I really, really need a day off. I mean a real day off, not just a day where I don't have to go to work. I need a day to slump on the couch with a remote control and a day's worth of non-perishable food and drink strewn about me and the cat perched on my lap. I don't want any deliverables. I don't want to work. I don't want to do homework. I don't want to do housework. I don't want to do yard work. I don't want to fill up the car with gas, or go grocery shopping, or go to the post office, or drop stuff off or pick stuff up, or abandon my jammies for real clothes or work out or anything. I want to veg out completely. And take a nap. Maybe watch some DVDs. Or play video games. Or read for pleasure. Ah, the good old days. I remember leisure time. I wonder how PS2, XBox, and Gameboy are doing these days. We haven't hung out in a while...
I'm very busy. I know this does not make me unique. I know there are people worse off than me. I expect no sympathy. I'm just saying, I'm very busy. Every day is a mad rush to get everything done. I go to work, I go home, I eat, I work out, I do homework, I do housework, and then I go to bed. I don't even really get to wind down before going to bed. At home, I sit down only to eat and do homework. (I just finished.) Once I leave work every day, I have no downtime whatsoever. It kinda sucks. I rebel by doing this instead of doing something important.
However! I have a day off coming up! Well, sorta. I have a day in which I do not have to get up or take the train or go to work or do homework. I am taking the 29th off. Woo! Yay me! I'm going to sleep in and have a leisurely breakfast, watch TV, do a little reading, go to the dentist and have an old filling removed and replaced, and maybe mow my lawn if it isn't raining. That's as close as I get to a "real" day off, apparently. That will all change after I graduate, when I get to have real days off again. It'll be great. I'll dream of the day.
Oddly, all of this has had an interesting effect on me. I'm far more disciplined than I used to be. I'm actually doing the daily workouts, the daily chores, not waiting until the last minute to study and get my assignments done, eating healthy food, not blowing my money. I guess hardship really does build character. Curses! My parents were right again!
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Monday, March 20, 2006
They pay me for this?
It has been a painfully slow day at work. You can tell by the number of posts. My mantra for the day: Good god, a thought got through! I must post it! Because of the distinct lack of work to do, I indulged in the Girl Scout cookies someone tossed to us wolves. If I had been preoccupied with, say, the quarter-end inventory package or something on that par, I would never have noticed they were there. Tomorrow there will be pastries. And not just any pastries, mind you, but Top Pot pastries. Tuesdays are bad days for those of us who are paying attention to our health. I always grab an apple fritter. They have fruit in them - that's healthy, right?
I misjudged.
That test I took a couple of weeks ago in Accounting 440 that I said I failed? I was wrong. I got 80%. I still came out of the class with an A-. Wooo!
The Alpine Lakes Wilderness Area is calling my name.
I am hoping to do a nice weekend hike for Memorial Day. This is where I intend to go.
Look how pretty... Not just a pretty lake with pretty mountains, but pretty whistling marmots!
I'm just hoping for decent weather. If I can't do this for Memorial Day due to remaining snowpack, I may have to wait until the Fourth of July. I'm going to keep a sharp eye on the hiking boards to watch the conditions. Wish me luck.
Bang head here.
You know how people say that hindsight is 20/20? I think they're full of crap. The things that cause us to make our mistakes in the first place are the same things that influence our examination of and reactions to them. If hindsight was 20/20, we wouldn't keep making the same mistakes over and over.
Oi vey. Just get along, can't we all?
I just went down to Starbucks. I make a couple of visits each day to them. I like them. They know my name, they know what I want, and they treat me like they like me. And they give me coffee! It also gives me an excuse to run up the 5 flights of stairs to get back to the office. I need the exercise. I chatted with Cathy briefly about her impending final days with us - she's going to a new store. Anyway, I wandered in and went to the end of the line just in time to hear the end of a conversation between two men that went something like this: "They were all just a bunch of filthy fucking Jews." Then he turned around and looked at me. I look a little Jewish. I just smiled down at him. Waaay down. I think he came up to my chin. I wanted to say something along the lines of, "That's funny, coming from a short, fat, greasy, balding guy that smells like he hasn't showered in a week." And then maybe wobble his dewlaps to emphasize the point. But I refrained. What can I say, I'm a coward.
Sunday, March 19, 2006
Hey, buddy, can you spare a teaspoon of tumeric?
I got up early to go to the grocery store. I like to go when there is nobody there but me and the nice people that stock the shelves and ask me if I'm finding everything OK. It is a beautiful, sunny day. There was frost on the ground this morning, and a light ground fog that the sun shone through, making everything sparkly and calm. I got out to the main road and almost to the store before even seeing another car. As I neared the intersection, I realized that the traffic signal was off. I went through the intersection and headed for the gas station next to the grocery store, but it was taped off with yellow warning tape. It was then that I realized that the entire city block had no power. I, however, had a desperate need for tumeric and ground cloves (you can't make chicken vindaloo without them), so I drove all the way down to the other grocery store. I prefer my grocery store. It is bigger, has a far better variety, I know the layout, and I get excellent discounts because I have one of those cards that tells them everything I buy and then informs the mother ship, or whatever it is that those cards do. Most importantly, they give me a hefty discount on gasoline. Anyway, at the other store, I managed to find everything that I needed, but I was shocked at the prices of spices. $11 for ground cloves? GAH! And the cardamom was just as bad. Even the tumeric was outrageous. Luckily, that store has a bulk spices section, so I bought teeny tiny little bags of spices that cost me only $.18 each.
Ironically, I decided to make Lebanese Chicken instead of Chicken Vindaloo because I don't have a food processor for the onions. I believe that I know what my next kitchen toy purchase will be...
Ironically, I decided to make Lebanese Chicken instead of Chicken Vindaloo because I don't have a food processor for the onions. I believe that I know what my next kitchen toy purchase will be...
Friday, March 17, 2006
The ghost of jobs past
You know how I got a promotion six months ago? Yeah? And you know how I keep ending up doing large pieces of my old job because the new person feels too overwhelmed to take on the rest of the portion of my old job that they are giving to her? Uh huh? OK, so guess what I get to do next month (and for the next several months) and she won't be involved in, though she is going to the the primary person untimately involved. Guess! No? OK, I'll tell you. I get to be involved with the implementation of the new expense reporting software. She's supposed to be the superuser and administrator, I'm not in accounts payable anymore, she has so many years of experience and so on, and yet I have to do her project for her because she's whining that she can't handle the current expense report system. Good god. They should just fire her and give me my old job back. I'm never going to get to leave it anyway, I might as well have the title and the overtime pay for it.
Work: Can't live with it, can't pay the mortgage without it.
There are many things in life that never cease to amaze me.
But anyway...
One of the three people that they hired to do a portion of my job came on in January and then she was out sick for three weeks. She just got back on Monday. I had to do several of the company's monthly state sales tax returns to be sure we didn't end up paying penalties and interest on sales tax payments. I didn't want to do them because I've always felt a bit insecure about them, unsure that I was doing them correctly and feeling like I was just winging it. I finished them yesterday, and the tax director came to me and told me that they were excellent and he wished that I was still doing them. I found this to be quite an ego boost. The person who took these over from me is a CPA. That also gives me a bit of confidence with regards to taking the CPA exam. I'm still not fully convinced that I need to go through that, since I intend to stick with corporate accounting, and I doubt that I would be willing to continually undergo the training and testing to maintain a license, but I'm happy that people are happy with the work that I do. It is a comfort. Oddly, he also told me that if I decide to quit working here, I can use him as a reference. Why would you indirectly encourage someone to leave if they are good at their jobs? Hmmm...
On a more cheerful note, Kittenwars!
- People who complain that they are fat and out of shape but eat three 1,200-calorie meals every day and won't exercise.
- People who complain that they are broke but spend $10 or $15 on lunch every day.
- People who complain that their department doesn't perform as a team but won't cross-train so that they can perform as a team.
- People who brag about what a great attitude they have but who demand rewards for doing what they are paid to do and who heave great sighs and roll their eyes heavenward with each new piece of paper or task handed to them.
- People who complain about how much work they have to do but can't get it done, and yet they have time to complain about it to everyone who will listen, all day long.
- People who complain about the noise level in the office by talking it over with the person over the 6-foot cubicle wall from them.
But anyway...
One of the three people that they hired to do a portion of my job came on in January and then she was out sick for three weeks. She just got back on Monday. I had to do several of the company's monthly state sales tax returns to be sure we didn't end up paying penalties and interest on sales tax payments. I didn't want to do them because I've always felt a bit insecure about them, unsure that I was doing them correctly and feeling like I was just winging it. I finished them yesterday, and the tax director came to me and told me that they were excellent and he wished that I was still doing them. I found this to be quite an ego boost. The person who took these over from me is a CPA. That also gives me a bit of confidence with regards to taking the CPA exam. I'm still not fully convinced that I need to go through that, since I intend to stick with corporate accounting, and I doubt that I would be willing to continually undergo the training and testing to maintain a license, but I'm happy that people are happy with the work that I do. It is a comfort. Oddly, he also told me that if I decide to quit working here, I can use him as a reference. Why would you indirectly encourage someone to leave if they are good at their jobs? Hmmm...
On a more cheerful note, Kittenwars!
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Cats in sinks and stuff
Don't get me wrong - I got a big laugh out of these. But if I ever start dressing up my cat, someone please kill me.
Stuff on my cat
Cats in sinks
Stuff on my cat
Cats in sinks
Selective amnesia?
It never ceases to amaze me what my brain hangs onto and what it rejects out of hand, spits on, calls names, and stomps on to keep it from coming back. For example, my mailing address when I was 9 was 3149 A Arizona Avenue, Great Lakes, IL, 60088. My phone number was 689-8798. That was 27 years ago. I know my current address if I think carefully about it, and sometimes I can remember my current phone number (though I did have to call my mother in an emergency to ask her what it was), but I can't remember the address or phone number of the last few places that I lived or worked beyond the city names. I have recently accidentally given out the fax number for a company I worked for in the 90s. And just recently, I learned a new Spanish phrase: "El caballo es saltando." How did I pick this up? I saw it once - ONCE - on a commercial advertising some new language learning program for which, ironically, I cannot recall the name. So why can't I remember things I need to remember, like school stuff? I'm reading a chapter on consolidated business statements, do you think that will come back to me on the test? I think not. I do alright with work from sheer repetition and familiarity, and song lyrics stick to me like white on rice, but I cannot for my life recall the name of the cross street which has a sign in front of my house. I live at the intersection of... uh, I dunno. See? Is it early onset Alzheimer's? It is stress? Am I not eating enough fish? (Actually, that's a given, in that I don't eat fish at all.) Am I just crazy? Depression? (That would not surprise me at all - I have all of the symptoms, and I have for years.) Hormonal fluctuations? Age? Low blood sugar? Inadequate diet? Chronic fatigue? Fibromyalgia? Stroke? (That wouldn't shock me either - that migraine I had in June made a part of my face go numb, and it still tingles...) What else affects short term memory loss? Why, I can't remember! There's a shock. I think it is most likely a combination of stress, depression, nutrition and lack of exercise, but the nutrition and exercise problems are nearly out the door with my footprint in their asses, so that just leaves the other two.
Oh, and the migraines. I forgot about those. They are pretty horrifying. They go through a very specific pattern on the same time schedule. The first thing is the blind spots. Then the pain and nausea come in about half an hour. I have to lay in a dark, quiet, cold room with no smells. Smells make me puke. Light makes me vomit. Noise makes me hurl. Warmth makes me blow chunks. Eating or drinking or swallowing pills (Excedrin Migraine leaps to mind) makes me have a friendly but animated chat with the porcelain god. All in all, I lay in misery (usually in my bathtub since that is the darkest, coldest, quietest place in the house) for about 8 or 10 hours, praying for death and hallucinating. Wondering how they will find my body. How long it will take them to figure out that I'm dead in my bathtub. Who will take care of my cat. What people will think of my stuff when they start to clean out my house. How the paramedics will turn off the alarm system when they have to break down the door. If the paramedics will be as good looking as King County paramedics are reputed to be. Ultimately, the upshot of all of this crap is that every time I have a migraine, my short term memory seems to get worse. They leave me baffled for a few days (Who am I again? And where are my keys?) and once I feel some vague clarity again, it seems only partial. I can't imagine that this is a good thing, but since I've never been able to work out my triggers, I can't imagine that I'll ever find a way to avoid them.
Well, that's cheery, ain't it?
Oh, and the migraines. I forgot about those. They are pretty horrifying. They go through a very specific pattern on the same time schedule. The first thing is the blind spots. Then the pain and nausea come in about half an hour. I have to lay in a dark, quiet, cold room with no smells. Smells make me puke. Light makes me vomit. Noise makes me hurl. Warmth makes me blow chunks. Eating or drinking or swallowing pills (Excedrin Migraine leaps to mind) makes me have a friendly but animated chat with the porcelain god. All in all, I lay in misery (usually in my bathtub since that is the darkest, coldest, quietest place in the house) for about 8 or 10 hours, praying for death and hallucinating. Wondering how they will find my body. How long it will take them to figure out that I'm dead in my bathtub. Who will take care of my cat. What people will think of my stuff when they start to clean out my house. How the paramedics will turn off the alarm system when they have to break down the door. If the paramedics will be as good looking as King County paramedics are reputed to be. Ultimately, the upshot of all of this crap is that every time I have a migraine, my short term memory seems to get worse. They leave me baffled for a few days (Who am I again? And where are my keys?) and once I feel some vague clarity again, it seems only partial. I can't imagine that this is a good thing, but since I've never been able to work out my triggers, I can't imagine that I'll ever find a way to avoid them.
Well, that's cheery, ain't it?
Monday, March 13, 2006
Pigeon. The other white meat.
I went to my company's fourth quarter earnings call today and made a few mental notes.
- It is discouraging when your CEO, CFO, and Investor Relations guy don't bother to do an earnings call in person. They totally phoned it in. What's worse is that they kept fading in and out and I didn't get to hear everything.
- Union Station is missing several roof tiles on the South side.
- Union Station has a large population of carnivorous seagulls that stalk mercilessly along the eaves of the roof. They keep a rotating lookout, vigilant for the things that seagulls are vigilant for. A pigeon ventured up onto the eaves to have a chat, maybe bum a smoke and talk about chicks, and it got attacked. I never saw the pigeon leave, but I did see a number of the gulls in what looked distinctly like a feeding frenzy.
- The coffee on the fourth floor sucks.
- Blackberries have an unconscionable number of seeds.
I'm sure that you didn't fail to notice how little of that had anything to do with the earnings call.
Sunday, March 12, 2006
So, maybe I jumped the gun a bit...
Looks like the Erasure concert sold out faster than a new shipment of hot-pink feather boas at the Vintage store on Capitol Hill on the day before Gay Pride. I may not be going unless there are eBay tickets or scalpers. Ah, well. I haven't seen my friends since December. I can wait for next Christmas to see them again if nothing comes up between now and then.
My cat snores loud enough to wake me up. Is that weird?
Oh, and that final that I was worried about? I failed it. Totally. I think I got like a 50 or something. (You would think that at my age I would have better grammar than "I got like a 50 or something", but maybe that is why I failed the exam.) On the upside, I still get a B out of the class, so I don't really care. I just want my degree and my raise. And speaking of which, I am probably not going to go to my own graduation because I can't afford the cap and gown. How ironic is that? I'm going to school to make more money, but it is costing me so much that I can't even afford to make it to the after-party. I guess that is what life with student loans is all about.
My cat snores loud enough to wake me up. Is that weird?
Oh, and that final that I was worried about? I failed it. Totally. I think I got like a 50 or something. (You would think that at my age I would have better grammar than "I got like a 50 or something", but maybe that is why I failed the exam.) On the upside, I still get a B out of the class, so I don't really care. I just want my degree and my raise. And speaking of which, I am probably not going to go to my own graduation because I can't afford the cap and gown. How ironic is that? I'm going to school to make more money, but it is costing me so much that I can't even afford to make it to the after-party. I guess that is what life with student loans is all about.
Friday, March 10, 2006
Mr. Flibble is very cross...
Needless to say, I am giddy and all atwitter at the news that Season VIII of Red Dwarf is coming to DVD soon. I will spring for it because I medically need it (the VHS tapes are disintegrating), but I will skip the Mr. Flibble hand puppet. If they ever come out with one that has hex vision, I will break down and make the purchase for that as well. Right now, it is available for order only on formats 2 and 4, and American DVD formats are neither. I can wait. For a while.
So, time for a confession. I'm fat. Well, I'm not fat, really, I'm just tremendously out of shape. I am absolutely at the outside of what is considered a healthy weight for my age and height. Before I started school in August of 2004, I went hiking nearly every day after work and then all weekend, every weekend. When I did the Enchantments for my birthday I barely broke a sweat. I could carry a 35 pound pack 7 miles, set up camp, and explore for a few hours. I could run up the five flights of stairs to work without getting winded. I was eating more than 3000 calories a day, and I was a size 8. At 5'10" and 36 years old, that's quite nice. (Insert big grin here.) Now? I shudder to confess, so I won't. Anyway, at some point in the very recent past, I realized that I was having some rather major issues. My clothes were... shrinking. I was skipping breakfast and lunch because of time issues, but I would go home after work and eat until I went to bed. Things were... jiggling. I saw a woman on TV who was about 5 months pregnant and I realized that we had a lot in common in the physique department. Ew. EW! Ugh. So I'm now on the Glycemic Impact diet, which is basically the Zone diet with slightly different reasoning. I'm rather amazed at the quick results. I have to eat all day long just to get it all down, but it is all healthy and it is all things that I like. (I have sneaked a few Girl Scout cookies and an apple fritter, but that's just between you and me. Shh!) Literally, for the first time in my life, I'm drinking enough water. I'm sure the daily aerobic/resistance training isn't hurting anything either.
I graduate in October, just in time to catch one or two good North Cascades hikes before the snow comes, and I intend to be back in good enough shape to tackle them right away. I have a long Memorial Day weekend, so I'm planning to do a hike then, and another over the Fourth of July weekend. I think there will probably still be snow in late May - there sure was last year, which did not prevent sunburn or high temperatures at Gem Lake, which was still frozen - so it won't be an overnighter because I'm just enough of a wuss to not want to camp in full-on snow. Not yet. Maybe next year. The July 4th trip will be an overnighter, snow or no snow, because if there is any it will be sparse. I know which hike I'm going to do (look out, mountain goats, the camera happy freak is coming back), and I know that even without a full pack it is a killer, so I definitely need to work to get myself into shape before I hit that trail. Even just as a day hike the trail is a nightmare. I broke all of my fingernails on that trail! You have to use your hands pretty liberally on that one. Bits of it are essentially a scramble. I also intend to be in good enough shape to do some snowboarding and snowshoeing next winter. Best to get started now, don't you think?
So, time for a confession. I'm fat. Well, I'm not fat, really, I'm just tremendously out of shape. I am absolutely at the outside of what is considered a healthy weight for my age and height. Before I started school in August of 2004, I went hiking nearly every day after work and then all weekend, every weekend. When I did the Enchantments for my birthday I barely broke a sweat. I could carry a 35 pound pack 7 miles, set up camp, and explore for a few hours. I could run up the five flights of stairs to work without getting winded. I was eating more than 3000 calories a day, and I was a size 8. At 5'10" and 36 years old, that's quite nice. (Insert big grin here.) Now? I shudder to confess, so I won't. Anyway, at some point in the very recent past, I realized that I was having some rather major issues. My clothes were... shrinking. I was skipping breakfast and lunch because of time issues, but I would go home after work and eat until I went to bed. Things were... jiggling. I saw a woman on TV who was about 5 months pregnant and I realized that we had a lot in common in the physique department. Ew. EW! Ugh. So I'm now on the Glycemic Impact diet, which is basically the Zone diet with slightly different reasoning. I'm rather amazed at the quick results. I have to eat all day long just to get it all down, but it is all healthy and it is all things that I like. (I have sneaked a few Girl Scout cookies and an apple fritter, but that's just between you and me. Shh!) Literally, for the first time in my life, I'm drinking enough water. I'm sure the daily aerobic/resistance training isn't hurting anything either.
I graduate in October, just in time to catch one or two good North Cascades hikes before the snow comes, and I intend to be back in good enough shape to tackle them right away. I have a long Memorial Day weekend, so I'm planning to do a hike then, and another over the Fourth of July weekend. I think there will probably still be snow in late May - there sure was last year, which did not prevent sunburn or high temperatures at Gem Lake, which was still frozen - so it won't be an overnighter because I'm just enough of a wuss to not want to camp in full-on snow. Not yet. Maybe next year. The July 4th trip will be an overnighter, snow or no snow, because if there is any it will be sparse. I know which hike I'm going to do (look out, mountain goats, the camera happy freak is coming back), and I know that even without a full pack it is a killer, so I definitely need to work to get myself into shape before I hit that trail. Even just as a day hike the trail is a nightmare. I broke all of my fingernails on that trail! You have to use your hands pretty liberally on that one. Bits of it are essentially a scramble. I also intend to be in good enough shape to do some snowboarding and snowshoeing next winter. Best to get started now, don't you think?
Thursday, March 09, 2006
Never get angry at the stupid people...
But do get all wound up that Erasure is coming to the Showbox on May 13th! Ken and Brad and Max and some guy named Jon and I are going to go. We're going to have a barbecue at Ken's before the show, and I know his cooking, so that alone will be worth the trip. Last time I went to the Showbox was to see the Psychedelic Furs in April of (I think) 2001, and the last concert I went to was Keane at the Paramount with Ken last May. I really don't get out much, do I? That day is good because it won't interfere with school or work. I'll probably stay in the guest room if offered. Driving home after the show might be contraindicated...
Wow. I have a day off at the end of this month to have a filling replaced. I have three days off next month for training in Tigard, Oregon, on the software that I use at work for tracking fixed asset software, which happens to coincide with my mother's birthday and is a mere 17 miles from her house. Now I have something social to do in May. I feel overwhelmed! I don't know if I can continue with this hectic social schedule!
Wow. I have a day off at the end of this month to have a filling replaced. I have three days off next month for training in Tigard, Oregon, on the software that I use at work for tracking fixed asset software, which happens to coincide with my mother's birthday and is a mere 17 miles from her house. Now I have something social to do in May. I feel overwhelmed! I don't know if I can continue with this hectic social schedule!
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
Things for which to be thankful.
Found money. Today, while searching for a final nickel (I was a nickel off. Get it? Its a pun! Oh, nothing...) to buy a bottle of water to take on the train with me, I found a Starbucks card with a $3.55 balance on it. I promptly went downstairs and acquired not only a triple tall Americano (to which I added a bit of half-and-half and some cinnamon) but a heavenly slice of one of their new chocolate cupcakes, which they were sampling today. They have chocolate shavings on top, perched like a heavenly head of Cupid's curly locks on a bed of shockingly rich chocolate frosting. Nutrition is for losers.
And on that note... Finding ways to save money can be a nice thing. I cancelled three subscriber services in addition to dropping my credit card interest rate, which should leave me an extra $100 or so per month. Which is good, because I have to start paying student loans someday. (April 2007, to be exact.) I take the train to work now, so that is already saving me $200 each month for gas and parking, but I still need to pay off the credit card before April of next year. I would have been able to with this year's tax return, except that...
Tax returns. Except that... I screwed up my 2004 tax return. So this year, I got back $2295 for my 2005 return, but then the 2004 audit showed that I owed $2245, so I got to keep exactly $50 of this year's return. That'll teach me to exercise my stock options. My new battle cry as far as that goes is, "No more stock options! EVER!"
Short classes. My Accounting 423 class is over this Saturday. I cannot wait to get out of this one! I spent about an hour last night on a bit of homework that could conceivably be the death of me if I don't get it by the weekend. And I still have the rest of the homework to start on.
Red cashmere/lambswool cableknit sweaters. We need not say more.
Friends who know things about stuff. I was talking to my boss last week, and we were on the topic of finances and income taxes. We both have a few problems for various reasons (I have bad spending habits and mediocre income, she has a husband with bad spending habits and high income). We were talking about interest rates on credit cards, and how it is better to make minimum payments on our mortgages because interest on those is tax deductible, and instead of paying extra on the mortgage we pay extra on the credit cards to pay them off faster. She asked me about my interest rate, and I didn't know what it was. I looked at my statment and ... oh, there are so many things I could say to describe my reaction. Everything got all dark and quiet... So anyway, I called them today and quoted my 759 credit score and their usurious interest rates, and I told them that if they didn't lower it I would cancel my account. It took a whopping 15 seconds or so for them to drop it to 8%. From 27%. I was paying 27% interest. On a card with a limit high enough that I can buy a car on it. Inconceivable! Does that sound right to you? Now that I'll be paying a reasonable amount of interest on that monstrosity, I should be able to get rid of it sooner. Now all I have to do is work on my savings account. If I take all the money I've got saved right now, I could maybe buy a moderately-sized gerbil.
Goodwill. I've got a ton of crap to get rid of. I can't afford to take it to the dump and I'm too lazy to sell it on eBay. And they pick up!
Speaking of picking up... Safeway delivers groceries. I don't know about you guys, but I loathe the grocery store. Too many people, too much noise, too much time wasted.
Scrubs. And not just the TV show. You can get cheap scrubs on Overstock.com. They're great for lounging around in, and if you have to answer the door, it doesn't look like you're in your PJs. (Even if you are! Hee hee!)
PostSecret. I have so many secrets on this website, and I didn't even send them in.
Frogs. Just 'cause they're cute.
Strawberries. Safeway's got 'em on sale two-for-one, and they raise your serotonin levels like chocolate does. Berrylicious...
Fences. I finally rebuilt that last section of fence that I had that blew down back in, uh, December (I think). What's weird is that I feel more secure, even though anyone could get in just by going through the gates.
Spring. I know it isn't quite yet, but the trees and plants don't seem to be aware of that. My trees are blooming, my rosemary is blooming, my grass is growing (drat!), I've got irises and tulips coming up, and my allergies are in full swing. My head is clogged like I'm just getting over the flu. But hey, it is still light when I leave work, and you can already see daylight on the horizon when I'm getting on the train! Yay for longer daylight hours! Woo hoo! I'm just hoping I don't have a repeat of last year's yard fiasco, in which I had a neighbor come to check to see if I was OK because my lawn was about 4 feet deep in the back yard. Everyone around me is so used to me having a nice yard (I've been told that I have one of the nicest yards in my neighborhood) that it gave everyone a bit of a shock that I let it go so long. If it doesn't rain on Saturday, I'm going to mow.
Chanel No. 5. Perfume doesn't stay around for a century unless it smells this good.
iPods. So much better than having to change the CD every 45 minutes.
Private cubes at work. I used to be in the Accounts Payable department, but I got promoted to Staff Accountant. Then they moved the AP department all into one office. I would die. One of them occasionally uses a Betty Boop voice that I would be embarassed to use, listens to KIXI all day, and won't open the blinds or turn on the lights. I would be trapped in an office all day with her if I was still in that department. I like her, she's great, but I just am not a good enough person to tolerate some quirks. My current cube has one very solid wall and two cube walls, and I can see out of the window of the office across from me. I can dig it.
Firefly. Granted, it is no longer around, but it lives on in our hearts.
And on that note... Finding ways to save money can be a nice thing. I cancelled three subscriber services in addition to dropping my credit card interest rate, which should leave me an extra $100 or so per month. Which is good, because I have to start paying student loans someday. (April 2007, to be exact.) I take the train to work now, so that is already saving me $200 each month for gas and parking, but I still need to pay off the credit card before April of next year. I would have been able to with this year's tax return, except that...
Tax returns. Except that... I screwed up my 2004 tax return. So this year, I got back $2295 for my 2005 return, but then the 2004 audit showed that I owed $2245, so I got to keep exactly $50 of this year's return. That'll teach me to exercise my stock options. My new battle cry as far as that goes is, "No more stock options! EVER!"
Short classes. My Accounting 423 class is over this Saturday. I cannot wait to get out of this one! I spent about an hour last night on a bit of homework that could conceivably be the death of me if I don't get it by the weekend. And I still have the rest of the homework to start on.
Red cashmere/lambswool cableknit sweaters. We need not say more.
Friends who know things about stuff. I was talking to my boss last week, and we were on the topic of finances and income taxes. We both have a few problems for various reasons (I have bad spending habits and mediocre income, she has a husband with bad spending habits and high income). We were talking about interest rates on credit cards, and how it is better to make minimum payments on our mortgages because interest on those is tax deductible, and instead of paying extra on the mortgage we pay extra on the credit cards to pay them off faster. She asked me about my interest rate, and I didn't know what it was. I looked at my statment and ... oh, there are so many things I could say to describe my reaction. Everything got all dark and quiet... So anyway, I called them today and quoted my 759 credit score and their usurious interest rates, and I told them that if they didn't lower it I would cancel my account. It took a whopping 15 seconds or so for them to drop it to 8%. From 27%. I was paying 27% interest. On a card with a limit high enough that I can buy a car on it. Inconceivable! Does that sound right to you? Now that I'll be paying a reasonable amount of interest on that monstrosity, I should be able to get rid of it sooner. Now all I have to do is work on my savings account. If I take all the money I've got saved right now, I could maybe buy a moderately-sized gerbil.
Goodwill. I've got a ton of crap to get rid of. I can't afford to take it to the dump and I'm too lazy to sell it on eBay. And they pick up!
Speaking of picking up... Safeway delivers groceries. I don't know about you guys, but I loathe the grocery store. Too many people, too much noise, too much time wasted.
Scrubs. And not just the TV show. You can get cheap scrubs on Overstock.com. They're great for lounging around in, and if you have to answer the door, it doesn't look like you're in your PJs. (Even if you are! Hee hee!)
PostSecret. I have so many secrets on this website, and I didn't even send them in.
Frogs. Just 'cause they're cute.
Strawberries. Safeway's got 'em on sale two-for-one, and they raise your serotonin levels like chocolate does. Berrylicious...
Fences. I finally rebuilt that last section of fence that I had that blew down back in, uh, December (I think). What's weird is that I feel more secure, even though anyone could get in just by going through the gates.
Spring. I know it isn't quite yet, but the trees and plants don't seem to be aware of that. My trees are blooming, my rosemary is blooming, my grass is growing (drat!), I've got irises and tulips coming up, and my allergies are in full swing. My head is clogged like I'm just getting over the flu. But hey, it is still light when I leave work, and you can already see daylight on the horizon when I'm getting on the train! Yay for longer daylight hours! Woo hoo! I'm just hoping I don't have a repeat of last year's yard fiasco, in which I had a neighbor come to check to see if I was OK because my lawn was about 4 feet deep in the back yard. Everyone around me is so used to me having a nice yard (I've been told that I have one of the nicest yards in my neighborhood) that it gave everyone a bit of a shock that I let it go so long. If it doesn't rain on Saturday, I'm going to mow.
Chanel No. 5. Perfume doesn't stay around for a century unless it smells this good.
iPods. So much better than having to change the CD every 45 minutes.
Private cubes at work. I used to be in the Accounts Payable department, but I got promoted to Staff Accountant. Then they moved the AP department all into one office. I would die. One of them occasionally uses a Betty Boop voice that I would be embarassed to use, listens to KIXI all day, and won't open the blinds or turn on the lights. I would be trapped in an office all day with her if I was still in that department. I like her, she's great, but I just am not a good enough person to tolerate some quirks. My current cube has one very solid wall and two cube walls, and I can see out of the window of the office across from me. I can dig it.
Firefly. Granted, it is no longer around, but it lives on in our hearts.
Monday, January 23, 2006
Holy crap.
Writer-producer George Lucas told MTV.com that writing continues on a proposed fourth Indiana Jones movie and adds: "Hopefully this year we will have a start date, and we will have a script that we all love, and hopefully it will come out next year."
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
And I thought things were bad...
When? Back in December, last time I updated? Well, things have changed yet again! My replacement was fired for non-performance and general helplessness and complaining. So I ended up once again doing my new job and bits of my old job. They brought in a temp, but that wasn't enough, so they brought in two.
And then the best thing ever happened.
Renee quit!
So then they had me doing my new job and half of my old job, the IT department doing a portion of it, the billing department doing a portion of it, and two temps doing the rest of it. They finally decided on a new replacement for me, but she didn't start until January second, and that was Renee's last day. So now it is me, two temps and a new permanent person. You can probably guess that it isn't easy going right now. I accidentally/on-purpose managed to not be in on the second, so I missed Renee's last day (oh, boo hoo). Granted, the work load has gotten worse, but it is so much happier there now. The new folks can't keep up, but they do good work, and that is great. My replacement is all over things and we get along great. One of the temps is probably going to be hired permanently, and if she is I'm going to have to take a sign language class, because she's deaf. She can read lips as well as most people can hear, but I'm still interested in learning a bit of her language.
The upshot of all of this is that I got another bonus and another raise, and they fund my Starbucks card with an extra $100 each month to keep me caffeined up so that I can work 11 hour days and still come home to do homework. Still, I prefer this situation to the old one. I know that things will get easier, while working with Renee was a guarantee that it never would.
And I have only 7 more classes to go before I get my degree! So in October, I finally get to have some actual, for-real downtime and I can start hiking again. I get all giggly and twirly just thinking about it.
And then the best thing ever happened.
Renee quit!
So then they had me doing my new job and half of my old job, the IT department doing a portion of it, the billing department doing a portion of it, and two temps doing the rest of it. They finally decided on a new replacement for me, but she didn't start until January second, and that was Renee's last day. So now it is me, two temps and a new permanent person. You can probably guess that it isn't easy going right now. I accidentally/on-purpose managed to not be in on the second, so I missed Renee's last day (oh, boo hoo). Granted, the work load has gotten worse, but it is so much happier there now. The new folks can't keep up, but they do good work, and that is great. My replacement is all over things and we get along great. One of the temps is probably going to be hired permanently, and if she is I'm going to have to take a sign language class, because she's deaf. She can read lips as well as most people can hear, but I'm still interested in learning a bit of her language.
The upshot of all of this is that I got another bonus and another raise, and they fund my Starbucks card with an extra $100 each month to keep me caffeined up so that I can work 11 hour days and still come home to do homework. Still, I prefer this situation to the old one. I know that things will get easier, while working with Renee was a guarantee that it never would.
And I have only 7 more classes to go before I get my degree! So in October, I finally get to have some actual, for-real downtime and I can start hiking again. I get all giggly and twirly just thinking about it.
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
Jen who?
Yeah, so I'm lazy and I don't post often. Cope.
Short version of recent events:
1. Wisdom tooth out. Blood everywhere. Crunching noises. Three days on Percocet. No birthday party afterward, but I discovered a TV show on the Sci-Fi channel called Firefly that was cancelled three years ago by the morons at Fox and has only 14 episodes in the world (go to Amazon for DVDs) and a movie that came out on September 30 called Serenity. I have already ordered them both. I got the TV show, but I have to wait until nearly Christmas for the movie.
2. They finally hired my replacement at work. Things are smooth as razor clam shells over in their department. Smugly, I said, "I told you you'd need two people to replace me." I was wrong - they need three.
3. New Harry Potter movie: The book is better, but the special effects are fantastic.
4. Wine tasting party coming up at Michelle's. Yet another bid to meet Darrin.
5. School is going well. I still have a 3.8 grade point average. Only one more year until I graduate!
6. Going blank. Nothing else. Hunger... overtaking!
Must
eat
cookies!
Short version of recent events:
1. Wisdom tooth out. Blood everywhere. Crunching noises. Three days on Percocet. No birthday party afterward, but I discovered a TV show on the Sci-Fi channel called Firefly that was cancelled three years ago by the morons at Fox and has only 14 episodes in the world (go to Amazon for DVDs) and a movie that came out on September 30 called Serenity. I have already ordered them both. I got the TV show, but I have to wait until nearly Christmas for the movie.
2. They finally hired my replacement at work. Things are smooth as razor clam shells over in their department. Smugly, I said, "I told you you'd need two people to replace me." I was wrong - they need three.
3. New Harry Potter movie: The book is better, but the special effects are fantastic.
4. Wine tasting party coming up at Michelle's. Yet another bid to meet Darrin.
5. School is going well. I still have a 3.8 grade point average. Only one more year until I graduate!
6. Going blank. Nothing else. Hunger... overtaking!
Must
eat
cookies!
Thursday, September 08, 2005
The waiting game
So it has been a month or so since I got my promotion. I'm still in my old job and I'm doing most of my new job. They still haven't gotten a replacement for me. Hopefully, they'll hire the guy named Brian who can start on Monday. I would like to start training my replacement ASAP so that I can move over into my new job before I have to do the quarter-end inventory accounting. I don't know how to do it yet, so it would be nice to get a running start at it, you know?
On the good news front, school is going well and I haven't had anything go terribly wrong lately. The weather's been great, money's not so tight, I've started rebuilding the South fence, and my CD collection is growing.
On the bad news front, I'm having a wisdom tooth removed next Friday. I'm... uh... nervous. Actually, when I think about it, I can feel the hysteria rising like a big, stinky burp after eating Thai food and drinking a Coke. I guess that "scared" is a better word than "nervous." I am not so much afraid of pain, since I'll be numbed into oblivion. What worries me is how I will react to the prying and pulling and cracking, and the squeal of the root on my jaw bone as they pull it out, and the popping of each little capillary as it breaks from the root. I'm afraid I'll fight with them or try to get away. However, they have given me tranquilizers, so that should be fun. Even better, the day after that I have a birthday party to go to. Once again, Michelle is trying to get me to meet Darrin. I can see it now. Me, swollen and bruised, mumbling through painkillers, possibly drooling. That should impress him.
On the good news front, school is going well and I haven't had anything go terribly wrong lately. The weather's been great, money's not so tight, I've started rebuilding the South fence, and my CD collection is growing.
On the bad news front, I'm having a wisdom tooth removed next Friday. I'm... uh... nervous. Actually, when I think about it, I can feel the hysteria rising like a big, stinky burp after eating Thai food and drinking a Coke. I guess that "scared" is a better word than "nervous." I am not so much afraid of pain, since I'll be numbed into oblivion. What worries me is how I will react to the prying and pulling and cracking, and the squeal of the root on my jaw bone as they pull it out, and the popping of each little capillary as it breaks from the root. I'm afraid I'll fight with them or try to get away. However, they have given me tranquilizers, so that should be fun. Even better, the day after that I have a birthday party to go to. Once again, Michelle is trying to get me to meet Darrin. I can see it now. Me, swollen and bruised, mumbling through painkillers, possibly drooling. That should impress him.
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