Yummy!

Last night, I went out to dinner at Delmonico's Lobster House.

My fellow grad student and really cool chick JW's parents were in town from Texas and she invited me and DS (another fellow grad) out to meet them. I am sure you are thinking what I thought, "What the heck can I, a vegetarian and a person allergic to shellfish, eat at a lobster place?"

OMG - I had an amazing romaine salad with gargonzola, candied walnuts and a honey mustard dressing. It was good but dessert? Oh dessert was out of this world. JW and I shared a fresh apple tart with cinnamon ice cream and caramel sauce. So good. If I ever have an event where the people I am with want to go somewhere for dessert afterwards, I am going to lobby hard for Delmonico's. I had dreams last nght about that dessert. In fact, I am getting really hungry thinking about it. Yummy. Course, we will have to bring our platinum credit cards to eat there but so worth it.

Another reason to love my new job

The university is closed on Veteran's Day.

So I will be relaxing and taking it easy.

Or doing homework, one of the two.

So to all those veteran's out there,

thanks!

Nobody Likes Me..

Everybody hates me,
Guess I'll eat some


So I am sitting by the computer checking my email every few minutes like some teenage girl waiting for the phone to ring and waiting to see if more that two people can make it to this month's potluck. I know that we are all busy adults with multiple activities that fill our lives but.... Man, this is only a once a month event.

Just Sayin'.

Dewd

RING RING

I can't believe it's 6:30 already. At least it's Saturday and I can go back to sleep.

Rolls over to go back to sleep.





Wait, if it's Saturday, why did I forget to turn my alarm off?

What day is it?



"Crap, it's Tuesday..."




Yes, that is how my day began. I have never claimed to be the swiftest bulb in the morning but this was just pathetic. So of course I had to tell my friends.

Saturday

I had a project for my women's studies class that required me to follow someone around for a day and photograph them. I chose one of my favorite little people on the face of the earth, James. We had a blast, even when he got a little wild in the afternoon and decided he needed to sit on top of me. Eh, he's 3 1/2, not that heavy.

At any rate, although I am not much of a photographer, here is the best picture out of the two rolls.

Aren't these two of the most beautiful boys you have ever seen? Maybe I'm prejudice but what angels, James and 9 month old brother Thomas.

oh happy day...

Good Day

I've been a little whiney in my blog lately. Honestly though, I've had several good days. There has been a lot that I have enjoyed about my life lately.

I recently rediscovered the joy that is celery, greatly in part because of Meesh.

The fresh green crunchiness, the health of it all, the portability. Sometimes with a little peanut butter, sometimes some hummus. I love celery. It is just sometimes hard to get good celery. More often than not, the celery stays too long in the fridge and gets limp. And there is not much worse than limp celery...

I hope you all have a good day too.

Hmm

Do you ever have that nagging feeling that there is something you need to attend to but don't know what it is?

It's almost 11 and I have my long day at work tomorrow and I can't fall asleep. There is something bothering me but I can't quite put my finger on it. I know what I have to do tomorrow but still...

I got a lot done tonight. Not everything on my list and lord knows there was plenty that I needed to do that didn't get on the list. Maybe it is just hitting me how much work I need to do before the semester ends. I'm enjoying it all, everything just seems to take a little longer than I thought it would and there is never enough time.

Bonus: tonight I got to talk to JI on the phone while IM'ing with T3 and HV. Lots of fun.

Rewind/Fast Forward

i was going to write a cute entry about everything I did at the end of last week named rewind and then write a companion piece called fast forward and tell y'all what I have planned for the upcoming week but one word...

Midterms.

Ciao

Well...

Don't you hate when you were going to say something to someone and once you get their attention, you forget what you were going to say?

Man, I just signed in and I can't remember what I was going to write about...

Hookie

Yup, played hookie today. My first class didn't meet today because my prof was involved in the speak your mind presenter. Good speaker, just couldn't stay awake during the talk. Really, he was interesting but I didn't sleep well last night. I didn't have my paper for class #2 done and I was a little worried about staying and driving home at 10 at night that tired so I skipped my other two classes.

I'm such a rebel....

Me sneaking away from campus....

Quickie

Okay, I swear my mom has

When I came home last night, she wanted to know where I had been. Thankfully, I could say honestly that I had gone to visit Meesh. But she followed that question up with an 'all day?' sort of question. I don't remember what I answered but sheesh! It's like she can smell when I've been around testosterone. And this is not the first time she has done that in recent weeks.

In other news, after being out in the sun for a good part of Sunday, I was feeling ugly and like my skin really needed some TLC. I happened to have Mask of Magnaminty from

On hand and thank goodness for that. Technicaly it is past it's best by date but my skin feel so much better today. All in about 15 minutes, If you have never checked out this product, I highly recommend it.

Alright, gotta run but I did want to drop a line.

New Adventures

On Monday I started my new job/new schedule. I was hoping that I could get back to several activities that I have been neglecting in my life- working on papers before their due date, exercising, cooking, that sort of stuff. And while I do have more time on my hands, I find myself slipping back more into my bad behaviors than the productive ones. Below are some observances from the past week.

What a difference being able to sleep until 7 makes for me. Just one more hour helps me feel alert and have energy through out the day. Although I am thinking that I want to wake up a half hour earlier so I can have a more relaxed morning.

*yeah.. only did a half hour of yoga in the morning this week instead of getting on the treadmill 5 days a week like I planned. And the yoga tape I use is an hour long, I didn't finish the tape. I am determined not to be so lazy and to get off my rump and hit the treadmill at least 3 times this week.

Tuesday I had my first 'bad parking' experience at CSUN. I was an hour late to work because I could not find parking. I went to about four lots before taking a chance that the almost empty dirt lot two blocks north of the campus actually was campus parking and hiking my butt to the USU. Thank goodness I always bring a change of flats when I wear heels to work. I would have been sunk without them.

*I like my new boss. He is 'green' for those of you who are familiar with the True Colors personality system. For those of you who are not familiar with True Colors, it means his personality and preferred style is along the lines of a scientific line, he is very straight forward and direct. Works for me. Although it does take you back a bit for your boss to straight out tell you if you harass someone, steal, lie or cheat, he will do his level best to make sure you get fired. He doesn't tolerate shenanigans. But he also has no problem with me expressing my opinion, as long as 'the door is shut'. We shall see how it goes.

*I love working on campus. Not only is it saving me commute time and gas like you wouldn't believe, I hear more about events happening on campus and I actually am going to get to attend some of them instead of having to run back to work. Next Monday I am attending the first of this year's "Speak your mind" lecture series. The speaker is Reza Aslan, author if the book No god but God. He will be speaking on the status of Islam today. The event is free but is only available with a current CSUN id, one ticket per. They are trying to keep the series academic and safe for everyone since it is a controversial topic. In December, war protestor mom Cindy Sheehan will be speaking.


* This past week I attended a lecture given by Frank Warren, the creator of the Postsecret art project. If you have not already done so, visit his site, The postcards are funny, brave, sad and reveal just how human and connected we all are. New secrets are posted every Sunday. He also signed my Postsecret book. Two new books are coming out soon as well, one in the next couple of days called My Secret and another one in the first couple months of 2007 titled The Secret Life of Men and Women. Frank said that women send in the best secrets.

*On Wednesday, I had invited all my old coworkers to meet me at El Torito to hang out and visit since I didn't have time to visit before I left. As I predicted three people showed up. Ironically, two of them were former employees whom I have kept in touch with. I was okay with that, I knew who my true friends at the company were and if there weren't a bad cold running through the office, there were only three other people who would have come as well. Regardless, a good time was had by all.


Okay, I have to get going. But I wanted to update my blog and get back into the swing of doing so. Ciao!

Oops!

Sorry folks, I didn't realize until right now when I wrote the other entry that is has been almost 2 weeks since I posted. Sorry Meesh...

Glub, Glub

Yes, that is the sound of me almost getting my head above water. Not in time to do well on my first test in Rhetorical Theory but...I'm hoping the curve affords me a B. Right now, I have a 21 out of 34. Ouch! The highest grade I heard was a 31 and I saw a couple of 17. Fingers crossed.

Today is my first day of just work. I got up early with the intent of getting on the treadmill but alas, the treadmill would not start up. So I did a yoga tape instead. It has been a while since I did the yoga tape and boy, I have really tightened up since then. I hope to work on the treadmill, and a paper, tonight and alternate the treadmill with the yoga tape. Look Ma! Exercise!

Got to go and finish getting ready for the day. Have to find a post office and a bank on the way to work. Also have to hope I find parking, Tuesdays and Thursdays are very packed.

Sacrifice

I was off line all day today. Yes, I have made a great sacrifice and in the interest of not teaching the new accountant all my bad habit, I stayed off the internet all day.

Withdrawal... No bueno.

Moving on, I mention a while ago that I have to watch a couple of movies every other week to discuss in my Women's Studies film class. In case anyone is interested in following along, or if a local someone would like to watch them with me, here are the movies I have watched so far this semester as well as the movies that I will be watching over the next month. Mind you, school started the first week of September.

Watched so far:
Transamerica
Brokeback Mountain
The Terminator
The Matrix
Gladiator

Watching over the next month:
Bend it like Beckham
Moulin Rouge
Frida
A Time to Kill
Crash

The good news is that I feel like I know how I want to write my next paper and with any luck, I plan on starting it real soon, not waiting until the last minute like last time. The next paper for this class is due October 23. Last time I was worried about reaching the 3 page minimum requirement, this time I am worried about keeping it under the 5 page maximum requirement. What a change.

So, that is all for now, just a quick update. Going to bed before 9 - so ty-ty.

TGIM*

*Thank Goodness it's Monday

I know what you're thinking, why would I be happy it's Monday? Well, I am really glad that I only work a half day on Mondays. Now that I have a new job lined up, I just don't want to be here any more. I'm trying really hard to not quit doing my job these last two weeks. I'll be training a replacement, hopefully beginning tomorrow. That will make life at work a little more interesting.

Oh and they asked me to stay for three weeks. I said I would ask my new bosses but I didn't. I thought about it over the weekend and solicited advice from my parents and both my instincts and there advice was "no way." As Dad pointed out, I have made a commitment to the new job and why would I want to stay here any longer than I already am?

I "trained" for my new job on Saturday. I put trained in quotes since the main document I will be using we were not able to get into and I don't know how much I retained. We covered everything I have to do in 2 hours. I was fried by the end. We shall see how much I retained. I go back in for more training on Tuesday after work. Yeah, double duty. But only for 2 weeks.

And I am also glad that it is Monday because my 7 to 10 class is not meeting today. Yeah, I have a test in my first class but it is a scantron test and besides, I get to drop my lowest score...Which will probably be this test. That week and a half when I was sick really cost me. But we shall see how I did.

I better get going, I need to at least pretend I am working. 14 days and counting...

New music Guess

So today's musical guess by my co-worker was:

Performing "The Sunrise [Nevins Radio Mix]*"

Real Artist

Duran Duran


*Courtesy of Zippersparks

Life of a Student

It's amazing the stuff you find to do instead of studying when you are a student. Tonight, I actually had "nothing" to do so I was going to get my notes organized and start really studying for my communications theory test which was moved from Friday to Monday. I mean, I really need to study and plus, I have a chapter to read by Friday that I thought I would have the weekend to read.

So instead of organizing my notes I:

organized my desk
cleared my junk off of the dining room table because I know how much it bugs mom
sorted through all the papers in my in-box
selected a new box to keep all of Ms. S's letters and cards in
finally addressed and bundled up the last two B-day CD's I have to mail
wrote two thank you notes
downloaded an iTunes update
did some online banking
started loading music into my Mac
wrapped a gift for Bev to give her Saturday
edited my playlists on my PC iTunes (I haven't reformatted my iPod for my Mac, but now I am a step closer)

and last but not least

scubbed the floorboards and fronts of the cupboards in the bathroom.

Because these are all things that sneak up on you that urgently have to be done and right now!

Yeah, I'll study tomorrow.

Oh yeah!

The University Student Union has offered me the job, I got it! I am on my way out the door. I get to write a letter of resignation tonight and send it in tomorrow. Well, I think I will wait until Friday, Wednesday's are very busy days for my department.

I am very excited because I really did not want to be in my current job by the time January 1 rolled around but I am also very nervous about leaving. I will really miss three of my coworkers as I feel that we have developed a strong working relationship, they have a great sense of humor and I feel bad that I am pulling myself as a resource for them. I know I am replaceable but if the department track record is any indication, it is going to take a long time to find a replacement and there are parts of my job that I quietly take care of things and I don't think my supervisor's realize that I keep certain parts of the department running smoothly with out being officially assigned to them.

There are also parts of my job that I will not miss. I have to keep that in mind.

I am nervous about taking the job because it is less pay, less hours and no benefits. So, my budget will really change. I believe I can do it, there will just be less and less extras in my life. The side note being, since I will have more time to myself, I can cut back on my clothes shopping as I will have time to finally make all the clothes that I bought fabric and patterns for but have never made. Theoretically. And I will spend less on gas as I will not be going to work and then to the university and then back to the University. One stop shopping people.

There is also a small part of me that fears I have bitten off more that I can chew with this job.

But the hired me. And I know I am smart and they are actually going to have me start training with the person who currently has the job before my two weeks notice is up.

At any rate, my life is going to be changing and with any luck, it will all be for the best. Maybe I will even be able to start running on the treadmill again.

Name that tune!

I know when I first posted about Musical jeopardy on August 28, I promised it would be a regular weekly occurrence. And believe me, I have been given plenty of entries for musical jeopardy. But life has been crazy and I have been collecting the trivia for the last few weeks. To get caught up, here is a summary of all the guesses my cubiclemate has made in the last three weeks.

September 5
Sunday Morning by

Rob Thomas.

Real artist:


September 6
He almost got one right.

He guessed that Ex-girlfriend was on Gwen Stefani's solo album. He got the singer right, the song is just from a No Doubt album, Tragic Kingdom I believe.

September 8
Teardrop by

Christina Aguilera

Nope, it is by Massive Attack



September 12
'Oh, this song is on Fiona Apple's new album...'

uh, the song was

Thank you by Dido.

September 19
Can you Feel it by

Justin Timberlake.



Real Artist:


Second guess that same day:

guessed as



I found out this week that he was not raised in the United States, so some of these songs would be unfamiliar. But I also think he may be tone deaf since he cannot hear the difference in the artists voices. At any rate, I will try to not let the musical jeopardy build up so much in the future.

TGIF

Wow, so when I did my fast update earlier this week, I left off a couple key components of why I have not been blogging lately.

First and foremost, I lost the battle with the cold and became really sick from Friday through the weekend. On Wednesday I ended up in bed by 8 pm and that did me alot of good. I am finally getting back on my feet. I can tell because my textbooks are starting to make sense!

They gave me a new computer at work. While there are benefits to that - like the turbo charged the thing and I have oodles of memory available - I have a different internet browser than I did before and it doesn't always let me get to Blogger. Damn privacy report and work restrictions!

They also upgraded me from the Microsoft suite 1997 to 2000 and when I use Word then copy and paste into Blogger, I end up with all these weird spaces and code in Blogger. What a hassle. And it suddenly became harder to upload pictures to Blogger. I didn't have these problems before...

So while I have a paper that I will be working on this weekend, I do have a couple posts up my sleeve and plan on publishing them. I had a pretty good day today, I hope you did too.

Oh - I interviewed for the second position today. I took the time last night to iron my clothes and I even starched the collar and cuffs. Yeah, I 'm a nerd. It is basically another accounting position but with the University. I am one of two applicants and they should let me know by next Wednesday. If I get it, hooray! If I don't, I lost out to one person. Doh! We shall have to wait and see.

Oops

So I made a small tactical error when setting up my school schedule this fall. I left myself 10 minutes between my last two classes which run from 4:20 to 6:50 and then 7:00 to 9:45. Oh and in case you are wondering, yes, the second class is kept for the entire time.

So, I didn't leave myself time to get dinner. And trying to eat a room temperature soy bolongua sandwich.... Ah I can hear you all gagging already. Believe me, I thought I was going to yak during my last class.

And I didn;t have any money in my wallet, naturally, to hit the vending machines during breaks.

So, my two meals so far have been, week one) peanut butter crackers, applesauce and soy milk - not fillling or satisfying in any way but travelled well. Week two) Soy cheese and bolonga sandwich which did not travel well and peanut butter crackers. Any suggestions anyone? I do have a hour break between my first and second class....


I was really craving mac n cheese for lunch tomorrow but I was just not in the mood to go grocery shopping although I did make the all important stop at the bank for some cash on the way home. Damn WAMU doesn't have a drive through ATM of course. At any rate, I almost cried when I came home, opened the kitchen cupboard and saw a couple of the little microwave neon mac n cheese cups. I am so taking one for lunch tomorrow.

Big Sigh

So I didn't get the job I interviewed for this morning. I really didn't feel good about it when I walked out of the room so it wasn't a big shock.

Two upsides though. 1. They let me know right away so that I can move on to plan B. And 2. the coordinator asked if she could forward my resume over to another person at the organization for consideration for another position. That was nice of her and she didn't have to do that so I guess I made a good impression even though I wasn't the best canidate, right? So I thanked her for her time this afternoon and let her know that I was open to a different employment opportunity. Doesn't hurt. Who knows, maybe this position would be even better.

So there you have it folks. One opportunity closes and another possible adventure begins.

Catch up

Still trying to get a handle on my life. This week will be my first week of a full school and a full work schedule. So far it has been a challenge to balance everything. I always find that it takes me about 2 weeks to adjust to a new schedule. I tend to walk around like a zombie during these transition periods. In the meantime, here is a brief collection of thoughts or events that have happened over the last week or so.

Monday is my longest day, two of my classes only meet on Mondays so I am on campus from about 1 to 10. This week my last class was sent home early which allowed me to go pick up the last two readers I needed.

My three day a week class continues to progress. I have managed to stay ahead of the reading so far and today, I had a very nice walk and talk with a fellow grad student, J. She's very cool. She just moved to California from Texas and is a Virgo, just like me. I hope that she stays in the class as she is trying to get an equivalence out of it. I am hoping we get a chance to hang out more. It is always nice to meet potential new friends.

I was originally really looking forward to my women's studies class which is entitled, Sex lies and media. I mean, we have to watch two movies on our own time pretty much once a week and considering that I own half of the films already, I thought that was a good sign and this class would be right up my alley. And the class is going to be involved with a film festival which once you read through the lines, is a GLBT film festival on campus. There is a lot of work involved with this class but it sounded great. Ironically, I took a women and media class as an undergraduate and really enjoyed it. We are even using the same text book, although I had to buy the updated version as I had one from 1993 and the updated version is copywrite 2002. Plus, I checked and the first two articles I needed to read for class were not in the older vesion.

Another cool thing about this class, my godfather coauthored an article in this version. It is so weird to recognize and know one of the authors listed on the cover, although I am sad to note they removed the article by bell hooks.

Now the bad part. I don't like the teacher. She drones on and on and this was the first class. I am hoping it gets better but an not optimistic. Plus, the class discussion got pretty hostile. And I don't mean students getting hostile with each other, I mean there were some pretty venomous rants against men and media and society in general. Yes, there are problems in the world but the level of rancour was shocking to me.

I like my last class, rhetorical theory. I don't know if I will get the actual therory but I like the professor, he seems interesting.

I am still preparing for the interview on Friday. It was moved up to 10:30 and I was sent a 2 page questionnaire to fill out and bring to the interview. They gave me a lot of material and I spent a good hour on line tonight exploring the website. Still nervous and don't quite feel prepared but I am still working towards it. One of the new questions asks what student associations/clubs I would join if I got the job. My first thought was, Yeah, right. Like I have the time as a graduate student. But is kind of the job description. I searched through the clubs and associations and found a few I can list that sound interesting. And you will be interested to know that there is a CSUN Cat people club. I am not kidding.

Work is work. I wonder if my bosses will see that I can get my work done working less hours. Hello! I've been telling them forever that I don't have enough work to keep me busy during the work week. And this included time off for a follow up eye doctor appointment and an 'appointment' on Friday. BTW - my eyes are fine. I had popped one stitch in my left eye so the Dr removed it. My next appointment is in November as a sixth month checkup. I cannot believe it has been 6 months since I had the first surgery.

Okay, I really need to get of the computer. I am fighting a cold and I am determined to win. Plus it is another fun filled and action packed day for me tomorrow. Is it sad that I am looking forward to a day when all I do is go to work, I don't have to run over to campus? I love school but running back and forth sucks.

I know there are probably lots of typos but whatever, live with it.

Eek!

Okay, I have had a lot going on with work, school and personal stuff the last few weeks and I was going to write an update entry this weekend but..

At any rate, I had to share, I just got a phone call. The graduate assistantship I applied for on August 24? I'm interviewing on this Friday at 11. I really really want this position, so please think good thoughts for me. And if you have any interview tips, I'll take them. I am really really nervous.

Thankful

This is my 100th post. How fitting that this post is a reflection of some of the things I have learned over the past year. Thanks for hanging in there with me.

I had a wonderful birthday. I heard from everyone, some friends multiple times. So I wanted to take a moment to reflect on all the things I learned this past year and some things I am grateful for.

"Bionic eyes are cool. There is nothing like being able to see the clock when insomnia hits at 4 in the morning."

"I think there is a license frame curse with Colleges. I never purchased anything from my undergrad institute and managed to graduate. But I bought a license frame with the college name on it for my first graduate program and didn't finish it. I gave Ms. S a college license plate frame and Ms. B bought one for herself and neither of them have a degree from that particular university either. Maybe I'm just being superstitious but I am not buying anything with the college's name until I graduate."

"Sometimes, it doesn't pay to be nice to people, they will try to walk all over you."

" I really need to get over my I-don't-like-to-drive and my I-don't-like-to-talk-on-the-phone thing. If I don't, I will miss out on a lot of my life. I'm starting to take steps to getting over these bad habits but I still have a ways to go."

"It's okay to ask for something you want. It doesn't mean that you will necessarily get it, but you will never know if you don't try."

"I've had a lot of fun with my brother over the past year, Yes, sometimes he drove me crazy but I think we have gotten to know each other better."

"While driving to work with a companion was fun in it's own way. I do enjoy a solitary morning commute to wake up and think things through as I drive through the canyon."

"Sometimes you just have to suck it up and go for it."

"If you are not willing to open up to your therapist in the first few moment of a session, you are wasting their time and your money. Just say it, there is nothing, and I mean NOTHING that they haven't heard before. You can't shock them."

"I have space issues."

"I'm not crazy, there was a reason for my past behavior. My fears were grounded in reality, not fiction."

"Never underestimate the value of good friends. A good friend will disagree with you without arguing, will administer a swift kick in the butt when needed and if they can't be there with you when you need them, do the next best thing and send in the Calvary. Most importantly, a true friend can put you back together with emotional duct tape."

Music jeopardy

Introducing a new weekly feature on my blog, bad guesses made by my co-worker as to who the artist playing on my iPod is. I've taken to writing them down because some of them are down right hilarious. And you all benefit from it. : )

So here was last week's guess.

Introducing "Desert Rose" by Clay Aiken!


Real Artist:


P.S. Aiken is in the spell check dictonary. Things I never wanted to know....

For a good time, get yourself down to Idlewild

Wow, what an amazing movie. I loved the music the acting and the costumes were to die for. If you hadn't considered going to see this movie, reconsider, please.

I hadn't heard much about this movie until Zipper started talking about it. Then I started seeing the trailers and thought to myself - Yeah, I have to see this one in the theater. Big Boi and Andre 3000 are amazingly talented performers. They can sing, rap, write music, act and if you stay for the credits, (recommended) you get to see Andre 3000 tap dance too. Macy Grey turns in a great performance as a caberet singer believe it or not, I didn't even recognize Ben Vereen and Terrence Howard plays an amazing villian as usual. There is even a cameo by Patti LaBelle.

Its a really good time. I haven't enjoyed a movie that much in a long time. Check it out. (Sorry T3 - rated R)

I Did it!

Yes, I faxed my first job application over to the university today. I really want this graduate Assistantship. It pays crap but the hours are better and the experience and connections I would make would be phenomenal.

Fingers crossed please.

Okay, what is up with blogger? Half of my toolbar is gone. WTF?

Yummy!

Have you seen those really cute commercials on TV for Pepsi Jazz? Well, I was super excited because:

A) I'm a Pepsi girl. and

B) The Pepsi Jazz are Diet Pepsi - I generally only drink diet sodas.

They have two flavors, Strawberries and Creame (No, thank you) and Black Cherry - French Vanilla (Yes Please!). I've been looking for a 20 oz. bottle of the stuff to try to no avail.

Until today.

Today I had the chance to purchase and try the Black Cherry - French Vanilla Pepsi Jazz and I like it. Some might say that it is a artificial tasting cherry/vanilla flavor but hey, I'm the girl who likes the banana flavored runts and the 'good in a disgusting kind of way' as Ms. D is fond of saying, treat below:

Oh Boy!

I'm havin' corn for dinner!

The 'rents picked some up at the local farmer's market and they are going to have the pot bubbling by the time I get home. Oh Boy!



I don't know if it is more sad or pathetic that having corn on the cob for dinner is a total highlight for me on a Friday night. I'm being a little silly with this entry but seriously, I'm looking forward to the corn.

This is getting redonkulous

Okay, I was actually in a good mood today when I walked into the building. I was yesterday too. It never fails though. Less than an hour into my day, I'm in a foul mood. And actually not for the same reason that I was cranky yesterday. A whole different thing.

I really have to stop complaining and do something about getting a better job. That's it, I am going to spend one night a week applying for jobs. If I don't put myself out there, how can anything change? I hope to apply to at least two jobs a week until I get a better job. As long as I have the chance of getting benefits and part time work so I can concentrate on school, I'll take an hourly pay cut. I've survived on little to no money before.

I actually received two emails this week for Teaching assistantships on campus. I emailed back on one of them asking them to review the application I turned in with the application for school, the other one I need to read up on and put together the application and cover letter. I think that one also requires letter of reference or at least references... Job hunting, as Ms. S can attest, is hard work. But how can I continue to complain about something if I am not willing to make a change.

As Ghandi says, "Be the change you wish to see in the world." Not really what he meant but you get the sentiment.

Pointy knives and hot coals

I don't consider myself a violent person but seriously, I want to hurt the person who shares my cubicle. I thought perhaps he is just young but no, he's stupid.

I want to hurt him. A lot. Just so he will shut the fuck up.

Sigh

While I am never bored, since "only boring people get bored", I have found myself to be "entertainment challenged" as of late. And that is with a day's worth of work to do.





P.S. Gingerstep - I swear I will get to posting something about my surgery. I have even started writing it, I just haven't had time to finish it....

Ten, ten shopping days, ah ah ah

Yes, that's my really bad Count impression.

Just a little reminder about my B-day.

Carry on.

AUGGHHHH!

Damn Budgets! There is a class I have to take before I enter my program and I just found out that the section that I really wanted to be in, which would work better for my work schedule, is cancelled.

Don't they know that the world revolves around me?

Too Early

It is way too early to be at work. I've been here since 7:30.

PCs

So I pass this place called PC's Bar and Grill on the way to work each morning. I noticed today that the marquee says they have Grumpy Hour.

Grumpy Hour. Instead of Happy Hour. That cracks me up.

If I hadn't actually been inside the place, which looks like you'll catch an STD from the toilet seat, I would so be there.

Alas, the place is major skanky. But at least they have a sense of humor.

Speechless

Today, the person I share a cubicle with said, "Oh I love that song. Debbie Gibson is a good singer."

I had my iPod on shuffle. The song playing at the time was "Giving Him Something He can Feel" by En Vogue.

Doh!

Green thoughts

I've had this post written for a while but kept forgetting to grab the digital camera and download the second photo. Finally remembered last night.

I’m not a hardcore environmentalist who rides a bicycle everywhere or looks for only organic fruits and vegetables to eat, but I do check out a candidates stand on environmental issues when voting and I do recycle as much as possible. We only have one planet and we need to take care of it. I am also concerned about the amount of deforestation that is taking place in the world.

The reason I bring this up is a prime example in my own backyard, so to speak. The corporate complex I work in has been under construction for, oh about a year now. Some of the upgrades have been rerouting and upgrading the sewer system, widening entrances, and putting in a new power sub-station. I know the rent on the building we are in is very pricey for the space we are getting, so in a way, it is nice to see the management company actually put money back into improving the property. My company actually shares a building with the management company, we have half the bottom floor and all of the second, they have the top floor of our building. There are a couple conference rooms in the other half of the first floor.

I digress. The most recent big project which is affecting our ‘campus’ is the creation of a parking structure. It is badly needed. The parking stalls were small, not clearly marked and there were just not enough of them to go around, especially with the amount of SUVs in the parking lot. There were a lot of little trees planted through out the parking lot, which while too small to provide much shade, did provide a touch of green in an other wise ma-made environment. The project is scheduled to take 9 months. They started tearing up the asphalt about two weeks ago. Here is where they currently are on the project.

Our office had windows that face this Eastern parking lot which is being torn up. One day, I stood and watched as the bulldozers worked across the lot. I saw them carrying several buckets full of green groundcover over to a dumpster and pile it in. It was at this point, about a week ago that it occurred to me, “They are going to cut down and throw away all of those little trees in the parking lot, aren’t they?”

This thought made me very sad. What a waste of perfectly healthy trees. We need every leafy bit of green possible to combat the pollution that is created in the valley. These poor defenseless trees may not be very big but they were green, living things. They are just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Stupid construction project.

So imagine my surprise as I was walking from the overflow parking lot across the campus to my building and saw this sight:

Yes, I am happy to report that I was wrong. The construction company did not chop all these trees down and consign them to the garbage. They were actually placed in wooden planters and I think you can see from the picture, some of them are being replanted along the newly re-topped parking lot to the West of the parking lot they were originally in. This made me so happy that I borrowed a digital camera and took the above pictures for this blog entry.

Ah, it is nice to be wrong once in a while. Especially about the killing of trees. Finally, a reason to smile on my way to work each day.

Breathe easy, plant a tree.

Weekend fun

Well, I had a very nice weekend, I hope you all did too. On Saturday, I got up around 9:30 and cleaned around the house since I had invited Meesh, T3 and JI over for a day of swimming and hanging out. Yeah, we didn’t swim but we still had a good time. JI was delayed due to a family emergency, so T3, Meesh and I spent a lovely afternoon together. The girls arrived noonish and hadn’t eaten, so as soon as dad got back from Trader Joe’s, we had a little lunch feast. We had four types of Hummus – regular, garlic, eggplant and roasted tomato (my fave) – with Akmak crackers, mini wheat pitas, several types of cheese and three types of quiche – spinach, artichoke and mushroom (frozen – please, do you think I cook?).

Afterwards we sat around and visited before heading over to Golden Spoon for frozen yogurt. So good! Meesh had cookies ‘n cream, T3 had St. Patrick’s mint and Just Chocolate and I had classic coffee. After finishing our treat, we headed over to Beverly’s fabrics to check out all the stuff they had and make fun of all the funny fabrics. We spent the entire time laughing.

We returned to mi casa and while T3 flipped though magazines looking for a new hairstyle, Meesh and I power napped for a good 20 minutes or so. Yup, passed right out. And apparently, we both twitch in our sleep. Meesh her feet and me my big toes. T3 thought it was hilarious. After that, we checked out some stuff online, Meesh went shopping in my closet and became to proud new owner of two tops and a pair of shoes. We hung out talking until 7 when we headed into the Valley to visit JI at her place.

That was a success, JI is a very good hostess. We decided that Meesh and JI had been separated at birth, played with the ‘kids’ a dashund named Ted and a dingo look-alike names ‘Evil’ or Eve for short. JI feed us and then we hung out on the patio with her roommate and a couple friends who came over right before we headed out for the day.

Sunday, I headed out to NoHo to meet up with Meesh and her bf. The three of us headed down to Melrose to get a hair cut. It’s an okay cut for me, I wasn’t blown away but I also wasn’t looking for a hat to hide my head right away either. I believe that you should leave a salon or barbershop feeling beautiful. Not my experience but I will go back.

We had lunch at this little place on Fairfax called Eat A Pita. Good Greek food and very decently priced. It had a lovely patio with shaded seating and we even had entertainment with our meal. We had a celebrity sighting. We saw:

Yup, John Malkovich. That's not the entertaining part. The poor guy, he had some crazy on the street standing at the gate and preaching at him for the majority of the time he was there. He looks and sounds exactly like he does on film.

We went to a flea market at the corner of Fairfax and Melrose for a little while and then headed back to NoHo. I returned home from there and had a very nice and relaxing evening doing nothing but staring at the tube.

Good times, good times...

Freaks

I don’t know about the people I work with, I really don’t.

Let me back up here.

When going to the bathroom with a friend, I have been know to continue a conversation we were having while both or one of us are in the stall. I’ve had conversations with people who entered while I was at the sink, they enter the stall and we keep talking. Basically, as long as the conversation starts face to face, it doesn’t bother me that the conversation continues while one or both go about their business, if you know what I mean.

However…

I went to the toity at work this morning and there was already someone in one of the stalls when I entered. We didn’t make any kind of visual contact, although from certain clues outside, I knew who was in there. But she didn’t know who I was. I could have been anyone entering, even a customer. So I enter the stall to go about my business and suddenly, from the stall next to me I hear,

Her: “Don’t you find that when the ad line opens, it makes you want to pee more?”

Me: (Pause) Uh, no.

Her: “Oh. Well, it does me.”

CAUTION, WEIRDOS WORKING.

There is also a sign that is posted on the inside of each stall door that says,

“Ladies Please help maintain the cleanliness of the bathroom & clean up after yourself. Thank you!”

From the day I started working here I have always wondered, “What kind of dirty birdies were leaving what kind of mess to necessitate the posting of that sign inside the stalls?” I wish I had a picture to show you the sign. Its really there, I swear. I’ve always wondered if the men’s bathroom has the same sign addressed to the men.

I love my job...

Monday

I have the gas. But since the person I share the cubicle with has already annoyed me this morning, he is just going to have to suffer.

Friday

I think it is time I start searching for a new job.

Grrrr

I hate my bosses.

Thursday

Phew! I got lunch from the cafe here at work and boy, they give you a lot of food. I'm sleepies!

I have been really busy after work but I promise to sit down and write a real blog soon. Good news, my bro got my new Mac online and I can now blog at home without my mouse jumping as I type!

Last night & today

So this was me last night from about 3 in the afternoon until I woke up this morning. I had a great post, with pictures, planned for last night but all I did was sleep.

Now here I am at work and though I have managed to dull the physical headache which started up again this morning, today is one big mental headache. I need my own cubicle - bad.

That post is coming much later.

Countdown

Jeez, I can’t believe it is August already. Yet I know the calendar is correct and it says August 1^st. August means one thing to me, countdown to my birthday.

Yes, that’s right, shopping days left til my birthday.

Now, it may seam a little weird that I countdown to my birthday like it is some major holiday but I have issues, lord do I have issues. My birthday is one of them. There is this trend among my friends, and please, since most of you read this, don’t take this as a scolding – I am just relaying past events –there is a trend of forgetting my birthday. Yes, that’s right, last year I got exactly two phone calls acknowledging my birthday. Ironically, I had one friend call me a day early but hey, she still remembered so that was awesome. Because I was pretty hurt that I didn’t hear from anyone else, not even a email a day late.

I only brought up how much it hurt me to two of my friends at the time so this may be news to a couple people. This is another of my issues. As opinionated and loudmouth as I can be about women’s issues, I cannot seem to speak up when I am hurt by those around me.

It is still a concept that I struggle with but my therapist says that I have the right to ask for what I want. So here it goes:

I want my actual birthday to be acknowledged by those people who are close to me. The actual day. It doesn’t even have to be in the form of a phone call, a two line email is enough for me. As long as it is sent by 11:59 PM on August 24^. I don’t want a huge party thrown or fancy gifts just a couple simple words. Happy birthday. On the actual day.

So to clear up a common mistake among my friends, let me clarify. My birthday is on August

I feel like a complete ass posting this.