Serving Frozen AGOL

I cannot remember ever being so cold while working, not even when I worked in Wyoming or Chicago. Did they pay for heat on our side of the floor? I complained and cursed all day at my desk. I got a little testy on an IM because I couldn't concentrate from the pain in my toes and hands. Wore my coat all day. Bridget shared my woes.

Surprised to see my boss today. I thought he was coming back next week. He had spent most of the holidays in a cabin in North Carolina with his wife and kiddies. By noon, he was in full swing.

OMG...Rob is a complete workout freak. Ever heard of football widows? His wife must be a triathlon widow. He swam meters unknown this morning, ran about 5-6 miles at lunch in the cold wind and had plans to pedal on the stationary bike like a demon tonight. He is determined to become more lean and be prepped for some upcoming events. I can only hope to work up to a third of his determination the next couple of months. He mentioned something about being able to motivate me. With what -- a cattle prod? I told him what kind of DVD I worked out to last night. TeeHee. Same routine tonight. I need the stretch it provides after the workout.

This was great: Rob asked me about Lance Armstrong's book again because he is Type Double-A personality (or just a crack baby) and I told him I was getting it tonight after I had printed a couple of coupons. Normally, I don't bother, but it was offered by the book club and I remembered to print them out. Free money. The paperback cost $14.00. A 30% discount was applied first followed by $5 off leaving me a total (w/ tax) of $5.14. Holy cow! I am very pleased I waited an extra day.

This was (second) great: I had to buy dog food and some other foodstuffs for me. An elderly man did his best to strike a conversation with me in the frozen food section. A point was made that he was a bachelor and didn't know these things. These things meaning how to cook certain things I was picking up which he made me explain to him. His younger relative (a son?) wanted to die of embarrassment as he watched him makes his moves. Like a good AGOL, I was gracious, smiley and let the guy have his moments with me just to make it worth his while. Rock on, Daddio!

Now warm and cozy in my home. Crap. I still have to take the dog out. I will be warm and cozy (again) in a few minutes...
.

Serving Frozen AGOL

Decisions Decisions

Did you notice how the AGOL was playful yesterday? I knew the feeling would be too good to last into the new year. Sigh. What gives you ask? Two conversations with family members whom I love dearly. I won't be going into it with anyone so don't ask me details. Suffice it to say, it will domino into an AGOL shutdown with everyone for the month of January.

The conversations and another thing have influenced this decision. I will still post on the blog, but January's will not include any kind of celebration unless a New Year's Miracle occurs. I've had a Christmas miracle before, but not a New Year's. That would be different, wouldn't it? Hmmm...

The AGOL's penchant for heartfelt revelry will resume on Valentine's. I can't believe I am starting the new year this way, but it is the only way I know how to cope and still keep myself whole inside. If you have other ideas, you can e-mail me from my profile.
.

Decisions Decisions

Frazzled

Spoke to Bridget on my way to work to remind her not to process certain items in the queue. She was feeling better, but agitated with her car that wasn't starting and with our boss who seemed to be stressing out on the new credit card option we're rolling out of which Bridget is the administrator. I told her I would put some Valium in his coffee when he wasn't looking.

How hard can it be to get two pieces of wheat toast and a few strands of bacon? Apparently, it can take about 10 minutes from the cafe downstairs. The guy helping out couldn't manage his time and he dropped the first set of toast. Finally got my order and brought it up to my floor. Sheesh! A large mug of coffee was definitely in order, but before that a quick stop to Lisa's desk to drop off goodies which she loved. She gave me a hug for her little Christmas theme goodies (kitchen towels, activity for her kids and her new ornament).

Tawny gave me an update on her in-laws who were sore from injuries on their fall last night. They were going to be okay, thank God! I have nicknamed them "Mamasan and Papasan" when I see them. Tawny herself was sounding like crap. Her voice was changing due to a cold. What the hell?

Bridget's printing from home wasn't working so well. I had to scan all her stuff myself and send to her in two batches. So much for pre-planning last week...

Didn't hear about my plane ticket but that could just be a Monday thing. The CIO is supposed to visit tomorrow so my (potential) new group is probably scrambling for that. I really don't know; I am just guessing and trying not to get freaked about it.

Couldn't wait for the day to be over. Ordered Chinese on the way home. I was soon in the comfort of bits of Moo Goo Gai Pan, Veggie LoMein and Egg Drop soup. Not my usual Chinese fare, but it was still good. Bringing some for lunch tomorrow...My head is still not in the right place. I know what part of it is and I am just not brave enough to talk about it online. Just have to work through it myself without any outside help.

On a good note, my friend Sandy sent me a note saying how she was looking forward to seeing me (and Kathy!) on Saturday. She and her husband were putting up their tree and thought of me and the handmade ornaments they were putting up from my previous Handmade Ornament Exchange (H.O.E.) parties. I do miss having one this year because I didn't see all the cool things my friends would have made, but I just couldn't...I can't bring myself to try and pretend something I am not remotely feeling.


Saw this earlier and decided to mull on it:
.........................................
Success Quote:

If A is success in life, then A equals x plus y plus z. Work is x; y is play; and z is keeping your mouth shut.
Albert Einstein 1879 - 1955 (Observer, Jan. 15, 1950)
.

Frazzled

Lackadaisical

No plans. No place to really be. It is empowering to know that I didn't have to be anywhere special and that it was of my own choice...

Two things became very clear today:

Thing #1 - I don't take enough time off.
Thing #2 - I had to remind a few people (including Myrna and Tawny!) that I had the week off. See Thing #1.

Spent the day taking care of little AGOL maintenance kind of things. Watched shows I don't normally get to watch. Chimed in on IM just to check in with Tawny and Kathy. Called Myrna to confirm lunch plans with her mom tomorrow. Didn't get my nails done - remembered that my nail lady was off on Mondays. Visited Kathy to pick up her key and received instructions on cat care while she and Jamie go to Tennessee for Thanksgiving with her family. Walked over at 10pm to Tawny's just to see each other and saw Jeff, too, when he came home from cleaning the last items from British Jeff's house.

Two other things startled me today:

Other Thing #1 - Badgerdaddy almost made me pee my pants with this post. I had to leave a comment.
Other Thing #2 - A male friend said that he's really F'd off with women. They tend to mislead. I disagreed. You know I had to respond and provide at least one exhibit on why men are flighty. Men always think they are complicated...More like legends in their own minds. Ha! He's a good sport...

Gawd, I have to force myself to sleep before 2am or I will really be keeping vampire hours. I'd share my bonbons with you, but you're asleep now. Maybe tomorrow?

Oh! Almost forgot -- the lady from the adult novelty responded back to my e-mail: Thanks for responding and that's great. If you ever need anything let me know...! Really? Was she kidding? And pay for shipping? No thanks.
.

Lackadaisical

Ramble On...At Home

Working from home today...Sigh. My apartment complex is conducting an inspection of "internal features" of all the units. Tawny who was home sick yesterday, said that they were inspecting the cabinetry, carpet, refrigerator and flooring. I have a feeling some renovations are in store sometime. Not sure if I will get to see that, only new tenants. I wouldn't stay home for such a thing, but my "attack dog" needs company while they walk around.

At 6:15a, I drove to get coffee from one of my favorite coffee shops, a breakfast sandwich and extra coffee for the day. I rounded the corner to the gate entrance on the way back and Led Zeppelin's Ramble On started playing on the radio. What is an AGOL to do? She drives around the perimeter of the complex to listen to her favorite Zeppelin song at decibels unknown, that's what she does. Worth it, too.

Logging into work...
.

Ramble On...At Home

Short and Sweet

Tawny texted me early this morning to see if I could give her a ride home. Could I really be bothered? She now lives in the same apartment complex. I think it would've been rude to say no. Ha!

Thought it was Thursday all day. Pity it wasn't. It was another day of overwhelming busyness in our department. We have so many irons in the fire that it is getting a little too warm at the moment.

Had some more sour soup I made last night with a tamarind base. The cooler temperature just calls for hot soup to be consumed. I love the comforting feeling it gives me. Made a mug of hot chocolate later which I sipped while talking to my cousin Angie in Los Angeles. Haven't properly talked to her for ages!

I am tuckered out today so this is a very short entry. Been falling asleep with each sentence. It is supposed to be in the 40s tomorrow morning when I walk Cabal first thing. Brrr!
.

Short and Sweet

AGOL Weird

Adjusting to a brighter morning could take a bit. Because we had an "extra hour", I stayed up an extra hour. Sigh. What a lovely way to throw another wrench into my insomnia...

Took the hands-off and talk to no one approach this morning. Murmured a good morning to Bridget and didn't log into IMs for personal and work until after 11am. Tawny found me in the break room heating up breakfast and barely a response to her query about Nan. Sometimes, I just don't want to speak. (By the way Kathy - breakfast was whole wheat pancakes and veggie sausage patty.) My next communication with her was a quick IM after my first conference call letting her know I was going to lunch earlier so I would have enough time to be prepped for a meeting in the other building followed by the word "Bye".

I wasn't strange all day although a few remarked on my stoic face and quiet demeanor. That kind of behavior from me tends to freak people out. I did talk to Tawny at lunch, but I knew I was being weird. Oh, well. It is that time of the year for this AGOL to be weird. Talk to me in February when the AGOL gets back to normal.

As of today, my current job's responsibilities have expanded to being an administrator to three vendors used division-wide by about 1500 employees, one more vendor than last week. Yes, my lovelies, that would be in addition to my everyday responsibilities. Job security? Oh -- I am also considering applying for a management job at the Mother Ship (Stateside). My chances may be low, but what the hell? Was personally sent the notice this morning so might as well respond. I won't be crushed if the results are not positive. If they are? I have stores of adrenaline waiting to be used.

Met Myrna for an enjoyable dinner at our favorite haunt between her house and mine. Lunch sucked today so my dinner meal hit the spot just right. We spent another hour wandering around the Christmas offerings in the shop inside as well as talking while rocking in the chairs outside. Myrna is such a sweet and fun person. She's a great friend to have because together we giggle a lot. Made it home in time to see a new chapter in Heroes. Tonight was exciting, but I don't know how many more new episodes thanks to the writer's strike in Hollywood...
.

AGOL Weird

Blissful Blur

Cooler breezes followed me from my early walk with Cabal at 5am to my day at work. I remember being present and working. Bridget and I exchanged weekend Halloween party photos, I finished my portion of the software testing, and I answered lots of e-mails both professional and personal. I recall chuckling at some of my favorite blogger's recent entries and hearing the following joke from Demented IT Guy Kevin that had me giggling for quite a while:

A six and a seven year old (brothers) decide that they are going to starting cursing one morning. The older one says, "Okay, your word will be hell and mine will be ass." Downstairs they went for breakfast. Their mother asks the younger brother what he wants for breakfast. He replies, "Oh, hell. I'll just have some Cheerios." The mother smacks her son for cursing. After administering the punishment, she turns to the older brother and asks him the same question. He had seen what had happened to his brother who was still sobbing at the table and begins to rethink his decision. Tentatively, he replies, "You can bet your fat ass it won't be Cheerios!"

By day's end, it was like a mysterious zephyr had carried my memories making them into gossamer curtains waving away along with any worry or stress. Strange indeed, but nice. Spent a gentle evening enjoying quiet time with a Chinese dinner, playing with my Pretty Boy Dog and watching a new episode of Heroes before sipping some jasmine tea. Its warmth filled me and my being with a comfort strong enough for me to desire sleep. Amazing.
.

Blissful Blur

Sigh...

Having major issues with Internet Explorer thanks to changes work made yesterday afternoon. Just installed Firefox to be able to get into my blog for the first time since the changes were made. Having a busy morning; will update later. What a cluster. Grrr..


Updated in the evening...

Who knew browser issues could cause so much havoc? In my company, it was dozens of user calls to the helpdesk because they couldn't get into one of our multitude of applications. I was just glad one of my buddies on the helpdesk was able to help me with a solution earlier today.

Had lunch with Lisa and Bridget. We all scarfed down some calamari with our lunch. Yum! I am good friends with each of these ladies, but they are not to each other, just acquaintances. Lisa ends up talking to Bridget sometimes when she visits me at my cube when I am not there. Everyone had a good laugh, but we were Weebles wobbling back to work.

Was a busy bee in the afternoon and couldn't wait to get the weekend started. Tomorrow should be fun with the Halloween Party. The invite said that costumes were optional, but I have a feeling about half or more of the invitees will dress up. Speaking of...my camera battery needs charging for pics and vids. I'd better do that now before I forget.
.

Sigh...

Shake It Up Baby

Nothing like a little shake-up with an executive cleaning in the first month of the fiscal year. Read an e-mail announcement of the sudden loss of execs including the president of our North American division. You remember him? The one I was campaigning to for my (imaginary) Smile Ambassador appointment? I really liked him because he was genuine. Nice guys don't always finish first, do they?

The news was posted 7am UK time and has spread like wildfire all over cyberspace. My boss followed it up with a little "smoothing of the feathers" to Bridget and me so we understood what it meant. We know what it means: a little house cleaning to make room for new furniture. On a good note, our own division president is rumored to start next week. Okay, we'll hold off on the good news part until we meet him.

Spent a quiet day working with brief but frequent interruptions from my boss. It didn't bother me today...I was happy to see Tawny in finally. Spent some time with her, but she was holed up in conference calls all day. She was winning friends and influencing people. Eek! Tawny has a way of gently pointing out stupidity and backing it up with facts and figures. I've seen her in action; she's good.

My cell phone rang on my drive home, but realized it was in my zippered pocket of my trousers. My haste made driving and extricating the cell phone a challenge. Myrna was finally returning my call from Friday. I was going to call her this evening with worry.

Oh gosh, I almost forgot to mention that I was forced to repeat a joke Tawny texted me two Saturdays ago for my boss and a girl from marketing. The chickie from marketing needed a corny joke to tell her boyfriend and she forgot how I told it the other day. Nothing like being put on the spot. I almost forgot how to tell the damn thing: Where does a bee go to the bathroom? The BP Station!

Shake It Up Baby

Mostly I'm Silent

Sleeping is just crazy. I made it in between the silk-soft sandwich of golden sheets at 12am, but woke up between 2am and 3am. Was also awake before 5am, but forced myself to stay in until 5am.

Work was the boring midweek slump. The only thing jumping around was my boss. Luckily, he is getting sucked into several committees. Those are the kinds of activities I believe he thrives on which allows his attention to flit from one thing to another. It'll be a win-win all around for our group.

Tawny worked part-time from home today. The critical care relative will now be relegated to hospice to make the rest of her days as comfortable as possible. The patient was awake today and watched TV. Just days ago, she was in a medically induced coma waiting to be taken off respirators. Nothing is ever simple or understandable, is it?

Lunch was pleasantly quiet throughout my meal with a few people popping in to say hello and inquire why I was lunching alone. I find it curious that some people cannot fathom being able to enjoy a meal by themselves. The focus allows you to empty your mind and concentrate on the act of nourishing yourself from the action of feeding to masticating your food. It also brings your heart rate down and allows a calm to come over you. In my case, it was shattered by an influx of loud talkers.

What I despise more than dumb women are dumb men. I am not talking about being naive or being ignorant, but of smart people exhibiting stupidity. I had the unexpected pleasure of instructing a man on how to use a new microwave at work. How do you set the power level? How do you set the cooking time after the power level? I gave instructions and he kept at it. I got irritated at the whiny tone and said sternly, Dude, you're in IT. Figure it out. He didn't appreciate it and tried to play it off that the microwave wasn't hooked on the network. This man gets paid twice as much as me. He was a pilot in the Air Force. He's well travelled. Give me a bloody break. I've had discussions on politics with him and he loses every time. Tawny has had discussions with him, too, and lost. I don't think he enjoys being bested by a woman or is that his case of the dumbass being pointed out to him? Tough call.

Gave Bridget a makeover and a make-up lesson after our department meeting. I decided to give its own space: Bridget's New Look for her roller derby calendar photoshoot on Saturday.

My cousin Angie IM'ed me with this link to a Free Online Habit Tracker. She further mentioned that I could put the tracker on my blog. What do you think she was trying to tell me? I don't have any goals right now that I would like to have publicly tracked. I am mentioning it in case one of you would like to track yours.

Drove home using a quicker route by taking the toll road. The drive was silent, too. The car radio was on, but my being was quiet. It continued when I ate my dinner this feeling of silence within. I am unsure what or where to attribute it. I'll have to be more cognizant of the silence later when I go to sleep and see if it speaks to me.

Mostly I'm Silent

No New Discoveries on Columbus Day

Columbus Day gave us lighter traffic and no mail delivery. I need to work for the government to get these kinds of bank holidays off. Lucky ducks. Instead I work for a UK owned company who CLEARLY do not let their US subsidiaries observe the same amount of holidays, etc. that they do in the UK and other European subsidiaries.

Bridget wasn't in first thing and I thought she might have stayed home another day because her son had not been feeling well. My boss remembered that she had a doctor's appointment. She was in by noon, but I lost my own productivity somehow at the worry that she would not be there because I would have to be the designated buyer for the day. I had my own plans of reorganizing which I did chunk out a good bit today. Hooray!

Tawny's mother-in-law's sister was not taken off life support yesterday. They have signed a DNR (do not resuscitate) when the time comes. Apparently, she suffered severe damage in her heart. Tawny and Jeff will not be in tomorrow to support his parents. My prayers and love to you all.

To cheer my Monday, I showed a couple of people Carter's videos from yesterday and I replayed them to myself a few times. All three just made me laugh. I have other interview questions for Carter the next time I see him. It pays to carry around a handbag that is often mistaken for luggage so I have enough room to tote my digital camera. That is one of the reasons anyway. It doesn't quite describe my other obsessive compulsive items....like chewing & whitening gum, special toothpicks, hand sanitizer just to name a few. Yes, a few!

Received Kathy's Halloween Party e-mail invite which means I need to think my costume through and design the make-up I will be wearing. Can't decide if I will wear false eyelashes or not. I need to buy some body glitter, too. Where are my sketchpad and colored pencils to write and draw all this stuff down?!

Stopped at the grocery store on the way home to get a treat for Cabal. Well, $63 later... I bought food stuff for myself over the treat package. It is a bad idea to go shopping when you're hungry for dinner. I saved $12 with the Buy One Get One Frees, etc. That is what I kept telling myself when I only expected to spend $7 at the most. What are you gonna do?

Watched more riveting episodes of Heroes and Journeyman. Chuck which was on before Heroes was okay. All three were nice mental bubblegum before the news and Jay Leno.

OMG - Bad Joke from The Tonight Show with Jay Leno:
Q - Who is China's favorite band?
A - Lead Zeppelin!

No New Discoveries on Columbus Day

Um...Ah...

Holy sugar! It must be the lip gloss...

Um...Ah...

No Zen in Traffic

Road rage called my name this morning, but I ignored him. Instead I tried to listen to the radio, but they just depressed me with traffic news. Go figure.

Found out that my new boss starts on September 4th. I read his resume and he reads okay, but I don't feel excitement when I read it. His e-mail ID selection for his resume worries me a bit, too. He should have created a more professional one. Hope all that does not portend things or Bridget and I will not be too happy.

Lunch was perfectly quiet and I reveled in being able to enjoy one of my favorite glossy lollipop reading (Oprah's magazine). I purposely kept my head down so I didn't have to acknowledge anyone, but responded if they specifically addressed me.

Leaving at 3:30p today so I can go home and take care of my Pretty Boy Dog before I head out to Brandon. I thought that my route would be part of the road blocking today for the funeral of a slain officer, but it will be the opposite direction from me.

Hope Nan is ready for me and my shenanigans tonight. She's 92 years young. I may go easy on her while I sit with her for the early evening. My aunt and uncle have a church activity tonight. Better get back to the salt mines!

No Zen in Traffic

Whistle While You Work

QUOTE OF THE DAY
"I don't mind coming to work,
But that eight hour wait to go home is a bitch."

Why isn't it as much fun when you check e-mail at work as it is at home? When I docked my laptop to connect to the network, my work e-mail began to populate with dozens of unread e-mail, mostly notifications of system alerts. I could tell it was going to be a long a day and it was. The hours ticked by slowly.

Had leftover goodies from the christening for lunch and there was only one freakshow at lunch, Tawny. She had read yesterday's post with the pics of Baby Colton and decided that she had a project for me...to have a baby. Has she lost her mind?! At the rate I'm going, the stork will be asking me to help pass the babies out while he's on a beak break. She wants to be around another baby. Her eldest son just turned 21, her daughter is 18 and the youngest turned 18 a couple of weeks ago. I'll blame her momentary lapse to low sugar.

My ex-boss called me this afternoon from his new job. They eased him in last week and are now inviting him to everything. I teased him by asking what kind of perks the company offered. Did they have ice cream breaks at 3pm? Did they have happy hour at 5pm? He said there were no ice cream breaks, but he wasn't invited to share any cocktails yet. I said that he didn't know the secret handshake yet like they have at the lodge. He countered that he had seen antlers going around the corners. He is a quick wit and I miss him already. He's also a great guy and a great family man.

Caught up with Jill while on my drive home. She had a rough weekend all around. Work was difficult because she has a steep learning curve which makes her nervous and her daughter was making things difficult when they were out with her mother. Her daughter will also be voluntarily moving from home into a youth ranch to keep her on the straight and narrow in a week. Poor thing.

The bright spot is that Jill has a new man in her life who truly appreciates her and the careful attention she gives. He invited her tonight for dinner and a swim in his pool. I am very pleased for her. That is one woman deserves many breaks.

I was grateful to be home in the evening, but I had a lot of restless energy. I decided to funnel it into replacing the front door mat with a new one followed by sweeping the porch and carefully placing my new plants around the perimeter before I watered them. The humidity was still a killer around 8pm which made me perspire more than necessary. How ladylike.

The display hutch behind my dining table was cleaned and I edited the amount of pictures I had on display. Relatives give you new ones without frames and you place them among the others to enjoy promising yourself to get frames for them. The space is breathing much easier now and the glass shelves are sparkling.

Enjoyed some sitcoms and an ep of CSI: Miami and now I am getting cleaned up myself and to a snuggly bed. I can't think about the busy day waiting for me tomorrow. I'll count sheep instead starting now...1...2...

Whistle While You Work

Suckage Factor

...What was I saying? Oh, yeah. The suckage factor for the weekend wasn't as high as anticipated. There were moments of touch and go, but made it through by talking it out to the universe. (That sounds better than me saying, I was talking to myself.)

Have a slight crying hangover, but I didn't cry last night or this morning to have one. Let's see what caffeine does to it. Gonna jack my energy level with some java.

First morning without my boss, too. He has the day off and tomorrow will be his first day at his new job. Very pleased for him. Meanwhile, my interim boss is wonderful and is in the middle of interviewing a replacement. Bridget and I were saying this morning that the new hire will think his team looks like Charlie's Angels. Gosh, I hope his name is not Charlie...Well, I have an errand to run before lunch.

Updated: Received permission from Kristey to post this pic from her note to me taken at this tiki bar they like near their home. Been there before the remodeling for my cousin Frank and Brenda's wedding years ago. It's been more privatized now.

Here's a pic of the fabulous Kristey and her groovy husband Danny.



Kristey said that she loves going there to watch the sunset, listen to the music and of course - drink! Sounds marvy to me.

Suckage Factor

Bedtime Story

Kristey sent this to me today and it made me really laugh:

BEDTIME STORY:

One night, after a couple had retired for the night, the woman became aware that her husband was touching her in a most unusual manner. He started by running his hand across her shoulders and the small of her back.

He ran his hand over her breasts, touching them very lightly. Then, he proceeded to run his hand gently down her side, sliding his hand over her stomach, and then down the other side to a point below her waist.

He continued on, gently feeling her hips, first one side and the other. His hand ran further down the outside of her thighs. His gentle probing then started up the inside of her left thigh, stopped and the returned to do the same to her right thigh.

By this time the woman was becoming aroused and she squirmed a little to better position herself.

The man stopped abruptly and rolled over to his side of the bed.

"Why are you stopping darling?" she whispered.

He whispered back, "I found the remote."

Typical Male.

Bedtime Story

Not Exactly Sure

Tried to not to borrow trouble by thinking negative. Not sure it worked, but I made it through the day even though our department meeting worked my nerve. The lines are blurred between our division and our North American division. There's a story that I am not quite savvy on either so won't go into it.

Worked much later to get 80 line items changed on a document which was joyful I am sure, but I just couldn't find the joy. Called my Chinese takeout joint while driving on the way home and picked up a variety of small orders off the menu. Dinner tonight was covered and lunches for the next couple days, too, until I can go to the grocery store this weekend.

Fell asleep from Chinese food coma until my cousin Angie called on her way home from work. She hasn't been having a good time of it either at work thanks to an IT project. Going to sleep relatively early (for me). Hope tomorrow is more reassuring. I am in desperate need of humor.

Not Exactly Sure

A Quick Day

Rushed around this morning to get ready early so I would have quality time to fiddle with my new laptop accessory before work. Tell you more about that tomorrow. Let's just say it was frustrating but I was laughing a lot. It is being used as a surprise for Yummy.

Tried to make busy today. It is hard to get motivated the day before a holiday. Some people were making it a five-day weekend starting tomorrow. Not me, I am a full-fledged dedicated employee who doesn't believe in that sort. Yeah, you just keep on believing that bit. My boss ordered us to go home early to get a head start on the holiday.

IM'ed with Yummy when I got home. They are having some serious storms over there. Wow! He sent me this link for the storm which has a wicked picture in it. He has one on his blog that he took which is just as wicked. Trampa is just having some rain with occasional thunder and lightning.

Worked again on my Yummy surprise after IM'ing him. This time it was really funny. Yes, you have to wait for me to tell you about it. I know it sucks, but sometimes that's the way the cookie crumbles. You think you're getting a big cookie and end up with crumbs. That's AGOL life lesson #1.

A Quick Day

Out of Sorts

I rescued Tawny this morning from caffeine deprivation. Poor thing was held captive in her office by another day of conference calls. To avoid her going postal, I brought coffee. Crisis averted. You try to deal with her when she hasn't had any coffee. She gets a bit twitchy. Yes, that is spelled with a big fat capital B.

Having a day off in the middle of the week messes me up. Was it Monday again? Just felt out of sorts. I am a fairly sensitive being and I must be feeling everyone's freakishness and uncertainty in this company. Just loooooooovely. Too bad it is another typical day at work.

To make matters worse, my aunt reminded me of the family baby shower she is giving her daughter-in-law on Saturday. Ugh. It will be Michelle and Dave's third child, a second son, scheduled to be delivered next week via C-section.

Employing herculean effort not to be bitter, truth be told, and instead be a good niece by attending and showing my support for my aunt's efforts. When I think about other people having babies like the eight women at my work this spring and summer, I feel the heaviness in the empty space between my arms. Oh, hell. Better get off that subject before I write a horrible rant fueled by the cruel unfairness in the ways of the world...I told you was feeling out of sorts. Maybe Tawny needs to bring me coffee.

I called the apartment office to check up on the progress of my shower. The tiling work will not be completed until tomorrow when they grout. I am able to use the tub faucet but not the shower head as a water source.

A McGyverlike idea to rig something up with polyvinyl dropcloth and some painting tape high on the walls for a proper shower were dampened when I saw the delicate state of the tiles being dried by a fan. Oh, yeah. I can't wait until 6am tomorrow to use my ninja skills to bathe.

I'd like to feel joy continuously about the world for more than a few days. Is that possible without drugs and a serious touch of stupidity? I'm not sayin' anything...I'm just sayin'.

Out of Sorts