tried to run and went across the street to our competitor. Turns out she stuffed/stole stuff under her shirt pretending she was preggers AND the car they were driving was stolen. BIG ACTION in Burlington. Who needs COPS, when it all goes down in Burlington? Wow. There were about 6 cop cars between our parking lot and the competitor. HUGE! AMAZING!
A funny true life story from my friend Anne....
She's a physics teacher for high school. Recently, they had a competition at the university for building bridges out of Leggos. One of her students had constructed a bridge with foam that, when dried, would (I think) push or support the bridge. I am sure it was brilliant. So the student gets to the event and discovers his foam isn't dry. Another student has the brilliant suggestion to dry it. Another kid offers his lighter as a drying method. The fumes from the heated foam cause the whole bridge model to light on fire. Another kid, who is with one of the nearby town's local volunteer fire department thinks of saving the day by getting the fire extiguisher and pulls the fire alarm. Three fire engines and an ambulance arrive. Luckily nobody was hurt, but what a mess! Writing it isn't nearly as funny as when Anne told it. I had tears pouring out, it was so hilarious pictuing these high schoolers trying to solve their problem, only to make it bigger and messier. The kid who offered his lighter felt horrible and wrote letters not only to his school, the university but to the fire department too. That is so touching. When Anne told the principal of her school about it he had a hard time trying not to laugh. Such a funny story.
February 14, 2006
HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!
HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY TO YOU!!!
Does it matter whether or not you have "that special someone" on Valentine's Day? I don't think so. I have had friends who have clung onto boyfriends just so they have somebody to be with on this day. I think that's sad. More sad than the one who doesn't have a Valentine's Day sweetheart. I also think it's a highly overrated day. Maybe that's just me being a little bitter that I don't have a Valentine today. But I remember as a kid, the pressure to have a card for every kid in the class so nobody would feel left out. It was important to me to make sure everybody had a card. Even the kids who were smelly and dirty. Even the classroom bully. (That one was hard to cough up.) As an adult, I still have that slightly co-dependent-people-pleasing compassionate side.
We had a Secret Valentine's Day gift exchange today. I got a really delicious box of Select Origin Lake Champlain chocolates. (All varieties of dark chocolate.) I have no idea who it was from. I gave my person a big, ugly handmade card out of posterboard with a nice, tacky bear-in-tutu snowglobe and Hershey kisses. Of course, everybody in the office figured out that was from me. So much for being subtle.
Here's a good link from Stephanie A. on Valentine's Day. Check it out!!
February 13, 2006
It'll make you laugh, it'll make you cry...
Tiffany posted a really great clip on her site. You must check it out!
Things I am grateful for... Things I wish for...
In my PMS-winter-is-upon-us state, I thought I should take a moment to be grateful. I have lots to be thankful for and I need to mention a few of them. Following that is a list of things that I wish for. Some of them I can do something about, some I can't. It's just where my mood is at the moment.
Grateful and Thankful
Grateful and Thankful
- Good health (I may be overweight, but don't have any issues to speak of. I have friends who battle cancer, Lupus, diabetes and other illnesses.)
- Good teeth (and thankful for teenage braces)
- Great friends (too many to mention, but they are patient with me, laugh with me, cry with me, celebrate with me, movieate with me, discuss with me, etc.)
- Great family (we are a crazy bunch, but get along pretty well and actually like each other, help each other, care about each other.)
- Place to live
- Cats to play with
- Jobs to go to
- Food to eat
- Clothes to wear
- Spiritual beliefs
- Freedom to choose
- Freedom to disagree with my government, parents, friends, church
- Freedom to drive when and where I want
I would go on, but I think that's good for now.
Wishes
- For more gratitude
- For less materialism
- For less weight
- For a boyfriend/husband
- For less PMS
- For financial freedom
- For my back to stop hurting
- For my pregant friends' safe baby deliveries
- For my parents' health to improve
- For my brother to find somebody for his life
- To sell a screenplay/book
- To live by the beach in a sunshiney place
- For winter to end
- To not be so whiney
- To be kinder to those I dislike
- To help people more
February 10, 2006
To Stephanie and Alex
I feel that I really need to be honest here. I was pissed at myself and PMSing (the latter is still happening) when I blogged about stopping my writing because I am not capable of writing (or whatever I was ranting about.) The reality is I was having a juvenile jealous moment over my friends' writings. They are great writers. Though I don't think I am a great writer (yet) I know I have moments of good and interesting writing. (For heaven's sake - I blogged when my back went out! Damn I am a WONDER!)
I am sorry and I appologize to you.
I am sorry and I appologize to you.
Today is better, but I still am thankful for Vicodin
Yesterday went like this:
- Take two Extra Strength Tylenol
- Sit in lazyboy chair 30 mins.
- Walk around 10
- Take 1/2 Vicodin
- Try to sleep on bed 5 mins
- Sleep/sit on couch 20-90 mins
- Walk around 10-30
- Do dishes (10 mins)
- Bake chicken, clean. Just do something other than sit! But beware the pain!
- Walk around 10
- Try to sleep on bed 5 mins
- Sleep/sit on couch 20-90 mins
- Walk around 10-30
- Do dishes (10 mins)
- Walk around 10-30
- Repeat all previous steps except the chicken baking and dishes.
I finally went to bed around 11pm, after taking another half of Vicodin. I only took 1.5 Vicodin total, but was really grateful I had them. That saved me a trip to the Emergency Room, which I almost did. I haven't felt that kind of pain since I had kidney stones (which is why I had the Vicodin in the first place.) I do try to hold off on taking pain medication for as long as I can, but when the pain makes me cry, it's time to take the pain away.
Today, I took two extra strength Tylenol, and so far, it only hurts when I take a deep breath in or out. MUCH better than yesterday.
February 09, 2006
Thank heaven for Vicodin
I threw out my back bowling last night. I am only writing this because I can't sleep because of the pain. Been up for about two hours. I reached into the depths of my meds and found what's left of my old Vicodin from my kidney stones. I took 1/2 of one about 10 minutes ago. That was after I took two extra strength Tylenol and tried Ben Gay. It hurts to take deep breaths on my right side (the bowling side). My whole back goes into spasms. It hurts to sit, laydown, stand. Thank God (and modern medicine) for Vicodin. It has numbed the pain a little. I can at least sit without a spasm. Still spasms when I take a deep breath. If it's not better in a couple of hours, I may go to the Urgent Care Center.
Time also for a new bed. Mine sucks.
Time also for a new bed. Mine sucks.
February 08, 2006
I know I said I wouldn't blog...
Last night I was watching Nightline. They were interviewing Myrlie Evers Williams, widow of slain civil rights activist, Medgar Evers. She was speaking about her close friendship with Coretta Scott King. It was really interesting and sad. Watching her, I thought about her son, Darryl, who I worked with at Warner Bros. He looked so much like his mother. Darryl was a really great guy. Artist, kind, intelligent, patient who loved to laugh and had a really warm smile. One of those people that you just want to be around because they are so cool and nice. Darryl passed away a few years ago from colon cancer. Though Myrlie didn't go into that too much, she did mention it. It made me sad. Darryl was a great guy. And Myrlie is an incredible woman, much like her dear friend, Coretta Scott King.
February 07, 2006
Bad mood and my blog sucks
OMIGAWD.
I have been reading a few of my friends' blogs and feel like my blog is pretty dumb. I am so catty, chatty, self-absorbed, pathetic (gee, Mrs. Han Solo. Are you just slightly depressed? Now if you are really saying "We know that you are catty, chatty and self-absorbed. Tell us something we don't know!" - That isn't going to help my mood.)
A samling of great blogs of my friends:
Stephanie
Alex
I love their blogs! Very inspiring to me. Both of them are really good writers. They have so many interesting things to say. When I get over myself, I will have to write about them. But for now, I think my blog is crap. I need a break from blogging. Nobody is making me blog, I know.
I have been reading a few of my friends' blogs and feel like my blog is pretty dumb. I am so catty, chatty, self-absorbed, pathetic (gee, Mrs. Han Solo. Are you just slightly depressed? Now if you are really saying "We know that you are catty, chatty and self-absorbed. Tell us something we don't know!" - That isn't going to help my mood.)
A samling of great blogs of my friends:
Stephanie
Alex
I love their blogs! Very inspiring to me. Both of them are really good writers. They have so many interesting things to say. When I get over myself, I will have to write about them. But for now, I think my blog is crap. I need a break from blogging. Nobody is making me blog, I know.
Harry Potter - in Ohio
My friend Helen's husband is a big Harry Potter fan. Their kids (Joe - 6, Patrick 5, Mikey 3) are funny, smart and very creative. Here's something that I found very amusing from an email she sent. I thought I should share. I found it hilarious, especially the part about the dementor....
"The boys - all three - are at the very moment in the midst of viewing the prisoner of Azkaban. Mikey is very fond of screaming his own version of "expecto patronum" and is currently running around the family room with a baby blanket as a hooded robe. Joe and Paddy are referring to him as a dementor and are, of course, staying away from him. Patrick, unfortunately, has picked up the very bad habbit of saying "bloody hell". We are trying to nip that one in the bud."
"The boys - all three - are at the very moment in the midst of viewing the prisoner of Azkaban. Mikey is very fond of screaming his own version of "expecto patronum" and is currently running around the family room with a baby blanket as a hooded robe. Joe and Paddy are referring to him as a dementor and are, of course, staying away from him. Patrick, unfortunately, has picked up the very bad habbit of saying "bloody hell". We are trying to nip that one in the bud."
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