Boredom's Bounty

Is it 5:30 yet?

2012-02-03T16:59:00.000-05:00

My job is killing me. That's what it feels like.

The paperwork.

The in-fighting.

The high school style cliques and drama.

The fake smiles disguised as friendliness.

The nosiness disguised as concern.

The constant fear that the other shoe is going to drop.

It's. Too. Much. I'm not averse to hard work, but work should not be this hard - not in this sense.

I feel like I'm drowning sometimes. Too often I wake up in the morning, before my alarm goes off, (hubby leaves extra early in the am so he's already enjoying his work day by then :) and just stare at the clock silently enjoying my me time until I have to get up, get ready, make my two hour commute, work in the shark jaws of Hell's high school's sweatiest gym locker and make my two hour trek back home (and yes I had the whole 'Gotta get up. Gotta get going. Gonna see a friend of mine' Winnie the Pooh theme in my head as I wrote that). As much as my feet drag as I walk to work (shoulders hunched over, scowl firmly in place), they rush me home with the apparent speed of light at the end of the day. I am so consistently elated to leave the pit - to leave the City - at the end of the day I can hardly stand it.

Some ridiculous bullsh*t-label worthy nonsense was initiated at my job yesterday. When I say BS worthy, I almost want to have a solid gold trophy made up and handed to this person during the first annual BS parade. With the stuff that goes on here, we'd have a parade every other day. It was insanity that began late in the workday. Thinking that it would be a dead issue today, I actually came to work in a somewhat pleasant mood. I'd decorated P's office for her birthday (office luau) before I left, gone out for Chinese-Indian cuisine last night, had an insane amount of laughs, headed home to my sweetie, and even gotten a good night's sleep - and today is Friday! All was well...until I get here.

I was told to do something yesterday that I did not feel comfortable doing until I had facts in place for myself (instead of relying on information from others), and apparently that turned into a huge 'with me or against me' campaign. Just because I choose to handle things a different way, does not mean that I am 'with' or 'against' anyone. I'm sick of this workplace faction crap. When did it not become enough to just come to work to work? To be respectful and personable to people, regardless of whether you like them or not, because you're supposed to be a grownup in a professional environment. This is a job. It's not called happy, fun playtime because it's not recess, it's f'ing work.

I'm just so frustrated. It's silly and more than a little distressing that some people can't seem to grow up and not simply just grow older.

Seriously, is it 5:30, yet? I need a movie marathon weekend. I really want to see "Haywire", "The Grey", "Underworld: Awakening", and "The Artist", but I also want to see "Contraband", "Man on a Ledge", and "One for the Money" (even though the casting for that is 100% wrong. Katherine Heigl? Seriously?). I may have to construct a make-shift dart board and toss a few darts. Three back to back movies with my hubby should be enough to get me out of the funk of this week. Maybe. We'll see. Next week has to be better. Maybe I'll be the lucky Powerball winner tomorrow (oh how I wish upon wishes). That would be exactly what I need :)

Hope you all had a better week than I did. Feel free to vent or rave in a comment :) Either way, have a great weekend everyone.

Oh, and tomorrow's "Thank a Mailman (or woman) Day", so be sure you do that :)

What's with the shoes?

2012-02-01T13:05:00.001-05:00

If anyone was looking to play an impromptu game of detective - Whose shoe is this? Edition - you could have had a field day at the corner of 46th and Madison yesterday afternoon. These two pairs of mens shoes were lined up in such a way that it looked like the previous owners stepped out of them and kept going, or disappeared altogether. For all I know, the mystery shoes are still there, patiently waiting. I commented to P that perhaps Marty McFly simply didn't right the wrongs in those two people's pasts quick enough, but she just gave me a quirky look and didn't respond.

How she could have held a response back, I have no clue. BTTF humor is too good to be ignored :) That movie series is so great. My husband and I even had a Back to the Future table at our wedding. (So you don't think it was some random DeLorean-esque table on the dance floor, each of our guest tables was actually named after and tailored toward one of our favorite movies. I'll include the full movie list at the end, if anyone's interested.) What with the DeLorean time machine (yes, I know it's no 'bigger on the inside, multi-room, yes, it even has a swimming pool' Tardis - and yes, I do love Doctor Who too), great story, and Michael J. Fox, this movie is a classic. And it even has a crazy old Doctor who, while not as adorable as any of Dr. Who's recent regenerations, definitely marches to the beat of his own drummer.

I got off topic a bit, I think. Shoes. Yes. What is with all the abandoned shoes I'm seeing in the city? I understand seeing one sad and broken or lost shoe, but when it's one, two or three pairs placed together, neatly on the edge of the sidewalk - is that some art thing?

Anyway, back to work. This paperwork pile isn't going to stare at itself.

Have an excellent Hump Day everyone; and it's February 1st - Happy National Freedom Day!

Oh, the list :) The tables at our wedding were Jerry MaGuire, Clue, With Honors, Stardust, Jurassic Park, The 10th Kingdom (yes, I know it's a mini-series and not a movie, but it is the BEST!), Top Gun, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, Bad Boys, and Back to the Future. It was amazing, and everyone got it and loved it. Simply amazing :)

Conjunction Junction :)

2011-10-28T11:17:00.002-04:00

This was the awesome shirt I wore to work yesterday.

"Schoolhouse Rock" really did rock :)

So, what's your function?

Have a great day everyone!

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun...and we certainly did :)

2011-10-17T01:08:00.007-04:00

So, my totally tubular 80's bachelorette party happened last night :) It was a blast. The ladies and I headed over to Awesome 80's Prom in Manhattan. Traveling on the train in full 80's garb was it's own brand of fun - though it was also NY Comic Con weekend so we weren't the only one roaming the city in costumes, by far. I was a bit sad to be missing Comic Con with my sweetie this year, but hanging out with my family and friends was completely worth it :)

A handful of us stopped at Murphy & Gonzalez for dinner before the show, which was delicious.

Yum!

I'd never been there - never even heard of the place - but the fajita pita (above) was amazing! Great way to start the night.

I was pleasantly surprised by the 80's Prom. I expected less interaction, and more play-type show, but the characters interacted and danced with attendees. I signed a yearbook, danced with the foreign exchange student, got a scare from the bad boy, and got a stage quite a few times. Everyone had a blast (from the past) and that made the night perfect for me :)

Enjoy the pics!

The drama teacher and principal of Wanaget High (Class of 1989)

Some madness was starting here...

and continuing here.

The principal toward the end of the night.

The cast of characters

She was something else. One she liberated her dance partner from another bachelorette party, she proceeded to dance the night away with him - until she dropped him to dance with a pillar.

There was definitely a lot of dancing fun. Just ask these two :)

Hope you all had a great weekend! Happy Monday :)

Tick Tock goes the RSVP clock

2011-10-10T02:25:00.005-04:00

Dear lackadaisical RSVPer(s):

Why is it that people treat RSVP cards like suggestions? I mean, come on! The card is just begging to be completed and returned. I know you have a lot going on in your life, but that's why I made it nice and easy for you. All you have to do is check 'Yes' or 'No' and mail the card back! The envelope is already addressed and stamped, itching to be dropped in a mailbox. No need to travel back in time and flag down the ye'old pony express, send a smoke signal, fly across country to hand deliver it...none of that. Just drop it in the mail and the handy dandy men and women of the USPS will do the rest. Seriously!

To the non-RSVPers that I actually work with?! You see me almost every day. Every DAY! We work feet away from each other, and the 'Oh, I left it on my dresser this morning' excuse is only funny the first time...maybe the first 2...no, just the once.

The reply by date was 10/1. 10/1! It's 10/10. Now, I know today is Columbus Day and the post office is closed, so feel free to take all of today to work up the strength to pick up a pen and check the card. Take all day if need be...you're busy and picking up pens is hard :( So, eat your Wheaties, down a couple of RedBulls, man up and mail the card on Tuesday.

Thank you in advance,
A bride-to-be who needs an accurate final count

I've scared several of my coworkers, and I like it

2011-09-23T16:06:00.002-04:00

If my new office door knocker doesn't say "Happy Halloween and come on in," then what does :) Yes, my coworker, P, did convince me to put my Halloween decorations up already. Where is the year going? Time is flying. I'll be a married woman soon! Have an amazing weekend everyone!

Yet another way to get some delicious Mountain Dew goodness

2011-09-02T22:11:00.001-04:00

Mountain Dew coolatta? Yes, please :D

Margarita? Yes, please!

2011-08-30T13:55:00.002-04:00

So, I was stuck in Scranton, PA on Saturday (the 27th) due to Irene and her irritable self, but it wasn't so bad. Ahhh, the beauty that is perfect wings and perfectly made Margaritas. Quaker Steak and Lube, I love you :)

Ice Cream Overload!

2011-07-22T15:14:00.002-04:00

Okay, so a Producer sent us ice cream today! It was almost hard sampling some of the 10 different ice creams and two sorbets that were delivered (after yesterday's monster cone), but I powered through it like a champ.

Holy crap, it was sinfully good! I had a bit of caramel, a touch of toffee, a smidgen of peanut butter, a helping of blueberry pie and a lovely strawberry and lemon sorbet palate cleanser :) TGIF indeed.

Happy Friday everybody!

Oh yeah, the cone.

2011-07-21T16:41:00.002-04:00

Ok, I was told to "get anything I want, so yes, I did get a double cone with rainbow sprinkles. Almost nothing tastes better than free :)

A touch of happiness = Free ice cream day!

2011-07-21T16:26:00.002-04:00

My goodness, it has been a long time since I've posted. I've miss it (and you guys and gals)!

I've been a busy bee at work, school, and especially with wedding planning, etc. I never doubted that planning one's wedding was a stressful time, but the reality is even more ridiculous than even my vivid imagination could have dreamed up. Relative drama, in-law drama, friend one-upsmanship drama, florist drama, 'oh, you're not having a church ceremony' drama...the list grows everyday. I feel like Nell Carter - geez, just Gimme a Break already :)

There was a highlight at work today though. Free ice cream from Mr. Softee!!! I did actually want to scream when it was time to get some, but the HR Rep was down there and who needs that kind of attention.

Of course, everyone who wanted ice cream had to RSVP and pick up their numbered ticket first, but it was so worth it. It's about 2 million degrees (ok, ok 97 - but it feels like 106!) outside and taking a sweet treat break sounded just dandy to me. If only they had a free frozen margarita day (virgin's okay) tomorrow. It's supposed to feel even hotter then :( Is there an 'I hate summer weather, and feel all icky because I'm sweating too much' emoticon?

Now, back to work. Hope you're all keeping cool somehow.

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2011-05-29T20:58:00.000-04:00

On the road again, finally going home. I loved the weekend, but I have a paper to write, proofread & submit by midnight. As it is, I'll probably only have an hour to do everything plus the two discussion questions for the week, of course. This sucks. One high point, though, is that my mom, sisters and I are going to pick up my mom's mother-of-the-bride dress and my sister's shoes tomorrow. This is the 2nd try for both, so hopefully everything is good this time as I would love to check a few more things off my (ever-growing) to do list. Have a great rest of the day everyone.

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2011-05-29T10:01:00.001-04:00

Sis 1, K, is graduating this weekend - again! She's receiving her second bachelors (neuroscience last year, and psychology this year) and is off to grad school in the fall. Congrats sis!!! I am so proud of her :) Sis 2, S, was inducted to the foreign language honor society this year - for French - and will be graduating next year (then off to grad school for mathematics) & Sis-in-law, K, is starting med school in August! I'm so proud of all my sisters. They work so hard. I do love graduation weekend. Of course, moving years worth of stuff to move my sister out of her apartment...I could do without. If Ben Gay or Icy Hot made a full body cast-like wrap, I'd be all over that right now :) Hope everyone is having a fantastic holiday weekend. Happy Memorial Day!

And the beat goes on...

2011-05-20T19:02:00.001-04:00

I had to get the other side of that sign! Apparently, the rapture raptor is coming. I have to say, whoever drew the sign captured the raptor's 'it factor' wonderfully :)

The rapture is (apparently) nigh...

2011-05-20T18:42:00.005-04:00

Everyone handles the potential end of the world in their own way, I guess. Have an amazing Friday everyone (it was a long time coming this week)!

Why am I still awake?!

2011-05-16T01:21:00.006-04:00

I know I have to get up for work in a handful of hours, but my brain just won't relax. So, in an effort to forget the numerous crap that filled my weekend, I'm re-reading a literary classic.

This reading material may not be fundamental, but it is fun.

Okay, classic may be taking it too far, but it sure is funny as hell. Just a few more idiotic emails, and my brain should slow down enough for me to get some sleep, right? :)

Good night everyone & have a great Monday!

I got my shots!

2011-04-09T16:32:00.002-04:00

Forgot to update :) The jewelry place did a wonderful job with both my and P's rings. They replaced one of her diamonds and put in my shots (as you can see above). Quick, easy, and they cleaned and shined my ring amazingly well all for $20. All that fretting = me finding my new jewelry place! Now...off to pick up some bridesmaid dresses and enjoy this amazing Saturday. Have a great weekend everyone!

Happy Hump Day...but I still wish it was Friday.

2011-04-06T11:02:00.009-04:00

Over the weekend, while errand running (why must all weekends be significantly wasted with errand running?) I walked past an Internet lounge and saw this sign.

Floppy disk?! The word instantly filled my head with visions of the old AOL homepage loading my dial-up connection. I got chills.

This morning I dropped my engagement ring off at a local jeweler to have a couple of shots put in. I've been shopping around for one that did not require me to send my ring away for months, and despite the sign below, several co-workers, including P who dropped her ring off too, state that this place does good work.

Oddly, not so comforting.

I swear the lady had to practically pry the ring off my finger. I haven't been without it since O put it on me over a year ago. My finger feels uncomfortably naked now...and my heart is racing a bit worrying that they will try to switch rings on me, or something worse. They said it would be done in an hour - just enough time for me to go out and purchase my own jewelers loupe. Just kidding.

Did anyone else hear/read about the juror that was given indefinite juty duty?

Image found here

Definitely check out the Daily News article if you haven't. Not sure of the woman's motivation for saying what she did, but I can't fault the judge for being outraged.

Anyway, have a great Hump Day everyone!

No day off, but I'll take the free hour :)

2011-03-31T11:23:00.002-04:00

So, apparently the problem was a burned out something or other in the light fixture near the middle cubicles. Back to work in the horrible burnt smell that's been slightly masked by floral air freshener. Yea! [Insert sarcastic eye roll and disappointed 'no day off' sigh here].

To great days everyone!

Starting the day with a scare is less annoying on payday

2011-03-31T10:28:00.003-04:00

So, upon my arrival at work at 9:30am, there was a staticy sound and then the lights started flickering. Despite my thinking that it was the beginning of the apocalypse, all of that was followed by a burning smell. Everyone immediately cried "Fire!" and gathered by the elevators, not so subtly asking if we could go home. Management informed us that we could not - no free day off - but we could 'Feel free to go upstairs and relax in the boardroom'. Upstairs...like fire and smoke don't rise! As of now, they are still checking things out with building maintenance.

Nothing strange has been found, but it still smells like burning wires :( They haven't called the fire department yet, though. I know they have to pay every time the FDNY makes a trip out, and our department did already cause them to come out recently thanks to an unfortunate toaster strudel/old toaster/excessive smoke incident, for which we still jokingly blame P :)

Now, it's been an hour...can we go home?

Have a great day everyone!

A little music goes a long way...

2011-03-26T14:36:00.003-04:00

Quick stop at the Flushing Library to rest a bit and hear a song or two by Russian poet and folk singer Mark Belitsky before continuing on with my errands.

And yes...I did name almost all of the fish :)

2011-03-26T14:25:00.006-04:00

I was up from 10 am this morning - entirely too early for someone who got home from work only slighty more than 12 before. Up and out this morning running errands with my family. First stop - doctor's office where I managed to find both Nemo and Dori in their posh fishtank. Guess those Disney residuals checks kicked in :)

The fish were all gorgeous and friendly. They all kept gathering close to us in the corner of the tank. I'm so tired though, I just want to get some sleep. How are all of you doing? Anyone have a particularly good St. Patty's? This was the first year since I've been working in Midtown that I've missed the parade (I was at a wedding makeup trial and my street was cleared by the time I got back) - so no pics. On my way out though, I did pass a marching band playing the song "Shots" so that was a strange kind of fun.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Hollywood Trivia (NY style)!

2011-03-16T11:56:00.006-04:00

So, today the office Recognition/Morale Booster Team is putting on a trivia contest with supposedly "fabulous prizes". I declined offers to participate - even though I do love trivia - but I readily took on the role of cheerleader for the 1 team from my department brave enough to accept the challenge. I even made this sign (I actually made 2, but after my energy was gone from making this one, even I'll admit the 2nd is a bit less polished). After a quick team name change thanks to a sick co-worker, it's ready for it's cheer debut.

Have a great day everyone!

Hi everyone & Happy Anniversary to my sweetie!

2011-01-11T01:14:00.004-05:00

Image found here

Today is my 14th Anniversary with my love! It's funny to think that we'll be married later this year and then, in ten years, when people ask us how long we've been together we'll say "Well we've been married for 10, but we've been together for 24." Awesome!

Happy Anniversary to my man, my love, my fiancé! You are amazing!

To the blogoverse...how've you been? It's been awhile since my last post - work and school have been beasts. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and New Year :) I hope to get back into posting. We'll see how my time-management skills stake up this semester.

Have a wonderful night (and fantastic day) everyone!

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2010-11-25T10:18:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!! I hope you all have a fun-filled, food-filled, amazingly awesome day :) Now go cook & eat so you can rest up for all that Black Friday shopping!

Oompa loompa doompety doo...

2010-11-09T12:16:00.003-05:00

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So, I have a page a day calendar at work. Each day, I entertain myself with the listed trivia question, post it on my door for all the interested passersby to gaze at in wonderment...or bypass completely and then, the next day, pass the question on to C so she can get her belated trivia fix.

Apparently, the one I just gave her proceeded to shatter some childhood illusions when it informed her that Willy Wonka was, in fact, never a real-life zany eccentric carefully molding delicious chocolaty treats with his wizened chocolateier hands and the help of various Oompa Loompas (they were hopefully already aware that the Oompa Loompas weren't real), but rather simply a delightful character from the mind of Roald Dahl, and subsequently the mascot for the Nestle Willy Wonka brand candies.

I, and pretty much everyone else in the office already knew this, but it was a crushing blow to them indeed :( When I say that C and P were devastated - I mean they were completely distraught over it for a couple of hours. From 9:30 to 11:30, they expressed their shock with a rather heated conversation that included such phrases as:

"But, if he's not real, then why is there Willy Wonka Chocolate? Who makes that chocolate?!";

"[Why would anyone not believe he was real] when there is such incontrovertible proof..."; and

"This is like finding out that there's no Santa Clause when you're a kid."

It was a crazy morning :)

Anyway, my man and I are taking some engagement pictures on Saturday. I wasn't nervous until last night when I realized that we're coming up on the year countdown. I can't believe that time is flying by as fast as it is. It seems like it was just Valentine's Day, and yet Thanksgiving is right around the corner! Where is the year going?

Well, back to work, and more Wonka-centric conversation :)

Hope you are all having a great Tuesday!

Happy Friday (and early Halloween)!

2010-10-29T14:28:00.002-04:00

Happy Friday everyone! Well, I have today off (hurray, compressed work week), and thank goodness, because this work week has been too long. I almost sent this e-mail in response to a recent meeting request:

"Hello C,

I will be attending the 11am session. I am tremendously excited and simply could not wait to share that enthusiasm with the world. P caught my enthusiasm bug and decided, after several minutes of expressing herself through the timeless art of rhythm gymnastics (ribbon twirling category), to attend the 11am session as well.

Thank you,
R"

Many of my co-workers don't share my brand of humor though, so I decided against it.

Anywho, I was supposed to go to the HitRecord Fall Formal last night with my friend K, but the event was cancelled due to a very sad and unfortunate reason. I completely understand the cancellation, and hope they decide to try and reschedule the event down the line. I mean Joseph Gordon-Levitt + awesome entertainment + (did I already mention) Joseph Gordon-Levitt = how can anyone not have fun. K and I had our outfits all picked out. Fall formal calls for full-on formal wear, right? - long red, low backed evening gown for me, cocktail length l'il black dress with sequins for her. My man was laughing about how much trouble we were going to get into as we can get pretty silly/crazy when we go out. Oh well, maybe next time.

I managed to capture two new trains of thought the other day. I've been seeing them for weeks, but I would have either forgotten my camera or the bus would simply be too crowded for picture taking. Could you please move so I can snap this quick photo? doesn't play too well on public transportation during rush hour.

1)

A bit of Friday random: I also came across a great video from ideastap.com with Jeff Goldblum (my absolute favorite actor) providing advice to budding actors. Oh Jeff, you are such a ball of amazingly animated and quirky talent and I heart you :)

Happy early Halloween everyone. Hope everyone enjoys any parties they go to. Don't eat too much candy :)

Have a great weekend everyone!

NY Comic Con was great - once again :)

2010-10-12T14:44:00.015-04:00

My man and I attended NYCC over the weekend. It was his B-Day gift to me, and we had a blast. We met a few people, bought a few things (i.e. spent way to much on Doctor Who merchandise), and had three exhausting days of fun. It was great!

The Weekender Pass

I spy, with my little eye...a zombie.

The Masters Of None guys were great, and held an interesting photo scavenger hunt. We didn't win, but we did have fun. Check of the Masters of None podcast here if you're interested.

Some of the X-men crew were joined by Kick-Ass

So that's what happens to a party when Magneto comes through

The "line" to meet/get an autograph from Adrien Brody

My man and I were officially the end of the line - we got a sign and everything :)

I love this pic :)

Heeeeyyy Brody!

It really is amazing what Nathan Sawaya can make out of Legos

James Marsters looking wonderful :)

Lou Ferrigno :)

Impromptu mirror image contest? :)

As I said, it was a great weekend :) So how are you all doing?

Hope everyone is having a stress-free (as stress-free as possible) and productive day!

Where did the weekend go?

2010-09-26T16:49:00.008-04:00

My man and I went to a Yankee game (v. Tampa Bay) on Thursday. It was an early b-day present for him (from me) so we could cheer on his favorite team. It was my first time at Yankee Stadium, and my 2nd baseball game ever (1st was a Mets game). We got there during the third inning, and watched the Yanks get trounced. They lost so badly - and apparently just kept losing for the next two games.

The game was fun anyway, and my sweets and I had a blast. We had really good seats (batter's eye seating) and made some game-time friends with other Yankee fans as we cheered, boo'd and watched the stadium empty out starting around the 7th inning :)

I cannot believe that the weekend is almost over. I took Friday off, and yet the weekend still flew by. I hope you all had (are having) a great, fun, relaxing one :)

I'm running on empty, and about to crash.

2010-09-13T15:59:00.000-04:00

I am running on 3 hours sleep. I'm so tired, I couldn't even eat all my lunch (I just ran out of steam to lift fork to mouth midway through). My desk looks like a paper-wars crime scene. I have to work late, and I'm living in fear of the return of the stress related eye twitch.

Just as I'm about to vent to P, I get called out to pick up a package.

For me?

Someone sent me flowers! Accompanying this lovely bouquet was a lovely note thanking me for all my help throughout a (much too) long process.

Vent session postponed until tomorrow :)

I hope all of you had great days :) Have an amazing night everyone!

Man, this keyboard's dusty = I missed you guys :)

2010-08-18T12:55:00.003-04:00

I hadn't even realized how long it's been since I posted - too long. Well, it's summer so work has been going crazy. I can't wait for the holiday season at the end of the year when things go on hiatus and I can relax a bit again.

Not much besides work and school has been going on in my life lately, though my man and I have been trying to make significant headway with our wedding planning. We aren't getting married until late next year, but why run the risk of succumbing to we-started-planning-too-late-and-are-now-freaking-out stress. Some things, like picking the venue were easy (well easier), while others, like the guest list(s), not so much. Seriously, how is it possible 1) that a person can know so many people and have so much family, and 2) that those people feel they can readily invite themselves to a wedding even if they are like a 5th cousin twice removed? People just love a party; especially when free food's involved :)

Anyway, my co-worker P and I are trying to start a small event planning business. It's still in the early stages and so, when we say that My Fair Wedding's David Tutera was having a seminar about getting started in the event planning business, we were excited to attend (using incredibly discounted tickets a la Goldstar, of course).

The even was a few blocks away from my office so we got there a bit early. It was a good thing though since the space filled up quickly.

I had my notebook and pen ready to jot down any helpful hints and anecdotes. I think the only event planning business related message that I took away from the night was 'Never undersell your confidence or expertise!' (good life lesson in cliché form) before the night turned into one big dish/gab session. It wasn't what I paid for, but it was still fun.

David told us about how he got started and what it's like working on his new show, but most of the night was taken up with Q & A. He answered everything that was asked, no matter how broad the topic, and even told us the truth about what really went down between him and Joan Rivers on The Apprentice. I would try to repeat it here, but honestly that portion of the night went in one ear and out the other as I lost complete interest in that show after the Omarosa days. It was an interesting enough event and David was very nice and (definitely) patient. Now if only he could do my wedding for me :)

So, how have you all been doing? I hope this Hump Day is treating you well - have a good one!

P.S. Has anyone seen The Expendables? If so, what did you think of it? I've heard that it is a completely over the top throwback to 80's action movies, and my man and I are excited to check it out (eventually). With promotion like this, how could anyone not be :)

I took a vacation and came back to a mountain (of paperwork)

2010-06-27T22:36:00.010-04:00

Hey everyone...I missed ya :)

Sorry I've been away for a bit, first consumed by work, then on a much needed (albeit too short) vacation with the fam, then again with work. I'm back at work now, and am so happy that I was able to take the week's vacation with my family as my colleague and I were pretty much told that we were going to be so busy this summer that we shouldn't plan to take any time off for the next two or so months. It is going to be a long, hard summer.

Enough of that though. How are all of you doing? My family and I were lucky enough to rent a house in the Poconos for a week. I took a bunch of pics and enjoyed a lot of fresh air. It was a simply wonderful week, and a perfect family trip.

A fun park where we enjoyed mini golf, a driving range, batting cages, laser tag, the arcade, and (the best attraction) go kart racing!

The amazing backyard of the house where we saw an unbelievable amount of deer.

Some wild turkeys

The week was just so wonderful that, yes, it was that much harder to get back into the work groove. I'm still trying actually :)

Hope everyone has a wonderful week!

See Paperwork Sit...

2010-05-24T14:58:00.005-04:00

That's all it does. More and more of it keeps finding it's way into my office, and it just sits there. No matter how much work gets done, the piles still grow. I would send out a rescue flare, but imagine the fire hazard.

My boss actually had the gall to come into my office last Tuesday, look me square in the eye after glancing (with disdain I might add) at the literal piles of files and paperwork on my desk, filing cabinets, and floor, and say 'I am re-assigning these files to you. One has a 6/1 deadline, and another doesn't start until July...but it needs to be done by this Monday. The last one will be a problem and the guy will need some hand-holding through the process (to be read TIME CONSUMING) but I gave it to you since I knew you could do it.' She failed to mention the three other projects whose files where hidden in the middle and also have early June deadlines. I'm all for being a team player, but come on!

I would have said thanks for the confidence, but they are always giving me the problem files. Always. Did she immediately put all the paperwork towers that I've got going on out of her head? There is no possible way that I can stay on top of everything as it is, and then she drops the rest of the bad news bomb - the woman whose work is being re-assigned might be out for an additional 2 or more weeks. She already told me that she'd be back in 2 weeks to re-assign some more projects to me. Oh happy day.

Oh...and it gets even better :)

The next day, I was called into a meeting in which I was informed that yet another project was being re-assigned to me...with a deadline of last Friday. I quickly reminded the bosses that I would be out of the office on Friday, to which they responded that the deadline for me would be Thursday. One day to get everything done, on top of everything else that I already have going on. I could feel my blood pressure ~~start~~ continue to rise, but I just put on a poker face, said "No problem", and headed back down to my office. What else could I say? Much as I wanted to say "Well [bosses], much like the Inn at Jesus' birth, I'm all full up. So thanks, but no thanks!", I felt my actual response was more workplace appropriate.

The lady we were filling in for actually surprised everyone and showed up today, so I just gave her all her files back. We'll see if she works the full week. I have my fingers crossed :)

All that made me so frustrated with work last Wednesday, that I sent this e-mail to the mail room supervisor (who also periodically fixes our copiers when they act up) regarding the copier breaking down just when I needed it:

'Hello,
The copier is jammed. Again. Sorry in advance.
It, of course, chose to start behaving like an insolent little child at exactly 6:40pm, leaving that wonderful surprise for everyone to walk in to in the morning.
Thanks'

I hope he had a laugh, or a least a chuckle, when he read it.

My man also came to the City to have lunch with me last week - it was the highlight of my workweek :) On the way to the restaurant we see this...

Morbid, but true.

This week has to be better. I just have to take deep breaths and keep looking forward to the long weekend. Anyone have any Memorial Day weekend plans? I will be attending Sis 1's college graduation!!! Wow, time really flies :) I am so excited for, and proud of, her!

Now, back to work. Have a great day everyone!

Happy Mommy's Day :)

2010-05-09T23:33:00.005-04:00

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms (the soon-to-be moms, the new moms, those that have been moms for years, the moms to their pets, the misc. relatives that act like/are thought of as moms, etc.) out there :) I hope you all has a simply wonderful day!

My mom and I went on a lovely Mother's Day cruise. My sisters are still in school, so today it was just me and my mom :) Sis 1 and Sis 2 were definitely missed, but it was great spending some alone time with my mom. My dad followed us over to the dock, and waited with us until the boat departed. I'm a huge homebody, so getting the opportunity to spend time with them like that was wonderful.

So, my mom and I got our boarding passes...

and boarded once the boat finally pulled up - 10 minutes late. It was so windy that it took them three tries to actually dock well enough to let us on.

Mom and I were a party of two, at table two :) We had a great table (we snagged the window seats) and had wonderful table guests.

The food was pretty good - especially the pasta dishes - and the views were wonderful.

My mom doesn't get into the City much, so it was nice to see the sights with her - especially all the bridges and Lady Liberty.

On another note, there was an accident on my route to the train station. It actually happened over a week ago, but they still haven't cleaned up or moved the damaged van.

The damage is so drastic that one has to wonder how it could happen. Thank God no one was hurt. An MTA worker said that a truck accidentally backed into it, at full speed, and threw it back into the building.

However, I find it interesting to imagine that either 1) this is the result of a Hulk smash, or 2) that darn Edward Cullen had to save Bella again.

Have a wonderful rest of the night everyone. How is it possible that Monday is almost here again?

It's Earth Day and everyone's flashing E signs.

2010-04-22T11:05:00.002-04:00

Well, I haven't actually seen anyone flashing the E sign in real life, but everyone's doing it on the EDAY website :)

Image found here

It's Earth Day :)

I thought that there would be a fair at Grand Central Station today, but it's not until tomorrow. I'll probably walk over to it during lunch to enjoy the live music, and pick up pick up any freebies - if there are any.

And Happy Administrative Professional's Day (a little belated)

to all the Admin Pros out there!

Image found here

I addition to the solo gift I bought for my assistant, P and I bought each of the assistants in our department a Mojito cupcake from Butch Bakery.

The Mojito cupcake topped with an edible chocolate disc

The cupcakes were alcohol infused so they were a bit hit. The site describes the Mojito cupcake as a "rum-soaked lime cake with mint white-chocolate ganache". Mmm! P and I ordered 4 of those and 2 Beer Run cupcakes (yummy chocolate beer cake with beer infused buttercream topped with a pretzel) so we could each have one. I really liked it, but P wasn't impressed.

Obviously since they have alcohol in them, we put printed disclaimers on the bags letting the assistants know that they were to be enjoyed after work. My assistant ate hers at lunch anyway - and just happened to exclaim "It tastes just like a Mojito!" as the boss walked by - but at least it didn't make her tipsy :)

I also gave each assistant a little high-five trophy.

A high five award :)

I made labels for them that said 'Happy Administrative Professional's Day 2010'. Just a little something that they can keep on their desks to be reminded that they, and all their hard work, are appreciated.

I can't believe it's almost the end of April. My middle sister will be graduating from college in just over a month! Anyone else have any graduations coming up (your own or one you are attending as a guest)?

Have a wonderful Thursday everyone!

I wonder if (5:30pm) Friday knows how much I love it.

2010-04-16T13:28:00.001-04:00

5:30pm on Friday likes to play hard to get with me. It takes forever to get here (and this week has been especially long), but it is one of the absolute best feelings when it finally shows up. I just have to get through about 3.5 more hours (thank you lunch hour) and then I can finally breathe and relax a bit.

Has it just been me this week, or have any of you also had the workweek from hell?

The weather was so lovely earlier this week, and now it's all overcast again. But even though it's going to rain, it's Friday so the smile's still on my face.

A few pics from earlier this week...

Adorable :)

Spring is in the air

With Spring comes lovely Spring flowers... and movies! So, is anyone else planning on seeing Kick-Ass this weekend? :)

Happy Friday everyone!

It's another lovely day in the neighborhood

2010-04-10T14:19:00.004-04:00

It's nice and sunny outside without being too hot - exactly the type of weather I like :)

P and I went to the Great Bridal Expo last night. My groom-to-be had to work but P's fiancé, L, came along. It was fun - I entered a few contests, enjoyed some cake, and collected dozens of flyers, business cards and magazines. We only stayed for an hour or so since the event space was too hot and crowded. It was nice to talk to other brides and get some ideas though.

So, any fun plans for the rest of the weekend?

Have a wonderful day everyone!

Today feels like a 'lounge in bed and watch cartoons' kind of day...

2010-04-06T16:55:00.003-04:00

But alas, I am neither lounging, nor watching cartoons (Ben 10: Alien Force or Avatar: The Last Airbender must be on somewhere). I am at work...and it's only Tuesday!

But enough of that :) Apparently my boss, who is expecting, ordered an adorable little onesie for her baby that reads "Elmo is my Homeboy" from Uncommonlycute.com.

It got me thinking about Sesame Street inspired shirts that I want (I used to adore that show as a kid). I decided on "Cookie Monster is my Co-Pilot", "Bird Bird is my Ace", and "Snuffleupagus is the Sh**". The last one fails the kid-friendly test, but the other two would be cute, right?

I saw these shoes during my lunch hour yesterday.

They were just sitting there, all nice an tidy, on the sidewalk. For some reason, my second thought (my first thought was boring and something along the lines of "Hmmm, those shoes were left there neatly") was "Someone must have received a Scooby-Doo level fright to have leaped straight out of their shoes like that". It was such a random thought that I started to laugh so hard that I started crying. This is NYC though, so no one even glanced at me as I laughed and took a couple of pics :)

Speaking of things I loved as a kid and randomness, happy birthday Billy Dee Williams. I've always been a fan of his overall suaveness. He just always seems so awesome. So, Happy 73rd B-Day Billy Dee.

Enjoy the rest of the day everyone!

Happy Easter everyone!

2010-04-04T16:33:00.003-04:00

Image found here

Happy Easter everyone!

I hope everyone is having a safe, happy, blessed and chocolate-filled day!

It's that Easter time of year again :)

2010-04-02T23:15:00.000-04:00

Thanks Haley!

Haley just gave me this lovely virtual Hershey Easter basket :)

Hershey's is partnering with bloggers to donate $5,000 to the Children's Miracle Network! They are hosting a blog hop and for each blog entry, Hershey's will donate $10 to the Children's Miracle Network.

Hershey’s Better Basket Blog Hop Rules:

1. Copy and paste these rules to your blog post.

2. Create a blog post giving a virtual Easter Basket to another blogger — you can give as many Virtual Baskets as you want!

3. Link back to the person who gave you an Easter Basket.

4. Let each person you are giving a Virtual Basket know you have given them a Basket.

5. Leave your link at BetterBasket.info/BlogHop in the comment section. You can also find the official rules of this betterbasket Blog Hop and more information about Better Basket with Hershey’s there.

6. Hershey’s is donating $10 per blog participating in the Better Basket Blog Hop to Children’s Miracle Network (up to a total of $5000 by blog posts written by April 4, 2010).

7. Please note that only one blog post per blog url will count towards the donation.

I want to give a basket of tasty virtual chocolate to all of you (all my followers, commenters, and even the lurkers). Easter's a happy time, and I am happy to share all the yummy (albeit virtual) chocolaty goodness with you. If you want some, feel free to take it and post it on your site - it is for a good cause after all :)

Have a wonderful rest of the night, and an amazing weekend/Easter everyone!

Drumroll please ... timpani with a side of snare, perhaps?

2010-04-02T22:14:00.012-04:00

Giveaway time :) Yea!

Well, I went old school again :) I wrote all the entries on slips of paper, scrunched each slip up, put 'em in a hat, and then had two people close their eyes, spin around a few times (for fun - you know) and pick a slip.

The gift cards aren't here, but enjoy the sight of the books (once again, the laptop stays with me)

All that being said, the winners are ...

1) Kelly!

and

2) Lee!

Congratulations

Kelly (of Part of Life is Having a Good Ponytail) and

Lee (of Photographing the Days)!

Just e-mail me your addresses - you can find my e-mail address on my profile - and I'll send those lovely gift cards and books right out :) Remember to tell me which gift card you would prefer (Barnes and Noble, Target or Amazon) - the book choice will be random.

I'd just like to say thanks again to everyone who participated - you guys are wonderful! Thanks again everyone for participating, commenting, and following :)

I'll leave you with some birds. Ahh, the joys of city pigeons.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

So, who is having a happy April Fool's Day?

2010-04-01T11:51:00.010-04:00

Image found here

Dear April Fool's Joker ("AFJ"),

Why would you call our offices posing as an agent and tell us that your client, Mark Wahlberg, was downstairs waiting to speak with someone? Why would you do that knowing that all of us ladies would be jumping at the chance to meet/talk to/take a picture with him. Yes, of course I know that that's exactly why you did it. You intended to prank two people and succeeded in fooling an entire department. AFJ, you're kind of an ass.

Until next year AFJ.

Sincerely,

for the love of pictures

I just want to sleep until next Hump Day

2010-03-31T23:48:00.003-04:00

I'm exhausted. It's midterm week at school and the paperwork sitting on my desk is threatening to bury me alive. There is so much paper there that I don't even remember the last time I saw any actual desk.

Two bright spots so far this week:

1) My man and I found the venue where we want to hold our ceremony and reception late next year (Woo Hoo!). Now we just need to put down the deposit :)

and

2) They are opening a Five Guys close to my neighborhood.

I have had so many people rave to me about their burgers and fries that I'm pretty excited. I stopped by the one by my job recently, but I wasn't hungry so I didn't get anything. I found it interesting though that they proudly advertised that they sold peanuts in the shell. I had no clue there was such a high demand for peanuts :)

They also displayed this sign on the door.

I'm hoping the sign was a result of (over)concern, instead of any allergy related issues that might have happened in the neighborhood.

Have a great rest of the night everyone, and have a great April Fool's Day tomorrow!

It's the three-hundred-and-sixty-fifth day, so how about a giveaway?

2010-03-26T15:30:00.006-04:00

Picture found here

Wow, today is my blogoversary. I was thinking back to when I started this blog-o-mine and realized both how little and how much my life has changed. I'm happy that I started this, and extremely happy that people actually read and comment of my ramblings, and that I have found so many wonderful blogs to read and comment on as well :)

In honor of reaching 365 days, I feel like having a mini giveaway. Let's say two readers will each receive a gift card in the amount of $13.65 (representing the 365 days of my first blogging year, of course) and a copy of one of my favorite books. The two books will be Jane Eyre and My Antonia (random selection of which goes to who), but the winners can each pick whether they would like a Barnes and Noble, Amazon or Target gift card.

How to enter you ask? Leave a comment (about anything) for one entry, and let me know if you are a follower for another entry. I'll announce the two winners in a week on Friday, April 2nd.

So, what has been happening with all of your lately? The weather here has been ridiculous. Last Friday and Saturday were beautiful, sunny, 70+ degree days. I'm not a big sun person, but after the craptastic weather winter has provided, I was loving it. The wind and rain were so bad at one point that two trees came down on the road to my house, blocking two roads so that everyone had no choice but to take the long route wherever they were going.

It didn't help that it took the city a few days to clear the path and get the streetlights working again.

I also took in a bit of the St. Patrick's Day parade on the 17th. It's hard not too as it's right in front of my job. I stayed and watched for about a half hour before heading back inside.

This guy was one of my favorites. He was laughing and joking around while they waited, but then quickly put on his serious face when they started moving again.

I hope you all had a wonderful week. TGIF though! I am so ready for the weekend - I just need to get through the rest of the workday first :)

Have a great weekend everyone!

A whole lot of days combined...

2010-03-07T20:05:00.002-05:00

I missed you!

Work and school have decided to divide my attentions in an attempt to conquer me, but I'm staying strong :) I just took the final exam for one of courses and I am exhausted. No rest for the weary though - my next class starts tomorrow :)

As I stated in my last post/blurb, I'm engaged! Oh, I'm so happy and excited. thank you all for your congratulations - you're all so awesome!
Where to start...

Well, my man and I met during our freshman year in high school. We became friends during sophomore year, but lost touch junior year. We found each other again during our senior year Halloween Dance (full wonderful costumes and all) and began dating after getting re-acquainted. We went on to survive long distance missing each other during college and grad school, and on Valentine's Day 2010, he proposed. My sweets is such a romantic and he took me back to our old high school and proposed (on bended knee) in front of his old locker, right by the stairwell where we used to meet every day after school - where we exchanged our first Valentine's Day gifts after saying ‘I Love You’ to each other for the first time 13 years ago.

One would think that the fact that one of the Brothers was waiting for us to unlock the high school doors and let us in would have tipped me off but, while I did think it was very odd, my mind was so preoccupied with school (I had two papers due by midnight that day) that I still had no clue :)

I'm just so happy :D

So what else has been going on with me over that last few weeks?

P, and my friend K all went out last week to chat and hand out. We made it a cupcake and cocktails night, complete with Crumbs cupcakey deliciousness, beaded necklaces and tiaras - haha.

Cupcakes included red velvet, vanilla with rainbow sprinkles and Oreo cookies & cream

My man and I had gone to see a Celtic Woman performance at Radio City in late February.

It was very good - they have wonderful voices and put on an entertaining show.

Other than that I've been, like I said, focusing on work and school. So, how about all of you? What's been going on in your lives?

I hope you're all doing well, and wish everyone a wonderful night!

Sorry for my absence but... :D

2010-02-18T00:58:00.003-05:00

I got engaged on Valentine's Day!!!

Oh man, I am still on Cloud 9 so I've been walking around with a smile on my face and my head in the clouds whenever I'm not at work (and sometimes even when I am) :)

Oh, I'm so happy and will put up a real post soon :) I just need to calm down enough to write coherently!

Have a great night everyone!

The three-hundred-and-sixteenth to three-hundred-and-twenty-second days combined...Snow Day, Sick Day, Snow Day, Sick Day.

2010-02-11T00:26:00.007-05:00

Well, the snow finally showed itself here. The meteorologists have been talking about this storm since Monday saying that it was going to be horrible. My co-workers and I were dropping not-so-subtle hints that we should get a snow day on Wednesday and finally, at 5:33pm on Tuesday, we received an e-mail saying that the office would be closed the following day. Yea! Too bad I'm sick as a dog and can't enjoy it, but at least I didn't have to use a sick day like I was planning to.

The snow just stopped (for now anyway) and we ended up getting about 14 or so inches. Enjoy the pics :)

It was freezing and ridiculously windy so I didn't want to open the door but, as you can see, taking pictures through the window wasn't quite working out :)

Anyone else have a snow day off?

I'm off to take some more cold medicine and go to sleep. Have a great night everyone. Stay warm!

The three-hundred-and-fourteenth and three-hundred-and-fifteenth days combined...

2010-02-04T16:15:00.008-05:00

Today is P's birthday!!! Another co-worker of ours helped me decorate her cubicle area last night. I must say that we went overboard a bit :)

We put so many streamers, balloons and confetti in that space it was hilarious. O emptied an entire bag of confetti on P's desk. It was payback for what she did to both of our desks (and several others in the office) on our birthdays. P was an excellent sport when she saw it though; partially because it looked so awesome (did everyone hear me toot my own horn there?) but also because her spirits were already soaring from the b-day gift that her boyfriend, L, gave her (three pics down).

A few of us went to TGI Fridays for lunch. We had a severe issue with them last time, so this lunch was on the house. P told them it was her birthday, so we got this whole cake (with singing accompaniment) too!

Then there was even more cake at work - yes, that is Bradley Cooper in the frame :)

And, oh yeah, as I alluded to before...P's engaged!!! I am so happy for her and L. They ring is lovely!

P wanted a birthstone ring, and I think L did a marvelous job of picking this one out :) When she showed it to us as she came in to work, all the other departments heard was a collective shriek followed by giggling and choruses of "Let me see" and "It's so pretty" coming from our area. Congrats to her again! Now they just have to start their planning :)

On another note, I saw even more birds (on a wire) yesterday. I just watched The Birds - again - with my dad the other night, so it's freaking me out a bit :)

Have a wonderful night everyone! Friday's almost here :)

The three-hundred-and twelfth and three-hundred-and-thirteenth days combined...

2010-02-02T22:37:00.004-05:00

Happy Groundhog Day everyone! Punxsutawney Phil disappointed me earlier today with his shadow seeing news of more winter. I am so sick of the bitter cold - I want Spring. Of course, when Spring comes I'll probably complain about the rain :)

And what's this I hear about snow tomorrow? Argghh! :)

I saw these pigeons on my way back from lunch. They played follow the leader for half a block. There were actually three of them, but #3 lost interest when he came across some crumbs. #1 and #2 here were holding out for something better, I guess.

I left them even bigger crumbs :) NYC pigeons certainly do know their survival methods.

Well, I'm going to go finish watching tonight's season premiere of Lost. Anyone else besides me eager to watch this final season, while at the same time happy that the show is finally ending? I just hope they actually tie up most of the mysterious loose ends first.

Have a wonderful night everyone!

The three-hundred-and-eighth to three-hundred-and eleventh days combined...

2010-01-31T23:15:00.010-05:00

This weekend went by entirely took quickly. My man and I saw Book of Eli on Friday. It was okay, but either it really dragged at times or I was ridiculously tired (I think it was a combo of both) because it seemed like it went on forever. They jammed about 4.5 hours worth of movie into those 2 hours.

My parents and I took my sisters back to college yesterday, so Saturday flew by. It was freezing in Scranton yesterday.

I was wearing so many layers - including double layered gloves - and my teeth were still chattering every time I stepped outside.

We, of course, went to Quaker Steak and Lube for lunch. Yea, wings :)

Today was all about school work. I feel just as tired now as I did on Friday. I really hope the week goes by quickly and uneventfully - I'm already looking forward to next weekend :)

Have a great night everyone!

The two-hundred-and-ninety-eighth to three-hundred-and-seventh days combined...

2010-01-27T22:26:00.005-05:00

Hello. How are you? How've you been? It's been an age since I've seen you last :)

The last couple of weeks have been pretty crappy for me unfortunately. All varieties of things ranging from work issues, to crappy doctor news, to horrible back pain - it's been a trip. My back has been killing me all week. It started as a twinge in my left side and has grown steadily since Monday :( Sucks.

I am one of the lucky ones that has an office at work. It is quite the blessing to be able to close the door and take a breath sometimes, but the sentiment is pretty much the same.

And then, my dad decides to scare me by telling me about how he accidentally dropped hi glasses onto the tracks while waiting for the train on morning. Now, anyone who has travelled on the NYC Subway has seen the signs that tell all strap hangers "No matter what situation arises, keep off the tracks. Tracks contain 600 volts of live electricity. If you drop something on the tracks, go to the station booth and tell the agent." Did my dad keep of the tracks? Of course not. Of course he jumped down and retrieved his glasses only to find that...train platforms are A LOT higher than you think they are. My dad's not a short guy, and the platform reached his neck. Another guy tried to help him up, but eventually he just had to walk to the end of the platform and take the stairs back up. I freaked out a bit when he told me. "600 volts of live electricity"? Enormous trains? I just told him to 'please let the glasses be' next time.

I hope you are all having a better week than me :) Have a great night everyone - I'm off to find a heating pad.

The two-hundred-and-ninetieth to two-hundred-and-ninety-seventh days combined...

2010-01-17T23:51:00.005-05:00

Oh, Hollywood award season...I love when you come around. True I may be guilty of muting one or two (or all, depending on the show) of the acceptance speeches, but I do enjoy the pomp and circumstance of it all :) Tonight I watched the Golden Globes (in between doing school work, of course) and on Saturday I'll be watching the Screen Actors Guild Awards :)

It's nice to see actors, writers, directors, etc. celebrating their work. Now if only there were award shows for all jobs :) Best Filer? Best Attendance? Fastest Typist? I feel that the ratings for that show would be really low :)

Here are some quotes that I've seen lately - including a new Train of Thought (yea!). Enjoy!

Anyway, time to get back to the books. Have a great night everyone!

The two-hundred-and-and-eighty-sixth through two-hundred-and-ninetieth days combined...Ride 'em cowboy!

2010-01-10T23:28:00.008-05:00

Work has been killing me since the year started. I had hoped that a lot of the 2009 tension and office politics would be left behind in the old year, but I was being naive. Things have gotten so much worse in such a short time period that I pretty much just want to keep my door closed all day to avoid all the pettiness and back-biting. Too bad I can't - we've already been talked to about having doors closed for too long.

I practically flew out of there at 5:30 on Friday, not just because I had that bull riding event to go to, but because people are now waiting until lunch breaks and after hours to try and chat people up to find allies and clique members - and I'm not having any part of it. Leave me out of that silly drama please.

The event was amazing though. The group of us headed over to pick up our tickets and then grabbed a quick dinner at a nearby sports bar before heading inside. The place was packed! I didn't know that professional bull riding was so popular, but it was great :) People had traveled from all over to attend. A little girl who was picked as 'best dressed fan', and her family, had come to NY from Kansas just to watch the invitationals. It was a great start to the weekend and my man and I had a great time :) Enjoy some pics!

A wall of great moments from The Garden

Singing the National Anthem

It was packed!

So how did the weekend treat all of you?

Have a wonderful night everyone!

A whole lotta days combined...Happy New Year Everyone (a little belated, of course)!

2010-01-05T11:37:00.005-05:00

Happy New Year everyone!

I cannot believe that it's 2010 already :) Sorry for being out of touch for quite a while, but I decided to try and stay away from the computer for a bit during the holidays - true much of that decision stemmed from the fact that I was sleeping like it was my job. It was wonderful :) A week and a half off from work filled with family, friends, food, presents and sleep = Lovely. My New Year was pretty mellow and amazing. How about all of you? Any fun parties? Was anyone actually in Times Square for the ball drop?

I snapped this pic as I stepped out of the house one night last week to run an errand. I prefer to think of the plane as an early evening shooting star :)

I have already seen two movies in 2010 - off to a great start. I saw Sherlock Holmes and Avatar. I enjoyed both of them, though Sherlock is in the lead. I just thought the Holmes/Watson relationship was adorable and hilarious. I feel like I was laughing at things in Avatar that weren't supposed to be funny, but I still found it enjoyable. If any of you have seen either film, what did you think?

Anyway, yesterday was back to work, and I'm already exhausted. I fell asleep at like 10:30 last night. I made sure to force myself to stay awake to watch my two hours of Heroes (love that show), but after that I was done. It'll probably take me the rest of this week to adjust to being at work again. Then next week I am flexing so that I can have Tuesday off so I'll be working extra long hours the rest of that week. Joy.

It was cool to see that I'm today's Featured Punkysite. It made my morning a bit brighter.

I love the Punkymoods icons :)

Well, back to work for me. I just have to keep in mind that it's already Tuesday. Only three more days (after this one) until the wonderful weekend - and on Friday night my man and I, accompanied by P and L, are going to the 2010 Professional Bull Riders Madison Square Garden Invitational :) I've never been to anything like it before but, thanks to Goldstar's discount tix, I'm going now! Should be interesting - hopefully even fun.

Happy New Year again everyone! Here's to an amazing, happy, healthy, safe and prosperous 2010 :)

Merry Merry Merry Christmas everyone!

2009-12-26T11:00:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Holiday! I'm off to run a few errands (even though I'd love to catch a few more hours sleep) - but I wanted to wish all of my friends in the blogoverse a Happy Holiday (if a bit belated :)

Have fun and stay safe everyone!

The two-hundred-and-seventy-first and two-hundred-and-seventy-second days combined...Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy!

2009-12-23T11:37:00.009-05:00

I cannot wait for 5:30 to come today. Why, you ask? Because that's when my vacation officially starts - and I can finally get some sleep. Well, actually 5:30 is when I'll be catching a quick nap on the train (and then on the bus) because when I get home, I'll have to head right back out to do some last minute shopping with my family. I really hope we get everything done tonight as I don't want to have to be a Christmas Eve shopper, but with our track record - we'll be out all afternoon tomorrow too :)

I actually just got my paycheck and am now certain that I will be out tomorrow as, silly me, I expected the Accounting department to do what they have been doing since I started working at my job and direct deposit my funds. How silly and naive of me! Nope, they chose to F me over and sent me a paper check - so now I have to wait for it to clear. What joyous holiday merriment. Thanks Accounting!

Man it's cold outside. Now, I know its' cold outside in NY, and you know it's cold outside in NY. Apparently, however, this woman was unaware as she chose to romp around the city in leggings and flip-flops. She was actually on line complaining that she was so cold and had no idea it would be so chilly out.

She knew enough to throw on a winter coat

In happy news, the absolutely lovely Kim from J & K, A Journey (a fabulous blog, btw – definitely check it out if you haven’t already :) tagged me and gave me an award recently! It is the…drumroll please…Happy 101 award! I love this award – and not just because the badge has cupcakes on it – but because this one is all about happiness and some of the things that make me happy :)

So, I have to list 10 things that make me happy, and try to do at least one of them today. Then, I am to tag 10 bloggers that brighten my day. Those 10 bloggers should link back to my blog (if they choose to create their own happy lists :)

And now for the fun:

1) Laughing and making others laugh – I can find humor in almost anything, and when I start laughing, I laugh long, loud and hard! It’s awesome – I wholeheartedly subscribe to the ‘a hearty belly laugh a day (or more in my case), keeps the doctor away’ adage :)

2) Movies :) Going to the movies, watching Netflix movies, watching movies on tv/cable...it's all wonderful.

3) The Ginger People Ginger Chews (original and spicy apple flavors :) They are sooooo good. If you are a fan of ginger candies, you have to try them. If you like them, you can actually buy them cheaper on Amazon too;

4) Writing in my journals. I've kept one since my freshman year in high school, and though I don't write things down as often as I did then, I still try to jot something down every now and then;

5) Writing stories and making up nonsense words. I have an over-active imagination (always have);

6) Gadgets. I love reading about and messing around with new gadgets. Ipods, video game systems, computers, watches, clocks, and so on and so on. I find it all fascinating;

7) Piping hot hot chocolate on cold days - with a bit of cinnamon and nutmeg added, and then topped with a handful of marshmallows and some whipped cream. Yum!;

8) Boardgame/Cardgame nights with family and friends. Ludo, Quelf, Uno, Clue - oh my;

9) Sleep. Ahhh, blissful sleep – especially when it’s actually a relaxing and restful night of sleep; and

10) Saving the best for last – my man and my family. They are just awesome - it's self explanatory, really.

All of the blogs that I follow (and those new ones that I discover each day) brighten my days; but here are 10:

1. Jeanette @ Cooler Ranch or Nacho Cheese?;
2. Badass Geek @ The Badass Geek;
3. Optimistic Pessimist @ The Audacity of an Optimistic Pessimist;
4. Sunshinemeg @ Float On…;
5. Moonjava @ Moonjava’s Muse;
6. Lee @ Photographing the Days;
7. Fidgeting Gidget @ Fidgeting Gidget;
8. Haley Dawn @ Cape Cod Love;
9. Novelista Barista @ The Novelista Barista; and
10. Children of the 90s @ Children of the 90s.

Have an amazing Hump Day everyone!

The two-hundred-and-sixty-sixth day to two-hundred-and-seventieth days combined...Hello Winter, Hello Snow!

2009-12-21T10:55:00.011-05:00

Hello everyone :) I hope you all had lovely, non-stressful weekends. My weekend was full of planning shopping routes (Friday) , shopping (Saturday), and then staying home and off the snow and slush filled roads (Sunday).

I stuck to my plan, and am only one gift away from being done with my Christmas shopping - I just have to get a treat for my doggie (he loves Christmas too :)

We headed out early on Saturday to try an avoid the snow. It started coming down very lightly when we were leaving Kohls; but it wasn't until we were leaving the mall at about 5:30 or so that things got bad. One would think that people had never seen snow before by the way people were driving. Thank goodness for hot chocolate and Netflix, because that's how I spent the rest of my night.

How did the weekend treat all of you?

Santa at the mall

The beginnings of the blizzard

P's holiday gifts for me (she had quite the Hello Kitty theme going with the ornament, Pez, and socks)

Have a great day everyone!

The Friday 5

2009-12-18T17:50:00.004-05:00

T.G.I.F everyone :)

I'm sitting here trying to plan out my Saturday shopping schedule so that I can ensure that I do everything I have to do while still getting home before the snow starts. So far, they have my area down to receive 6-12 (or slightly more) inches in blizzard-like conditions :) I just hope it all melts or is plowed before I have to head to work on Monday!

In the meantime, here's the Friday 5:

1. How seriously do you take gift-wrapping when you give gifts?
Very seriously :) I am all about presentation as a gift enhancer. Things always look so wonderful when they’re wrapped nicely.

2. Do you save gift-wrapping to re-use later?
Nope, all that wrapping is great to look at, but it gets ripped and then tossed.

3. How picky are you when it comes to selecting wrapping paper?
I’m more of a what’s-on-sale buyer :)

4. How much attention do you pay to the way gifts you receive are wrapped?
A bit, but not that much.

5. Among people you know, who is the most talented at wrapping gifts?
Not to pat myself on the back too much…but I’ll say me :)

Enjoy the rest of the day everyone!

The two-hundred-and-fifty-ninth through two-hundred-and-sixty-fifth days combined...I've been quite the busy bee :)

2009-12-16T20:09:00.009-05:00

Hello everyone. I hope you're all doing well this Hump Day. It has been such a busy week, jammed pack with school and work and all that jazz.

Last week was full of paper writing and finishing up all my last minute stuff for school. I did it though :) The term's over and I can relax a bit - at least until January.

My sister's came home for their winter break on Saturday (awesome!), and then on Sunday we headed into the city to take part in the Amazing New York Race scavenger hunt thing. We tried to find things, but it was simply raining too hard. Sooo, we gave up and just decided to have lunch and then hang out for a few hours.

This week's been good so far - full of food and candy at work thanks to an end of the year breakfast, a department potluck, an award ceremony, and a holiday lunch (tomorrow). And then...the best part of the week...Friday off! S'wonderful!

Here are some pics from Sunday :)

The ginormous tree at Rockefeller Center

Charmin's providing 'fresh, clean public restrooms' right there in Times Square :)

The three of us ended up at Ripley's Believe It Or Not! Odditorium. It was awesome. We had such a blast seeing all the weird and creative stuff in there. I swear, we were at a maturity level of about 10 the second we walked in, and we were about 8 when we eventually left. It was too much fun :)

A stallion sculpture made of recycled chrome car bumpers

A gumball Barack Obama

The real Popeye?

A little hologram dancer singing a ditty about Ripley's.

This chicken had 4 legs

Tourist statues (his camera flashes as people walk between them)

A Lincoln penny portrait

Eerie similarities between JFK and Lincoln

The Last Supper on a canvas of spiderwebs

This was the Black Hole (the camera flash ruins the effect, but it was like walking into a dark, awesome, mind-bending vortex)

My sister (Sis 2) and I took part in the Laser Race, and tried to dodge the laser grid like secret agents

My final score :) I actually made it to the far wall without touching any of the lasers, but on the way back I broke three at once. It was exhausting but so much fun

One of the exhibits in the lobby - Sexy Sadie, the bearded lady and her man. They lip-sync to whatever music is playing in the lobby at the time. When we walked through, they were rocking out to 'Don't Go Breaking My Heart'

It was a wet but ridiculously fun day :)

On another note, seeing as how I am going to be off on Friday, I was going to stay late at work today to get some stuff done. I was thinking that until I saw this message in my e-mail:

"We believe there may be an insect infestation isolated to two specific areas in our office space, a 14th floor closet and a 12th floor storage closet. We have blocked off both areas and will be exterminating them tonight at 7:00 PM. Please make sure you are out of the office by 6:30 PM to accommodate the cleaning crew. The areas being cleaned may be safely entered four hours after the cleaning, so there will be no problems accessing these areas tomorrow. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. Thanks"

What?! I think not. I was out promptly at 5:30. I asked a few people to better define what type of infestation was occurring, but received no answer. No answer = I go home. Creepy.

Well, how's the week going for all of you?

Have a great night!

The two-hundred-and-fifty-eighth day...

2009-12-09T23:43:00.005-05:00

I could barely focus at work today. It was raining so hard this morning that I was already exhausted by the time I made it in. Thank goodness my man was wonderful enough to drive me in because the train service was pretty much non-existent. Traffic was moving so slowly, but I was so grateful to be in a nice warm car! P called me a handful of times as she was waiting for her train. She waited for more than an hour before one finally stopped. It was just that kind of morning.

And that kids of afternoon as I was told that my end of the year assessment has been scheduled for bright and early on Monday morning :) Could be worse though. I'd rather get it over with right away (I actually think mine is the first one for our department), than have to wait till next Wednesday.

During lunch today, I passed two stores with holiday decorations in their windows, and couldn't help but notice the differences between the haphazard mess (you really have to see the whole panoramic scene to get the full effect)...

and the tasteful and lovely display :)

I am so ready for Christmas to be here already. I think I'll go listen to some carols :)

Have a wonderful night everyone!

The two-hundred-and-fifty-second through two-hundred-and-fifty-seventh days combined...

2009-12-08T22:38:00.003-05:00

It has been a rough week that's to school (it's end of the semester time!), computer connectivity issues, work stress, and co-worker stress (grownups acting like a petty high school clique = blecch!).

I'm tired, and cannot wait for the 23rd, so I can start my vacation. Next week should fly by pretty quickly though...hopefully. I have a department potluck on Tuesday (still don't know what, if anything, I'll be contributing yet), an awards ceremony on Wednesday (yea, cake will be served), the department holiday lunch on Thursday, and I'm off on Friday. Nice!

I put up my office Christmas decorations already - including my tree :)

I opted for the silver tree/red ornament combo...

...with the Santa tree topper :)

Do any of you guys have office holiday/end of the year parties coming up?

Well, I'm off to work on yet another paper. Have an amazing rest of the night everyone.

The two-hundred-and-fifty-first day...

2009-12-02T23:07:00.012-05:00

I went to the Sassy City Chicks Fashion Bash tonight thinking that it would be as good as the Shecky's Girl's Night Out event was. I was so wrong. I will never recommend that event to anyone. After the way things have been at work, I was looking forward to enjoying a free drink or two without stress. I was sorely disappointed.

First, P and I had VIP tickets but, according to the drunk and belligerent bouncer in the lobby there was no difference between VIP tickets and regular ones. Same line = too bad. They had all the attendees lined up on the stairs - and it was so hot. The heat + the wait was making for some cranky people. So a couple of the women went to ask the bouncer some questions. He then started cursing and yelling at them as they walked away from him. Yeah...the customer service went down from there.

Eventually P and I, along with a few other ladies, got pretty fed up, decided to bypass the bouncer's idiocy and seek out a manager. We had been waiting for about 15 minutes, but some people had been waiting for an hour or more. Ridiculous! So we walked upstairs only to be met with another less drunk, more surly and belligerent bouncer who reiterated that there was no difference between the $3 tickets and the $20 VIP tickets, and then passed us off to a manager. She spoke to the whole group yet continued to stare at me and, I have to tell you...I wasn't having it. I've had my bitch limit for the week and was done. I don't know what look she saw in my eyes, but she stopped trying to bs us and yelled out "Do you want to get in here?! Is that what you want? Is it?!" I simply said "Yes". No need for both of us to look insane. She was acting bitchy and crazy enough for three.

She walked us over to the check in table and told them to check us in, while the same more surly/belligerent bouncer stomped over, got in her face and said "Do you see what you did? Now you did this...you let them in...and now we have more people demanding to be let in. You did this!" Yeah, we walked away at that point. I haven't been to an event that disorganized in a long time.

Anyway, the event itself sucked. There were so few vendors there that it was just not worth it at all. This picture was pretty much the entire thing.

I wish I had gotten the names of that manager and the bouncers. As it is, I'll just have to find creative ways to refer to them in my complaint letter :)

Have a wonderful rest of the night everyone!

The two-hundred-and-fiftieth day...This is Howie Do It!

2009-12-01T23:04:00.009-05:00

Today ended up being such a crappy day. Why? Well, it ended up being one of those crap-hits-the-fan kind of workdays, and I unfortunately got caught in the storm. I chose the path of least resistance and just nodded my head and then left the room. I seriously hate being lumped in with other people's screw ups. I don't know how everyone will be handling the situation in the weeks to come, but I've had just about enough.

It was such a shame too since the day started off so nicely. First my man drove me into work (awesome!), then I found a great sale (wonderful!) and P and I even met Howie Mandel at his book signing in Barnes & Noble (sweet!).

He was very nice, but the tons-o-security guards and cops warning everyone not to touch him were a bit unnerving :)

It was hilarious. While she was getting her book signed, P asked him "So, when are new episodes of your show coming out?" He started to answer by saying, "Well, Deal or No Deal has -" and P cut him off with a wave of her hand and said "No, no, no. Not that one. No, the other one I like...Howie Do It!" He paused and stared at her for a few seconds, but then he started laughing. Pretty cool :)

... and then the day took a turn :( Crap balls! Oh well, here's to tomorrow being better!

Have a wonderful night everyone!

The two-hundred-and-forty-third through two-hundred-and-forty-ninth days combined...Sorry for the extended absence but it's been quite the week :)

2009-11-30T23:06:00.015-05:00

First of all... Happy Belated Thanksgiving/Black Friday/Cyber Monday everyone!

So, how was everyone's Turkey Day? Mine was simply excellent. I ate so much - but it was completely worth it :)

We are lucky enough to always have so much on the menu, and it's just amazing being able to spend the family time together.

My sisters came to work with me last Wednesday so that we could help our dad bring all the food home. We have some time to kill before we headed over to him so we strolled around the city.

We ended up watching the ice skaters in Bryant Park and buying some Crumbs cupcakes :) It was great realxing and passing the time - until it started raining that is.

I also saw this beautiful GT - seriously gorgeous, but the best part was the license plate.

I really like the movie Gone in 60 Seconds, so I got a kick out of it.

My parents also headed out during the weekend shopping madness and bought a new dining room set. The sales were pretty good.

I should have done some more Christmas shopping this weekend, but I was just plain too tired. If I could have I would have probably fallen asleep right after Thanksgiving dinner and stayed asleep until Monday morning.

I took today off anyway because it was my man's B-day! Happy Birthday sweetie! I wish I could have taken the whole week off :) It's going to be extra hard heading in to work tomorrow. It's always tough getting back into work mode after holidays and long weekends.

I hope everyone had an amazing holiday and weekend :) I really cannot believe that Christmas and New Year's are right around the corner.

G'night everyone!

The two-hundred-and-forty-second day...

2009-11-23T23:55:00.005-05:00

The countdown continues :) Monday down, Tuesday and a half day on Wednesday to go, and then...food and a long weekend! I cannot wait :)

I'm always on the lookout for fun things to do, and I came across this today - The Amazing New York Race: An Exciting Game All Over Manhattan.

I'm hoping that a few of my friends will be up for it. A race around NYC where we have to compete in challenges and you get to take pictures all day? I'm all for it - I mean I already have the unlimited Metrocard :) If anyone is interested, you can find more information here and here!

Well, I'm off to do some reading for class (or to play some Wii :)

Have a wonderful rest of the night everyone!

The two-hundred-and thirty-ninth to two-hundred-and-forty-first days combined...

2009-11-22T17:38:00.017-05:00

Hey everyone. I hope you're all having a great weekend!

Here's this week's (or rather last week's) Friday 5 - the theme was Book Titles, and that led to the questions being a bit different :)

1) What color is your parachute?
I'll take one with a sky pattern on the inside (for me to see) and some bright neon color on the outside (so everyone one else is sure to see me).

2) Who moved your cheese?
Probably that rat from the Farmer in the Dell song.

3) Where’s Waldo?
At work - hiding in the background just isn't paying what it used to.

4) Are you my mother?
Nope.

5) What’s happening to your body?
Haha...just no.

Anyway, on another note, why am I seeing this crazy product all over the place? Don't get me wrong, I get a kick out of the Snuggie, but a Snuggie for dogs? No. Has anyone else been seeing it?

Available in Pink and Blue

Who even thought that this product was necessary? If you haven't seen the commercial floating around, you can check it out here. It makes it seem like anyone who dares to put a regular doggie sweater on their dog (or rather who forces one over their dogs head and stuffs their legs through the sleeves) is evil.

On another note, I cannot believe that this Thursday is Turkey Day. I am so ready for the food (and the days off :) I usually make a hearty soup as my contribution to the meal, but this year I'm thinking of making cookies for dessert as well. What's on the menu for all of you who are celebrating the day - and even if your not celebrating the day, what's for dinner? :)

Have a wonderful rest of the weekend everyone!

Monthly Mixer Mele Challenge...Sometimes challenges can be fun :)

2009-11-20T17:31:00.005-05:00

I initially saw this reading challenge on miss cindy’s wonderful site, simple life and reading... I then followed the link back to, another interesting book review site called Jen’s Book Talk. Both sites are really great, so feel free to check them out when you get a chance (if you haven’t already :) If you choose to try the challenge, feel free to visit GFDesignz (@ Jen’s Book Talk) and let her know.

For this challenge, all you have to do is read a book that begins with a letter of each month or read a book where the authors name (first or last name, doesn’t matter) begins with a letter of each month. There are 74 letters so you will have to have 74 different books to complete the challenge. Books can however be used to complete other challenges.

You don’t have to do the months in any kind of order, just fill in books as you go along until you have a book by each letter. The challenge began on November 1, 2009 and ends November 2, 2010, so you have a whole year to complete the list! Let’s break out those books and get busy!

N

Mistral's Kiss

Blushing Pink

A Stroke of Midnight

The Good, The Bad, and The Undead

Seduced By Moonlight

The Soloist

Have Fun & Happy Reading to anyone else who decides to do this! :)

The two-hundred-thirty-eighth day...

2009-11-19T23:58:00.005-05:00

Nothing against Thursday, but thank goodness it's over. Just knowing that i am that must closer to the weekend is such an uplifting feeling right now. Hello weekend - I see your lovely visage on the horizon.

This was how I started my day...

My man was lovely enough to drive me in to work this morning (he's so awesome :) This HazMat vehicle followed us almost the whole way.

It's not the most comforting sight to see early in the morning - especially when it's headed the same way you are.

Anyway, anyone else super ready for the weekend? One of my sister's (Sis 1) is currently about to watch a midnight showing of New Moon. She and her friends camped out a bit, and have been on line since 8pm. I can't see myself camping out like that for any film. I love movies, but that's a bit too above and beyond for me :) I hope they have fun though. I will likely be seeing the film tomorrow - at a more reasonable time :)

So, how did Thursday treat all of you? Have a great night everyone!

The two-hundred-thirty-fifth, two-hundred-thirty-sixth, and two-hundred-thirty-seventh days combined...

2009-11-18T23:58:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the belated posts. I hate being so busy that all my free time is spent sleeping, napping or dreaming about sleeping and napping.

Here's a few pictures that detail how I've been getting through the last few days:

They opened a location closer to my job. Yea!

A little sour to start the day - strawberry, of course.

We were provided with a delicious lunch of pizza, wings and salad at work today. This Turkey Day-esque cupcake was dessert.

As you can see, I'm pretty much 100% running on sugar right now. Is it Friday yet?

How are all of you doing? Have an amazing rest of the night everyone!

The two-hundred-and-thirty-first through two-hundred-and-thirty-fourth days...

2009-11-15T22:02:00.008-05:00

How's everyone doing? I have been so busy these last few days. School, work, dealing with my new customer service friends. Seriously, I've spoken with so many people that I know some of the reps entirely too well.

I am so tired of dealing with people, that I am simply not ready to deal with work tomorrow. I can't believe that the weekend flew by so quickly. My man and I did get to see 2012 though, so that was great. It was completely implausible and over-the-top, but the special effects were wonderful and I really enjoyed it. Since it was so effects driven, it's definitely a movie theater/big screen film.

I'm trying to think of birthday gifts for my man - his b-day is at the end of the month. I was initially thinking of doing something touristy in the city like a harbor cruise, a tour, a show, or going somewhere like Top of the Rock...

...but I'm thinking of taking him out for something a little closer to home. I don't know. I've spent so much time thinking about what to get him for Christmas that I'm a bit at a loss for his birthday.

Oh, before I forget: The poll has closed. So, what was your favorite TV show from the old ABC TGIF lineups? The majority of the votes went to Boy Meets World, with Step by Step, Family Matters, and Full House in a triple tie for second place :)

Anyway, again, how have all of you been? Anything interesting happen this weekend?

Have a wonderful rest of the night!

The two-hundred-and-thirtieth day...Can someone please explain why my cell phone company and UPS are against me?

2009-11-11T23:08:00.008-05:00

This is how my phones arrive? Really T-mobile? Really UPS?

What the h*** is wrong with you people? I seriously cannot deal with the customer service reps from either two companies anymore.

This is ridiculous! My letters to the respective headquarter offices will be mailed off this week.

I really hope you all had a better day than me :)

Enjoy the rest of the night!

The two-hundred-and-twenty-eighth and two-hundred-and-twenty-ninth days combined...

2009-11-10T23:56:00.002-05:00

I've been dealing with T-mobile for the last few days. I must have spoken with 8 different reps, and still don't know exactly what I'll be seeing on my bill next month. The customer service process with them is just ridiculous. The reps are all nice enough, but they frustrate the crap out of me. Let's hope they actually got everything right and my bill is correct; I can't afford mistakes :)

My man drove me in to work this morning. It was lovely. I was so tired that I wanted to pass out the second I got in the car, but we started listening to the Z100 morning show, with Elvis Duran and it was hilarious. I love that show :)

Some pics from my day...

The bird colony on top of a building - witnessed as my man and I sat stuck in traffic

A tour bus...

...with quite the slogan.

The ice skaters are out...

...and this guy was doing all kinds of tricks. Show off :)

The fortune from my Chinese food. Seriously? If anyone wins anything with those numbers, feel free to send me money :)

Have a great night everyone! I'm so tired, I think I actually feel asleep two hours ago :)

*** Just a quick add on :) Today (well, yesterday (the 10th) now :) was my younger sister's 21st birthday! I cannot believe that she's 21 already. Happy 21st B-Day shoutout K!!! ***

The two-hundred-and-twenty-sixth and two-hundred-and-twenty-seventh days combined...

2009-11-08T12:11:00.001-05:00

I woke up this morning feeling lighter than air - well, feeling pretty good :)

I had a great dream and woke up enjoying the weekend. I had completely forgotten that it was Sunday - today just felt like a Saturday to me. That is, of course, until I remembered that I had a paper due.

I was so bogged down with work this week that I hardly got to my school work. I hadn't written a single word. Luckily I finished it and e-mailed it off to my professor (with 5 minutes to spare), but I have to get more organized.

Speaking of organized :) I'm organizing the list of November movies that I want to see. So far I have A Christmas Carol, 2012, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, Old Dogs, and Ninja Assassin. I want to see The Men Who Stare at Goats and The Private Lives of Pippa Lee, but they are both wait-for-Netflix choices for me.

What about all of you? Did the weekend get away from any of you? And what November movies are you looking forward to?

Have a great night everyone!

The two hundred-and-twenty-fifth day...

2009-11-06T19:57:00.005-05:00

T.G.I.F. everyone!

This has been one heck of a week, and I am so glad that the weekend is finally here.

And now…drumroll please…here’s the Friday 5:

1) According to the cliche, if you "spare the rod," you "spoil the child." Who in your life was probably spared A Rod while growing up?
No clue really :)

2) In how many directions this week did you feel you were being Yanked?
At least 100. This was a hard workweek.

3) On whom have you depended for relief this week?
My man and my family. I definitely needed to be talked down a few times this week!

4) Who deserves a standing ovation this week (or even a hip-hip Jorge)?
Will everyone who’s feeling a little (or a lot) stressed please raise their hands. All of those people - me included :)

5) When did you last have a taste of Champagne?
Exactly a year ago, at my friend’s wedding. Happy Anniversary A!

So, yesterday was, once again, my turn to bring in lunch for the lunch swap; and, once again, my dad was wonderfully awesome and provided the grub :)

On the menu was chicken scarpariello, haricot verts, garlic and herb fusilli pasta, chicken and pasta soup, salad, apple pie, and cherry pie. It was so good! I really need to learn how to cook like my parents :)

I even went the extra mile and set the scene, complete with mini gourds on the tables and a pin the hat on the turkey game (with a prize of a pack of pens - supplies are getting scarce around there). It was a fun lunch hour before I had to head back to actual work.

I hope everyone is enjoying their Friday, and hope you all have a great weekend. I think I'll start some Christmas gift window shopping tomorrow :)

Enjoy the rest of the night everyone!

The two-hundred-twenty-second, two-hundred-twenty-third, and two-hundred-and-twenty-fourth days combined...

2009-11-05T10:12:00.010-05:00

Sorry for not posting for a couple of days. I've been so tired, and busy, and stressed, etc. Not only do I feel like I'm getting sick again, but work is kicking my butt - hard.

I don't know how it happened, as the projects that come in are supposed to be assigned on a rolling basis, but I was assigned two projects that start next week. I was assigned both projects on Monday (the 2nd). One wants to start on Monday (the 9th), and the other wants to start next Friday (the 13th). Keep in mind that the we generally need 6 to 8 weeks to complete the paperwork process, so being assigned both of these really pissed me off. Not only that, but everyone at work has known, since September, that I will be out of the office on the 6th and the 13th. The whole thing has just had me tight all week. It sucks when you feel like you're being taken advantage of at work - well, anywhere really.

I did find time to take my Halloween decorations down - and put up my Turkey Day ones, of course!

If I had captured a side view, you'd be able to tell that the big centerpiece is a turkey :)

This morning some of my co-workers and I stumbled into a serious conversation about the old ABC TGIF lineup :)

Pictures obtained here, here, here and here

It was a welcome moment of levity, and it was hilarious that the conversation went on as long as it did. It started off when J shouted out the question "What was that show...that one with LL Cool J? Not the new one - the old one." I instant shouted out my reply, "In the House?" Then P shouted back, "Hey, was that in the TGIF thing?" The conversation snowballed from there :) Unfortunately, I now have the Family Matters theme song stuck in my head. I can't believe I even remember it.

Tangent: A lot of shouting goes on in our office each day. I often wonder what people on the other ends of all the phone conversations think when they call us and are trying to discuss business only to hear things like "F*** that! I told him to get that to me now!", "She hasn't cashed her checks since June. What the h*** does she want me to do", and "I understand that you felt uncomfortable when he told you to take your bra off ma'am. We will definitely contact the company and get to the bottom of this".

Anyway, I loved the TGIF lineup when it was on. How about you? Anyone out there who used to love Perfect Strangers, Family Matters, Step by Step, Full House, Boy Meets World, Mr. Belvedere, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, etc? I have a poll to the right. Vote if you get a chance :)

Have a great day everyone!

The two-hundred-and-twenty-first day...

2009-11-02T23:47:00.004-05:00

Today was pretty slow - and yet I'm still tired :)

I saw a new Train of Thought (yea!)

Every man takes the limits of his own field of vision for the limits of the world.

~ Schopenhauer, Studies in Pessimism

On another note, when I went out to take a walk at lunch time, I saw that the sidewalk across the street from one of the hotels in the area was packed with people all holding cameras. I, of course, instantly took out my own camera and asked the lady next to me who everyone was waiting for...well, apparently the vice-president himself was about to exit the hotel!

I snapped a few pics of the police, guards, Secret Service, etc. while I waited.

And waited.

And waited. I finally gave up since I only get an hour for lunch and, sorry Mr. VP, but I had things to do :) As I was walking away, I heard a police officer tell one of the other onlookers that no pictures of the VP would be allowed, and that they would clear the entire street before he walked out anyway. Thanks for letting us know before we wasted our time. Well, it was still an experience anyway :) Enjoy the rest of the night everyone!

The two-hundred-and-eighteenth through two-hundred-and-twentieth days...Halloween weekend edition :)

2009-11-01T22:15:00.012-05:00

This turned out to be a fun Halloween weekend. Only four people actually dressed up for work on Friday (including me - I was a goth rag doll this year), but it was still a fun day.

We trick-or-treated at each of the departments. I was surprised that my department actually had the best selection.

I added the Swedish Fish, Sour Patch Kids, and Candy Corn to the pot :)

My department also had a dessert potluck, which went extremely well.

My contribution was the platter of peanut butter cookies, chocolate chip cookies and oatmeal raisin cookies on the right.

Halloween inspired mudslides

Some more treats that my boss put out (yes, the soup was up for grabs too)

Another of my co-workers dressed as Ramses and decorated his area in an Egyptian theme. He goes all out every year and this year was no exception.

He even made a mummy...

and created a story to go along with the display.

I was a goth rag doll; picture Raggedy Ann except all black and white. It was a fun costume - a lot different from my hippie costume from last year.

I decided that I needed a pet, so I carried my mummified kitten around in my skull purse all day.

Everyone got a huge kick out of it since it dances and sings "Who Let the Dogs Out?" when it's leg is pressed.

Then on Saturday, my man and I went to a Halloween house party for a while.

That's my man on the left :) He went as a Ring Wraith (from LOTR) this year.

The party was fun, but I was exhausted when I got home - and I still am. Thank goodness for Daylight Savings Time ending. I felt that extra hour today :)

So, how did Halloween trick or treat all of you? Any interesting costumes, anyone eat too much candy (I know I did), any interesting parties?

Have a wonderful night everybody!

The two-hundred-and-seventeenth day...

2009-10-29T23:23:00.003-04:00

Hello everyone :) I hope you all had wonderful days. Mine was okay - which was a definite upgrade from the beginning of the week, so I'm glad. I am also glad that tomorrow is Friday! This week has just been way way way too long.

Anyway, P and I played tourist again today. It was wonderful - I just wish I actually was one. I think the first stop for my man and I on our tourist tour would have to be Paris. I've always wanted to go, and what better place to start :)

Enjoy some pics from the day...

Tomorrow is Friday everyone. The weekend is almost here :) Have a wonderful night!

The two-hundred-and-sixteenth day...

2009-10-28T22:56:00.000-04:00

Things are going from bad to worse at work - for some. My work experience is still about the same level of stressful, but tensions are on the rise for some of my co-workers; and they just scheduled a mandatory department titled 'Housekeeping Matters' for next month. I can already see, based on rumblings around the dept, that it's not going to be a pretty half an hour.

The recognition team at work is trying to get everyone into the Halloween spirit though. They handed out mini pumpkins for everyone to decorate.

I offered to help hand the pumpkins out just so I could help myself to a nicer looking one. I'm glad that I got this one as most of them were either really small gourds or they were wet and covered in dirt. I guess they opted not to wash (or even wipe) them off, so it was funny to watch them handing out dirty pumpkins to people - 'Happy Halloween! Here's a cold, dirty, wet pumpkin for you to decorate. Enjoy!'

How was your day?

Enjoy the rest of the night everyone!

The two-hundred-and-fifteenth day...

2009-10-27T23:27:00.008-04:00

Today was an especially hard day at work. There is just way too much political nitty-gritty going on behind the scenes and it's starting to affect everyone's mood and attitudes toward one another. As if work itself isn't hard enough :) I don't need to deal with attitudes from adults who are, apparently, still stuck in high school clique mode. Hopefully tomorrow will be better. Hopefully. Well either that or that the rest of the week flies by so I can enjoy my Halloween weekend :)

Sephora's got Halloween spirit :)

Nice :)

What was the most amazing today? I received my wonderful prize from the giveaway Novelista Barista had a while ago :) She gave away this lovely Twilight inspired bookmark created by Ocean Dreamer over at Ocean Dreams! Thank you both again, btw!

The picture doesn't do it justice :) It really is lovely, and I can't wait to show it to the other Twilight fans in my life :)

You all should definitely visit both blogs (i.e. Novelista Barista and Ocean Dreams) as both sites are great; and for more lovely Ocean Dreams items her Etsy shop, Ocean Dreams Studio, can be found here.

Enjoy the rest of the night everyone!

The two-hundred-and-fourteenth day...(a little belated)

2009-10-27T09:20:00.009-04:00

Sorry for the belated post everyone. I felt so drained yesterday that I fell asleep almost as soon as I got home. I actually fell asleep on the train and the bus on my way home, waking up just in time for my stops on each. I don't know why I was so tired, but I was out like a light at 9:30. The sad part is I don't feel rested at all :( It's going to be a long day.

I passed these trees on the way to the train yesterday and smiled a little - until I realized that it's still October.

It looks like the man and woman in the center weren't impressed

I love Christmas and all the accompanying decorations, but can we at least get through Halloween first? A few houses in my area actually have their Christmas light up and turned on already. Too soon people. Too soon :)

I was excited to see this on the bus though...

"As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning

from uneasy dreams he found himself

transformed in his bed in a giant insect."

- Franz Kafka, "The Metamorphosis

A new Train of Thought! Yea! It's been awhile since I saw one - and this is a good one :)

And then when I got home, this was waiting for me...

Another catalog; this one for Gifts of Service through the Seva Foundation. I haven't signed up for anything recently so I'm not sure why I am getting all of these types of catalogs now; but I am happy that they are all for such good causes. You can check out the site here if you're interested.

Have a great day everyone!

The two-hundred-and-tenth to two-hundred-and-thirteenth days combined...

2009-10-25T23:56:00.014-04:00

Apparently, Blogger didn't want me posting anything for the last few days as it wouldn't let me do anything. It was a little sad not being able to post or reply at all :( But, thank goodness it's working now :)

The haunted house and wax museum were amazing. They were both scary - the haunted house slightly more so - but they were so good! I hate zombies - there's just something seriously wrong with the whole idea of them. This made it even scarier that every zombie in the haunted house followed me around. They didn't bother anyone else - just me. It was so freaky! One woman got so scared at the end that she almost knocked me and the rest of our group down to get to the exit. It was hilarious. It was actually made more hilarious by the fact that she left her boyfriend behind without so much as a glance or an "I'll meet you outside". She was stuck on a scream loop the entire time and then just took off at the end.

Madam Tussauds was fun, but a bit too short. The whole thing took about 25 minutes and 10 of that was a scary documentary. It was eerie though being in the wax museum when it's pitch black. Some of those figures are too realistic for my liking.

Unfortunately, flash photography was not allowed in either of the places, and it was too dark to get any good non-flash shots. My man and I took a few Times Square shots and grabbed a couple as we were leaving the wax museum though.

It was a great Halloweeny night :) I'd definitely go back to both again - especially now that I know what to expect :)

How was everyone else's weekend?

Have a wonderful night!

The two-hundred-and-eighth and two-hundred-and-ninth days combined...

2009-10-21T23:24:00.007-04:00

Hello all :) I hope you all had a wonderful Hump Day. Mine was pretty hectic. I had to finish a paper for school that was due today. I pretty much e-mailed it to my professor in the nick of time, but at least it's done :) I stayed late at work to finish it and didn't end up getting home until 10:30 or so.

It was a long day, indeed.

Work, was work. It was hard, but that's why they call it work and not happy, fun time. My projects are all out to get me, but I have Friday off, so I am just going to head in tomorrow with a smile while I tell myself that it's my Friday and I can sleep as late as I want the next day.

Also, I am super excited about tomorrow because, after work, my man and I are getting our scary Halloween on :) First we are going to a haunted house called Nightmare: Vampires; and then we are going to the After Dark Exhibit at Madame Tussauds New York. I am so easily scared that I'm not sure how I'm going to react to all that scariness - I know that I'll definitely scream, but after reading some of the reviews I feel like I may also cry :) We got both sets of tickets from Goldstar.com, so everything came to about $50 - can't beat that :) If you ever need discount tickets, I highly recommend checking Goldstar as they have great discounts for a lot of events (feel free to click the link here if you'd like :)

This catalog was waiting for me when I got home.

It's from Heifer International. I've never heard of the organization before, but I had to check out the site as soon as I was done thumbing through the catalog.

It's so cool to think that you can give the gift of a cow, goat, pig, etc. Click here to view the catalog page from their site if you're interested.

Well, I'm off to watch Top Chef and then go to sleep. Is anyone else following the show this season? It started off a bit slow, but I'm really happy with the contestants that are left now. It's getting pretty interesting!

Enjoy the rest of the night everyone!

The two-hundred-and-seventh day...

2009-10-19T23:37:00.004-04:00

I love Halloween. I love getting dressed up in costume and having fun. I'm still on the fence about what I'm going to be this year. I was a hippie last year, and I loved it. It helped that I have a big thing for peace signs. This year, I'm thinking something darker. We'll see...

I really love discounted Halloween candy. Rite Aid has rows and rows of it on sale this week :) I got two huge bags (one with individually wrapped packets of candy corn and one with packets of sour patch kids and Swedish fish).

I left half of each at work for my office mates to snack on (there are a lot of sweet tooth's where I work :), and took the rest home to put out for trick-or-treaters.

Some of my decorations

Some of the candy

Are any of you planning to dress up for Halloween this year?

Enjoy the rest of the night!

Who here loves ice cream?

2009-10-19T01:17:00.002-04:00

I know I do :) and that's why I love Floreta's giveaway that she has going on over at her wonderful blog, The Solitary Panda.

She is giving away one of these cool Big Love Ice Cream Bowl and Spoon sets to a lucky winner.

Sold by AllModern.com

Check out her site :) All the details to enter can be found at Floreta's site here; and the contest ends on October 29, 2009.

The two-hundred-and-fifth and two-hundred-and-sixth days combined...

2009-10-18T21:02:00.005-04:00

I love finding great deals and recently bought both these lovely shoes for about $30 each. Thank you DSW and wonderful sales :)

Anyway, on to other things. Winter is coming up just a little to fast for my liking; I don't even have my winter clothes out of storage yet :( Today was so rainy and cold that I didn't even get to go out and take any pictures today as I was stuck writing papers (and shivering - the heat needs to be higher immediately).

I took a short break to try and gather my thoughts for this paper, but it didn't really help. I'm pretty much stuck so I'm going to watch some TV and hope inspiration comes to me. It better come quick - the paper is due my midnight (via e-mail).

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. Enjoy the rest of the night!

The two-hundred-and-fourth day...

2009-10-16T23:58:00.003-04:00

Well, my workweek was craptastic, but tonight was great. T.G.I.F. indeed. P and I met up with my wonderful friend K after work to hang out and get some belated B-day drinks. It was great. We went to Tequilaville for happy hour and enjoyed some cheap beer, nachos and potato skins - and a lot of hilarious conversation. We were there for a few hours and just enjoyed the opportunity to unwind :)

The night got even better after that. My man and I went to see Law Abiding Citizen and were able to sneak into the last show of Couples Retreat afterwards. Law Abiding Citizen was really good overall, but I thought that Couples Retreat should have been funnier given the cast. It had many funny moments, but kind of fell flat for me as a whole.

The best part of the night though, were these...

My man, bought me a dozen roses just because. He knew I had a rough week and wanted to give me something to raise my spirits :) I love that man!

How did Friday treat all of you?

Enjoy the rest of the night everyone!

The two-hundred-and-third day...(a little belated)

2009-10-16T09:22:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was hectic at work (today's going to be worse); so hectic, that I fell asleep within minutes of getting home. I have school work to do - and Supernatural to watch - but I just couldn't. I fell asleep on the couch for a "nap" before barely waking up and stumbling to bed. All I can say is T.G.I.F. I am working a short week, but it feels like the neverending week.

To cut the tension yesterday, P and I went back to Build-a-Bear. It was so rainy and cold, and B-a-B is right at the corner so we took the trip. She ended up making another bear, and I made a bunny.

Meet Kandi Kane and Juicy Jessica Jet

Her bear is a Jets cheerleader to accompany the Jets football player bear that she has at home. I made a bunny wife for the koala I made last time we went there. I blew about $30, but it did help me forget about the stack of files on my desk for awhile so it was worth it.

And now, back to work. Have a wonderful Friday everyone!

The two-hundred-and-second day...back to work.

2009-10-14T23:03:00.005-04:00

So how was everyone's Wednesday?

Mine was...not so grand. Work was pretty much horrible today. Who knew that it was possible to come back to that amount of work :( The first thing my assistant did when she saw me was apologize. She then started to bring the files in. In waves. Did I mention that it was a horrible day? The rest of October is going to be this bad. Why do so many projects have to start in October? Don't they know that I have three papers to write for school :)

Anyway, on a lighter note, I bought this sign for my mom.

She got a kick out of it, which made my day :)

I'm off to do some reading and then go to sleep (which will likely turn into my ditching the reading and going straight to sleep).

Good night everyone :)

The two-hundred-and-first day...

2009-10-13T22:02:00.004-04:00

I love the fall.

I love the light jacket weather, the crispness in the air, the start of the fall/winter holiday seasons, and the lovely fall foliage. Lake George gave me some wonderful pics of that :)

Enjoy...

I'm off to do some schoolwork. Have a wonderful night everyone :)

The two hundredth day...

2009-10-12T22:52:00.007-04:00

I miss Lake George...

Santa Claus, Paul Bunyan, and Uncle Sam say hello :)

...well, that's only half true. I miss Lake George, but what I really miss is the feeling I had last Tuesday when I knew that I'd be on vacation (and away from work) for a week.

Tomorrow is my last day off - then it's back to the grind. I cannot even begin to imagine the crap storm of paperwork, voice mails, and e-mails waiting for me. And I won't. Not until 9:30 am on Wednesday, that is.

Why, you ask? Because my man got me a Wii for my B-day (yea!!!), and I have been playing the heck out of that thing :)

Have a wonderful night everyone!

Some more pics...I love amusement parks AND Happy Birthday to me!

2009-10-11T15:00:00.002-04:00

My man and I also went to Six Flags - The Great Escape while we were in Lake George :) Gotta love roller coasters and carnival games.

This restroom was like something out of "Deliverance". We stayed out of there :)

This coaster - The Comet - was Amazing!

Who doesn't want to wear a cape every now and then? My man and I each got one. He picked the dark blue Justice League cape, and I chose the Wonder Woman cape :) Awesome!

My man and I took a ride above the park on the Magic Carpet ride

This guy, who I am hoping was a park employee, kept going around with his all too realistic chain saw (with real chain saw sounds) and scaring people. It was great!

Too cute!

The singing and dancing zombie entertainment

He didn't make it :( Poor guy - lol. Six Flags really goes all out for Fright Fest!

And last, but not least....drumroll please....(haha!)

Happy Birthday to me! :) This is the lovely (and rather tall) b-day hat that my family got for me :) I love when my birthday falls on the long Columbus Day weekend (when I have Monday off like I do this year, that is).

Have an amazing day everyone!

The hundred-and-ninety-fifth to hundred-and-ninety-ninth days...Lake George is Awesome :)

2009-10-11T13:47:00.013-04:00

Hello everyone :) It's been awhile. I was in Lake George with my man on our first real mini-vacation, and it was fantastic. It's off season there so there weren't that many people around, which made it even more relaxing. The leaves are changing too, so the views were so gorgeous.

It is just so beautiful up there.

Our hotel was right on the lake so we were able to take a paddle boat out and have the whole area to ourselves. It was perfect - chilly, but perfect :)

When we were out in the paddle boat, we passed a family of ducks enjoying the cool water :)

Caught a passing seagull/snow bird

My colorful glove :)

We took a luncheon cruise on the second day, and had a lovely view :)

Some champagne to toast with :)

A delicious lunch was topped off with a delicious dessert of tiramisu

I could have stayed up there for another week (or two), at least. Vacations are fun :)

So, how have you all been these last few days? I hope you are all doing well, and enjoying the holiday weekend :)

Have a great day everyone!

The hundred-and-ninety-fourth day...(a little belated due to connection issues)

2009-10-06T10:19:00.004-04:00

I love this shirt :) It's just funny to me in that sarcastic way.

I wish I could buy it and wear it to work sometimes - not that I hate anyone there, but it would be interesting to note people's reactions. That, and the pettiness at work is starting to grate on my nerves an bit. How is it that a professional working environment can seem so much like high school sometimes.

We had a mandatory meeting yesterday to discuss going green in the office. They call it going green, but everyone there knew that the driving force behind the meeting was maybe 25% going green and 75% cutting costs. We were informed that we should try to print out our documents without cover pages to help save trees. I would agree with that, except that every time I print a document out without a cover sheet someone end up either taking it by accident or throwing it away before I can walk to the printer.

We were also told that we would no longer be provided with disposable cups, plates, and utensils in the kitchen...actually the way they said it was something more along the lines of 'wouldn't you rather bring your own anyway? It's healthier because then you can wash them and know exactly whose been touching them.' They provided extra soap and sponges to ensure that we keep everything nice and tidy. The problem with this is that I have seen the sponges at my job, who uses them, and how. I would never touch those sponges, much less wash anything with them and call the item clean. Those sponges are soggy, smelly bacteria havens. No. Thank. You. I mean, I am all for reducing waste and all that, and I pretty much bring my own stuff anyway, but it kind of sucks that they aren't even providing cups at the water cooler anymore.

We also only get a certain allotment of paper towels and napkins in the kitchen. Pretty soon, they'll probably tell us that we have to bring our own toilet paper from home :)

So how's life in your offices, etc?

Have a wonderful day everyone!

The hundred-and-ninety-second and hundred-and-ninety-third days combined...

2009-10-04T23:59:00.006-04:00

I'm so excited! My man and I are actually going away together! To celebrate my upcoming birthday, we are heading up to Lake George on Wednesday and coming back on Saturday. My birthday is actually on Sunday, so well be back in time for us to celebrate a bit with my fam as well :)

I've never been to Lake George, but Omar has always wanted to go and everyone that I've spoken to whose been there says it's absolutely beautiful, especially in the fall when the leaves start to change.

I'm not sure what the room we'll have will look like. Truthfully, I don't care so long as it's private, clean and everything is in working order. I wish that it would look like the room my family had during one of our trips to PA...

...but somehow, I think it will be more standard than that. Who cares, though. I'm so excited! :)

I have so many pending projects at work, and even though I keep reminding everyone that I will be on vacation for a week, they still insist on assigning me things with October deadlines that fall during the time I will be out. Why? I have no clue. I'll have to speak with my Manager about that tomorrow.

Anyway, I just took some more cough medicine, so I'm off to sleep :) Have a wonderful night everyone!

The hundred-and-eighty-eighth through hundred-and-ninety-first days...

2009-10-02T22:37:00.011-04:00

Well, I'm still sick (which SUCKS!). The fever has left and was replaced by coughing - which sucks even more :( I had the day off today, and P called me to let me know that my boss took a sick day. I can already hear her blaming me for getting her sick on Monday. She'll say it in that half-joking/half-serious way that's always a pain to hear from your manager. Oh well!

When I got to work on Wednesday, I looked like a wreck. My fever had only broken that morning, but I took the morning to rest and headed into work for a half day. My man dropped me off and waited in the car for a while just in case I felt too sick to stay. Wednesday was a real rainy crappy weather day, which pretty much matched how I was feeling.

The sky looked horrible. I'm glad Fall is finally here, but this rain needs to go away.

When I got to work and went to see my boss, she took a look at me and asked me how I was feeling. I won't lie - I looked horrible, so I answered that I was still feeling pretty bad, and she said "Well, maybe you should just go home?" But she said it in a tone of voice that meant I should stay, so I replied "Well, I have a lot of work, but..." thinking that she would let me go. She looked at me and said "You're right, you do have a busy month. You should stay and do what you can, but if you feel like you are going to pass out then you can leave." Can you believe that? I know I couldn't. I just closed my office door and stayed in there for the rest of the day. All I can say is T.G.I.F and thank goodness I had the day off. I needed the rest.

Yesterday was pretty much the same, but I did manage to get one cool pic at work. Kid Cudi came in to handle some union business and was nice enough to take a couple of pics.

That was pretty cool. Well, I hope you are all feeling great and enjoying the weekend :)

Have a great night everyone!

Sorry everyone...

2009-10-01T10:39:00.003-04:00

...but I was a lot sicker than I thought. The fever was running high, but thank goodness it broke and I am almost back at 100% (or however much I actually give at work on a regular basis). I'll have some pics and my manager's reaction to my being sick later.

Have a wonderful day everyone!