Random thoughts to close out the day...

Long time...

2005-11-08T19:27:00.000-05:00

Lack of committment - yes, that's me in a nutshell. I didn't realize it's been so long since I last posted. I can't imagine that this post is going to trigger a daily feed or anything, but I was sitting here and felt, for a hot li'l sec, a bit inspired.

The moment has passed.

Something interesting and totally random: my dog LOVES hall's cough drops. just loves them, I walked in on him trying to get into my purse to get one. wierd - maybe that's why he's consitipated?

Too funny not too post!

2005-09-22T13:42:00.000-04:00

A fried of mine sent me this list. I was so tickled I had to share them with you guys:

**********
These are actual quotes (allegedly) taken from United States Federal Government employee performance evaluations.

1. "Since my last report, this employee has reached rock-bottom & has started to dig."
2. "I would not allow this employee to breed."
3. "This employee is really not so much of a has-been, but more of definite won't be."
4. "Works well when under constant supervision & cornered like a rat in a trap."
5. "When she opens her mouth, it seems that it is only to change feet."
7. "This young lady has delusions of adequacy."
8. "He sets low personal standards & then consistently fails to achieve them."
9. "This employee is depriving a village somewhere of an idiot."
10. "This employee should go far, & the sooner he starts, the better."
11. "Got a full 6-pack, but lacks the plastic thingy to hold it all together."
12. "A gross ignoramus -- 144 times worse than an ordinary ignoramus."
13. "He doesn't have ulcers, but he's a carrier."
14. "I would like to go hunting with him sometime."
15. "He's been working with glue too much."
16. "He would argue with a signpost."
17. "He brings a lot of joy whenever he leaves the room."
18. "When his IQ reaches 50, he should sell."
19. "If you see two people talking & one looks bored, he's the other one."
20. "A photographic memory but with the lens cover glued on."
21. "A prime candidate for natural de-selection."
22. "Donated his brain to science before he was done using it."
23. "Gates are down, the lights are flashing, but the train isn't coming."
24. "He's got two brain cells, one is lost & the other is out looking for it."
25. "If he were any more stupid, he'd have to be watered twice a week."
26. "If you give him a penny for his thoughts, you'd get change."
27. "If you stand close enough to him, you can hear the ocean."
28. "It's hard to believe he beat out 1,000,000 other sperm."
29. "Some drink from the fountain of knowledge; he only gargled."
30. "Takes him 2 hours to watch '60-minutes'"
31. "The wheel is turning, but the hamster is dead"

U-Haul SUCKS! - corrected, Antonio Edgerton at the VA Beach Uhaul office SUCKS

2005-09-17T23:19:00.000-04:00

OMFG...

I hate uhaul. I can't recall the last time I (or anyone I know) had a decent experience at a uhaul.

Today was the big move day for my brother (hence, the uhaul tie in). Things were going so well - the delivery folks were on time, there weren't any wierd scratches or missing pieces on the appliances, my brother had adequate help (read: I didn't lift a box), the riding mower (john deere is my hero) is freakin awesome - I spent part of the afternoon cutting grass...then we get to the point were we need to return the uhaul. Should be easy peasy, right? Well, only at ghetto ass uhaul does it take more than one hour to return the freakin thing. The guy - Antonio Edgerton is his name - was a complete jackass. At one point, he heads out with the folks in front of us to do the walkthrough, and he's gone for like 15 minutes, so, given that we've already been waiting for around 50 minutes, I walked out to see what was up - the ugly ass idiot was trying to mack on a girl. So of course, I try (but fail) to hold my tongue - before I can stop myself, I hear myself yelling across the parking lot "Hey - do you plan on coming back in to do your job anytime soon? There's a line of folks, some of which have been waiting in line for nearly an hour." His reply - "There's someone in there who can help you".

So, of course, as I walk back in, I announce to everyone that the clown isn't doing any work - he's out there running his freakin mouth. (My brother, being more mature than me - indicates that he is going to call the general manager tomorrow after noting the dumbass moron's name (Antonio Edgerton). I figured I'd do a little rebel rousing and just make sure that the other folks in line (who were much more aggressive than me) knew what the idiot was doing. When he came back in, I think I heard someone say they were going to cuss him when they got to the counter.

I mean, c'mon - there are plenty of people who would take a job that basically entails standing behind a counter and smiling while renting folks overpriced junk vehicles - no one should have to put up with such incompetence. I hope everyone that was in line behind us made his miserable little worthless life a little more miserable.

He is a jackass and a waste of breathable air.

Checking in

2005-09-12T22:27:00.000-04:00

That seems to be the title for a bunch of my posts. Here's what's going on in my little world:

The gov't vols group got a bit better organized - not much, but a bit. So they are squared away. Thank goodness the ARC is taking the lead with the evacuees - I don't think they could take the gov't vols group.

This past week I've been pretty busy ramping up on all things grad school. I haven't been to school in 5 years. I forgot how much studying/homework/research there is. But, I'm committed this time (I've started/stopped nearly every year since 2000).

I snapped at my boss today. Told him I have no confidence in his approach to problem solving. Told him that I basically think he's a dumbass. He sort of snapped back - not nearly strong enough (read: smart enough) to gain my respect. He tried to say that he never says that he has no confidence in my financial mgmt skills, so I shouldn't critique his project mgmt skills. I calmly told him that if he had a gripe with my financial mgmt skills, to let me know, because I would want to know, as I suspect he wants to know my opinion since he plopped his booty down in my office asking for my opinion. That's not really what I said - I was a little sharper tongued with my response - but it was basically along the lines of - no one questions/rewrites/asks for corroboration on my work - I've proven to have a rather trustworthy record. I'm such a bitch, I should've left him alone - his boss basically told him he has no confidence in him either. My goal for tomorrow - do a karma check in the morning and try three ways to say something nice every time something nasty is on the tip of my tongue. that should be interesting. I think I'm too jaded to even give that a shot. We'll see.

I'm headed down to Va Beach this weekend to help my brother move. That should be loads of fun! The dogs will have LOTS of room to run. I live in a rowhouse in DC. My brother has 6 acres in Suffolk. I don't know if the dogs will know what to do with themselves! Only concern - I just got a handle on the flea problem.

Ummm, I suppose that is all for now. I've got loads of homework to do. Not to mention loads of work to do. I somehow managed to put quite a bit off while I was traipsing back and forth working on the Katrina relief. Now that the DC efforts are stabilizing, I've got to refocus on the other homeland security issues before me.

Checking In

2005-09-07T23:23:00.000-04:00

When you get paid to organize volunteers, and the event happens in which you need to organize volunteers, it sort of sucks when you are so obviously overwhelmed, disorganized, arrogant, etc.

Because many volunteers have full time jobs, our Citizen Corps group requested each agency send over folks to assist with setting up our Katrina visitors. While I had previously assisted with this effort from a government response (working with the exec offices and the DC EMA), this was my first effort as a volunteer - and boy was it disappointing. First, the location was all off. I got a page asking that I report to the DC Armory. I get to the Armory and am told that they are citizen volunteer heavy and don't need any gov't volunteers, I'm welcome to stay, but they don't have anything for me to do. So I head over to the mobile command bus to see what's going on there. Nothing much going on, so I try to regroup and figure out where the breakdown was. Turns out, they actually wanted us to report to the Emergency Ops Center to answer phones (DC has a citywide call center), return calls, do whatever for ServeDC (our Cit Corps group).

So, I head home, take care of the dogs, and head over to the EOC. When I get there, the 3 folks that are manning the station are running around like crazy. I ask for my POC and she asks me what I would like to do. I'm not uppity, so I said I'll do whatever is needed. I'll count paper clips if that is what is needed. I'm tasked with prepping a schedule for volunteers for the next two weeks and identifying coverage gaps.

Ok - right there, I'm like, how do you, the agency that organizes volunteers, not have this info handy already (many days after the event). But I oblige, I prep a schedule, but I don't know any volunteers, I don't have any feedback, I feel incredibly underutilized.

Maybe tomorrow will be better. Mind you, my day job is always demanding 10 hours minimum, but I committed to these guys that as long as there is something for me to do (that is useful), I'll be there for the night shift. They get one more day, then I'm going to start making suggestions on how to improve the situation.

This post is quite choppy and I'm tired, so take my rant with a grain of salt. All in all, I was a little disappointed with the disorganization of our volunteer corps agency. My critique isn't of the volunteers, but of the high paid gov't workers who are supposed to have the basics worked out before the event.

Ok, done.

Ugh

2005-09-03T14:32:00.000-04:00

Haven't written in about a week or so. Here's the latest:

Boston's been called off on account of Katrina.

Hawaii's been called of on account of, well, extravagance (sp?) might be a good word.

I bought the wrong textbook and now have to schlepp all the way back to MD to return it and buy the right one.

Let me say - none of the above are complaints. I'm in a complaint-free zone for a while. I have nothing to complain about - I'm safe, I have food and water, I can afford the gas (even if I don't like it costing so much), and I still have a dry place to lay my head at night.

DC sent 10 buses down to Louisiana to pick up 400 folks and shelter them at the DC Armory. They should arrive on Monday - so tomorrow is going to be a busy day, trying to set up the armory and what not. I probably won't post for another week or so, but I'll try and keep the blog updated now and again with the DC relief efforts. Its hard to not feel helpless.

The 10 buses that went down were escorted by 4 cops. Had I known the Boston trip was cancelled before they left, I would've tagged along with them (the cops are my buds - I'm so proud of them) to help with the driving. It's a tight schedule, they left late Friday with intentions of driving straight down, unloading the bus load of supplies and loading up with passengers to drive back. I think they are only scheduling one block of time for sleep. I'll do my part and make sure they (the evacuees) have a coordinated relief post once they get back.

That's it for now -

Travelin on the gov't dime

2005-08-29T21:20:00.000-04:00

Whoo hoo!!! Boston, here I come! Well, that's next week. But I LOVE Boston! I'll take pictures and post when I get back. I'm also scheduled to go to Hawaii in October - not sure if I'm up for that long of a flight, but I've never been, so it might be worth it.

Things I want to do in Boston that I didn't get to do last time:

See a Red Sox game.
Spend more time at Fanueil Hall (sp?)
Go to Boston Commons
Walk around the many college campuses (although, last time I was there we were at a MIT conference for a week, but still didn't see much of the campus)

Fun stuff! Tell you about it more later :)

Headaches and dogs

2005-08-28T15:40:00.000-04:00

I've been battling this dull headache for most of the day. I tried drinking lots of water (mom's advice), I tried sleeping it off (brother's advice), I went to the gym and tried exercising it away (friend's advice) - I'm going to take the TV's advice (and SDK's for that matter) and take some Excedrin.

Anyway - the point of this post: Do you think dogs (cats too, animals in general) get headaches? And if they do, do they just cope? I mean, they don't have anyone to whine to about having a headache, they just sort of suck it up and deal with it. I mean, if its environmental (which I think might be the case for where I live - really old house that I'm convinces has a mold problem, coupled with my office which is in the same boat), then the animals that are breathing the same air as me (and more of it and closer to the ground) should be suffering from the same affliction as me. But they don't complain about it.

Hmmmm...

Wild Animals

2005-08-27T09:07:00.000-04:00

I'm gonna have to be slick to take a photo of this... But here is the narrative:

I have this big white teddy bear (prob. close to 3 feet tall) and I have this little tiny dog (closer to 8 inches long). Well, it seems my little dog (his pic is shown in earlier posts) has grown quite fond of the big bear. He humps his leg (which is bigger than the dog) like its running away! Sooo funnny. Sometimes he get's so into it he falls over the bear and then has this dazed look while he climbs back on.

If I make a move for the camera, Colby will know he has an audience and might stop, so I'll have to be sneaky. If we're lucky, I'll be able to shoot some video.

HILARIOUS!!!

Movie Review - The 40 year old Virgin

2005-08-27T09:01:00.000-04:00

What a great movie! My options last night were this or the Brother Grimm. I wanted something light hearted and fun - and I got it!

This movie had many opportunities to dip into the tacky-childish humor-potty jokes that is characteristic of this genre (think Night at the Roxbury, Corky Romano, sheesh-why I can't I think of any more???) At any rate, it was sweet, funny, realistic, there was a piece that EVERYONE could relate to. The theatre was cracking up! I know I missed a few lines because the laughter was so hearty and loud.

Def. one for the DVD shelf when it comes out.

The "Mom-off"

2005-08-25T23:03:00.000-04:00

hahaha

I love Jon Stewart.

The Pruetts vs. the Sheehans - funny stuff.

simple catchy talking points:

doing the right things and progress, progress, progress

no timetables for troop withdrawal

stay on message (talking points). first, WMD - now war rational = defeat terrorist abroad

********************************

ok, i'm done - had to jot notes. JS rocks :)

Thursday

2005-08-25T22:19:00.000-04:00

Well, not that this is interesting to any of you, but I had planned on doing some mobile blogging from by blackberry on my way to work in the morning. If I had done it this morning, this is what it would have said:

This morning was nice and cool, around 67 degrees, sun was shining just right. With the price of gas nearing $3/gal, I've been walking to the metro (not that I had an excuse before - chalk it up to laziness). I only live about 3 blocks from Union Station, so there really isn't any excuse to do anything other than walk. Ok, so, I'm walking to work and I begin to take stock of the monotony of my travels - Mr. Hat is always sitting outside of the apartment building, no matter what time of day it is. He's an older (80-ish?) man who is friendly as can be. Always smiling. That's block one.

While I'm walking through block two, I pass the gas station - the attendant is always looking at the folks that are walking - every morning (I mean, gas in DC is usually $.30 higher than neighboring VA, so he doesn't get that much business).

Gosh, I'm only on block three and I'm already bored with this post.

I'll have to find something funny to tomorrow. There's usually something peculiar that is post worthy. Just not right now.

Score one for the cat.

2005-08-22T21:44:00.000-04:00

I came home early ready to tackle the little flea problem my kids seem to be having - when lo and behold, yesterday's activities seemed to have maintained the woman vs. flea battle - until one jumped off the fat cat and onto my lap. It was the last straw - yesterday, I bathed the dogs, but I only wiped the cats down with flea wipes and bath wipes. After the flea jumped ship from the cat to the lap, I concluded that Mr. Marley was going to have to go for a little swim.

Little did I know...

First, I didn't quite realize that this would be the very first full on soaking for this cat since I've had him (going on 6 years now).
I thought the poor thing was going to have a freakin heartattack right there in the tub.

Second, Marley was making some kind of noise I've NEVER heard from an animal before. It was like the battle cry for cats. It was this extremely low, yet loud, gutteral bellow that came from his gut. And it was going on and on and on. The dogs got curious and were standing over my shoulder while I'm dancing with the cat trying to keep the four sets of claws from taking out an eye or giving me some nice body art. Almost made it with the last one.

After Marl decided he was going to take out the shower tower that holds all of my shampoo, conditioner, facial cleanser, body wash, soap, razor, loofah, scrubbie - you get the picture, right? Back to story... So he somehow manages to swipe the tower and the whole thing comes crashing down. My first instinct should have been to maintain the cat, but I flinched with the flying shower accoutremonts and raised one arm. Marley saw the weak link and did a body flip and planted one whole paw in my arm - AND HE WOULD NOT RELEASE!!! I swear to all things holy - I almost drowned a cat tonight.

Even as I saw the claws planted and twisted in my arm, I remained calm - partly because I knew Seb would go nuts if I squealed, and when I finally did let out a little yelp - he was all over it. He jumped in the tub (only got his front two paws in) and was headed (mouth open) for Marley's backside. Marley finally wises up and let's go - all the while, still making that strange gutteral sound.

So, I finish rinsing him off, he's much better behaved, what with the big beast standing guard, and then I wrap him in a towel.

My bathroom looks like a street war has just wrapped up. Amazing that the fat cat did all that. He one this round, but it's not over - let me see another flea and we might have to do round two. Next time, I'm taping his paws with duct tape. Ha.

Dogs days of summer - in the final stretch

2005-08-21T13:56:00.000-04:00

I love it when the weather channel shows a big swath of blue (representing the oh-so-lovely cooler air) sweeping its way across the US coming on in to home plate - and its happening tonight!!!! Yippeeeee!!!!!

I love it more when the 5 day forecast includes anything beginning with a "6". The evening temps for Wed - Fri of next week are all beginning with "6"!!!

FANTASTIC :)

On these lovely hot-as-hell days, I find myself burrowing in my house, trying to remain calm, still, and cool. I get up before daybreak so I can take Sebi walking - we suffer from the same affliction - we are both allergic to hot temps.

Here's the problem - I'M BORED!!! I've watched 3 movies today:

1. National Lampoon's Golddigger (funny movie - mindless, stupid, but a little funny)
2. The Importance of Being Earnest - nice period movie, lots of funny pieces to it.
3. Feeling Minnesota - I think Keanu Reaves has a limited acting style. His mannerisms and the way he delivers lines are the exact same, whether you are watching "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure", the Matrix (all three), or this one. I was more interested in this movie because of Cameron Diaz - she's funny; and Vincent D'Onofrio (sp) - he has a wide range of acting abilities. Keanu sort of screwed with the movie.

It's kind of hard to leave the house to do things without spending any money and still not get overheated. I thought about going to one of the many museums we have here in DC, but the thought of the smelly tourist bumping into you because this is the final stretch before school and folks are trying to get one last hurrah in at the Nation's Capital. I'll save trips to the museums for the fall (fewer tourists and the weather is much more pleasant.

I've cleaned every part of my house, done every bit of laundry, planned out my dinner menu for the week, cooked three meals, brushed the little dog, the big dog, and the cats, read up on everyone's blog, read the newspaper, both online and the print versions, clipped my coupons for the week (that's my new thing - I saved $18 bucks on my last shopping trip!), and everything else I could think to do (that I was interested in).

I could finish the books I'm reading, but my eyeglasses seem a bit off and I get headaches when I stare at something for a too long (good thing I can type without looking, as I am pushing it with the tension headache and the screen).

This is such a random post - there was no structure to it, blame it on the heat.

I love my dog.

2005-08-16T20:05:00.000-04:00

Well, I love all of my kids, but I'm particularly fond of my Akita. He's great.

I started to think about this post as I was watching him eat a "rawhide twist with stuff in the middle" treat. I have to watch him because he tends to get overzealous and just eat the whole thing about halfway through and then comes around with this awful hacking because it has now lodged in his throat. When that happens, I have to - literally - stick my fist in his mouth and pull the lodged treat from the back of his throat. To know this dog (and Akitas in general) is to know that he is pretty aggressive and HATES for anyone (man or beast) to touch his mouth. - except me. I know its stupid, but I get a kick out of it. After all these years, I'm like the mom who can still make the owie go away.

Ok, so the point of this post. Voice commands that Sebi knows:

Drop it - important for when he gets a hold of a field mouse and you don't want him to eat it.
Sit - because that is just important
Stay - because that is also just important
Spit it out - important for when he gets half eaten treats at the ready for the throat lodge episode
Release - to get the random dog out of his mouth (people - don't let your dogs run off leash if you don't have them on total voice control - it's not my fault if your dumb ass (and your dumb ass dog) doesn't understand my statement - "He's not friendly")
Come - in case he gets a hold of something in the back yard (ummm, i'm thinking - the possums and wild rabbits, after spit it out/drop it/release, i've got to get him away from the creature
Move - because sometimes, he likes to act like a wall sometimes
Out of the kitchen - good for when you are cooking
Get in the kitchen - good for when you are cleaning the LR/DR
Go upstairs - good for when you just need a freakin break
Go to bed - also good for when you need a break

He's awesome. I could start a whole blog on how awesome he is. If I ever have kids, I think I would be THAT soccer mom.

Ha Ha Ha

Dreams and other things

2005-08-14T22:42:00.000-04:00

Do you ever wake up from a deep slumber just mad as hell at someone? Well, that happens to me quite a bit. Not as much as it use to, but more and more frequently. Sometimes I can't tell if what they did was only in my dream or if it actually happened. But like most dreams, I forget after a few hours, but I still have the lingering pissy pants attitude toward the particular someone.

Strange.

Other things - I went for a long bike ride today and took this pic of the memorial bridge:

It wasn't dusk or anything - that's me trying to figure out my camera. I like the angle of the bridge from the Virginia side.

I know I had posted pics of my 2 dogs and cat - but I don't think I ever posted the pick of the other cat. This is Bailey - she came to me because I can never say no to a cat in need. She was going to be put down so the shelter could make room for some kittens, but I got the heartfelt plea to take her in and, well, could you say no to this little face?

On second thought - she looks a little demonic - I think its the camera, she does have pupils, I've seen them - really.

My Future Mother-in-Law

2005-08-13T21:33:00.000-04:00

Today, I went to a get together at a friend of a friend's place. I've known the host for some time now, through my friend. About a year ago, I was dealing with that particular friend (co-worker) quite a bit, so I ran into friend of the friend quite a bit (the two of them are co-workers). In order to keep all of this straight, we'll call my friend Bob and his friend Sam.

So, to put the last paragraph in context - Bob invited me to go to a Sam's house for a party. This was a very family oriented affair - kids everywhere, pool, trampoline, lots and lots of food. (BTW - Bob is married - I'm also friends with his wife - so no hanky panky thoughts about me and Bob).

Sam has recently gone through some personal stuff - newly divorced, I think. His mom comes down frequently to help out, as he has a little girl who he has custody of Mon - Fri. Back on track - A year ago, I developed a school girl crush on Sam, but not one of those crushes you pursue, but one that you cherish over time (he was married then anyway, and I've been on super career track for the last few years - read: no dating).

I still have a crush ;)

His mom cooked so much yummy Italian food - so so much! Anyway, me and his mom sort of bonded over cigs (I lost my fight to not buy any - but this pack will last me for the whole month - promise). She went on and on telling me how much he needed a good woman, and well, since I'm single and all. It was all very surreal. So, while I'm sitting there watching Sam do cannonballs into the pool so that all the kids could ride the waves, I thought to myself - so this is what I've been missing.

Well folks, time to do something about it. Not that I'm going to pursue anything with Sam - that's not the point to this story. The point is - I want the family life - the cookouts, the kids, the friends, the camaraderie.

Did I tell you that Sam is one of the last good guys? You know, the kind that holds the door open for you, those kinds of thing. I thought I was going to die when he came over and asked his mom if she wanted him to fix her a dessert plate. Usually, its the other way around - the mom is doting on the son. It was sweet.

WARNING: Don't read this post if you are easily offended.

2005-08-13T10:52:00.000-04:00

Sometimes, I just love a little political satire. I can ususally find some good stuff at Wonkette's Site. Take this for example, A Karl Rovish Andy Dick - absolutely hilarious. Now, I generally have mixed emotions when it comes to our POTUS, I have to believe that his butchering of any language he speaks - be it "American" or "Mexican" - is his way of reaching out to the less educated population of our nation, but really, must we constantly celebrate mediocrity and continue to dumb down our leaders?

I'm usually pretty even-keeled, I don't really fault the man, or his handlers, for this tactic - he had to find a way to reach out. But, just as I couldn't take a professor seriously who can't speak the English language, I have a hard time, sometimes, taking our leader serious when he can't speak the English language.

Nevertheless, this is all in fun, because at the end of the day, I am a Bush supporter, if for no other reason, he's keeping it real. He's not embarrassed by his many faux paus, in fact, I think he revels in it to some degree. Gotta admire that, right?

Let me end with this - by no means do I claim to be a master of the English language. But, I'm also not the face of this nation to the rest of the world.

Midwest Hick - my new hero

2005-08-12T17:22:00.000-04:00

So I went browsing today and checked out Midwest Hicks blog. I was totally thrown for a loop because there was music playing (no, I'm not always this dense - this was new to me). I scrolled down to the bottom of his page and say a video was playing - That's cool!!!

So, many thanks to you Mr. Hick.

Oddities of living in DC

2005-08-12T13:41:00.000-04:00

So the plumber came by, and, but for my 125lb vicious dog, I probably would have been freaked out. He shows up, looking kind of rough, no uniform, no identification, just sort of walks into the house and looks around. Eventually gets around to saying - what seems to be the problem? - my response: oh - you must be the plumber. Again, but for my dog, who is aggressively standing between me and plumber (I've holding him by his collar) - I would have (and should have) been freaked out.

Mr. P goes into the kitchen, where the problem is, and tells me that it's going to be $260 to snake the sink - I don't have any clue as to plumbing estimates, all I know is that I can't STAND the clogged sink - it makes me sick to my stomach.

The oddity is that A) his lack of professionalism and B) my own stupidity for just letting him stroll on in.

Continuing on...

- He grabs my wok to catch the water (that wok will be going straight into the trash when he leaves)
- He schleps his big tool across my house (I hope that thing hasn't seen any gutter action - I'll be disinfecting my house this weekend, thank you very much)
- He just had an open call with the home base - seems he cracked the door frame at the place he just left, but they decided they were going to blame it on the construction crew that was doing work there the same time he was there.

Ok - all's well. He's fixed the sink, I paid him, he left, and there aren't any cracks in the door.

Catching up

2005-08-12T09:38:00.000-04:00

Today, I'm hanging out at home, waiting for the plumber. It seems if you ignore a slow drain in the kitchen sink, it inevitably turns into a clogged drain.

Serves me right, really. I've probably spent $100 on Drano, Liquid Plummer, etc for the past month. KNOWING that whenever I run the dishwasher, it gets clogged again. This one today is probably going to cost me. Crap.

Well, I got accepted into my grad program (although, that's no big feat as I don't think it was that competitive). But, I'm going to work it out anyhow :)

So, what else? I'm fighting the urge to go buy a pack of cigs. I recently quit - about 4 weeks ago. I sometimes feel like I need a smoke when big things happen (grad school, bad plumbing) etc. I am strong, I will not smoke, I will not buy cigarettes. hahahaha - yeah, we'll see.

Daytime tv is bad bad bad. Who knew they made a saved by the bell with them in college! And how in the world is Jerry Springer still on tv? That's the downfall of America - first, that idiots are dumb enough to go on to JS and second, that people still watch that crap.

OK - enough of that. Must go do something constructive.

Can't sleep

2005-08-08T00:04:00.000-04:00

Every few minutes, I get the urge to rake my fingernails across my shoulder - once in a while, I give in to the urge - OOOOUUUUUUCCCCCCCHHHHHHHHH!!!!! Still burnt.

The pain is keeping me up. Well, that's not entirely true. The discomfort is keeping me up. And the strange noise that I attributed to my big dog. That's the real reason for this late night post - the dog.

The noise was one I couldn't quite place, so I got up to investigate. You see, he's been sick lately. I half thought he was throwing up, he was leaning in close next to my bed and his head was bobbing up and down. But he was strangely quiet. So, being the investigative type that I am, I investigate. I turn on the light and guess what I saw - my pooch looking up at me with the most guilt-filled eyes. It seems that my 125 lb Akita has a thing for Winterfresh gum. He opened my purse, took out the gum package, somehow managed to dump the individual gum pieces from the pack and took the foil off. Now, I don't think he knows what to do with the gum besides lick it, because as far as I could tell, he hadn't eaten any of the gum.

Wierd.

Sunburned - and it sucks!

2005-08-06T22:14:00.000-04:00

Well, today was the big tubing trip. Started off a bit bumpy - two of the folks that were going to join us didn't make it after all, and two others who were unconfirmed did make it. Everyone showed up at different times, didn't really seem like a group event.
.
Water temp was nice. Not enough rapids, although I did flip over on the larger rapid - that was a treat. All in all, the tubing trip was good. Lots of other folks on the river. Realized that we severly underpacked our cooler (not enough beer, no food/snacks) - next time, we'll be better prepared.

One of our partygoers had suggested a little dive restuarant called "Cindy Dee Restuarant" - the sign on the window said "best fried chicken ever". The sign was right. We gorged on awesome fried chicken, very homestyle-y. They had a HUGE dessert selection, and we all continued to eat ourselves into a coma - apple dumplings, peach pie, peach cobbler, blueberry cobbler - all topped with ice cream - YUMMY!!!

I was the DD and about 25 miles from home I had to beg and plead for someone to take over driving duties. I was about to pass out. Which I abruptly did once we switched. Now my co-worker has snoring stories to bribe me with at the office.

When I got home, I promptly stripped and fell into bed and slept for 3 hours. Its when I woke up from that lovely slumber that I realized why I felt so off. SUNBURN!

Ok - about the sunburn... I've NEVER been sunburned before, EVER. I always attributed it to my asian-half (I mean, c'mon, how many asian folks have you ever seen sunburned?). Well, my american-half must be bubbling to the surface as I age, because the sun kicked my ass today. My face is nice and rosy. I have a red sunburn line on my legs and neck and arms. My skin is prickly hot, I have a fever, a headache, general soreness. I feel for all those fair-skinned folks, I can only imagine what the sun does to them. I'm just doing a little light bitching and complaining - I really don't have it all that bad compared to the fair-skinned folks.

Its now 10:30 - my skin still feels prickly. I wish I had some aloe vera. I must go find something to soothe this strange feeling.

Next time - SPF 30 all the way baby!

Movie review: Wimbledon

2005-08-02T22:43:00.000-04:00

Cute movie - Paul Bettany is HOT!

This movie was one of those movies that I added to Netflix because I ran out of other movies to add (I watch a lot of movies). To my surprise, this was an awesome movie (particularly if you like tennis - which I do). Makes me want to go see a grand slam tourney.

Fantastic flick!

Secret: When I was a kid, I wanted to be a ball girl at Wimbledon.

Strange lunch

2005-08-02T15:11:00.000-04:00

On second thought - I've erased this post.

Satisfaction...(I can't get no...)

2005-08-01T22:06:00.000-04:00

OK - So I chatted with my *boss* today about being dissatisfied with my job and this was his advice:

Jot down all the things I like about it and all the things I don't like and compare the two list - determine what portion of my dissatisfaction ACTUALLY has anything to do with the job itself. So here goes:

What I don't like:

1. I don't have a mentor - odd, but yes - I would like to learn from by superior. It would make things more interesting. I don't have that. My *boss* isn't my mentor, he's more like my peer (he introduces us as colleagues - he hates it when I refer to him or introduce him as my boss, hence the "*".

2. My *boss* is a schmoozer, a self-admitted one at that. He knows he's a schmoozer, so I'm not breaking any golden rule regarding writing about work. This isn't anything new. Ok - so why is that something I don't like? I find it hard to trust (read: respect) someone who is a schmoozer.

3. The folks I work with (not the immediate folks, but the outlying ones) are vicious, malicious, back-stabbing, meanies. Mostly to him (I have perfected the art of dodging meetings).

4. The work could be more interesting - I've been in administrative reform mode since I started - establishing and executing procedures and what not - not actually *doing* the fun stuff. That part of it can get boring.

5. Piss-poor comms among the staff. For our little staff, we should communicate much more frequently and efficiently.

6. This one can go on both lists - being in the basement of an old building. No light, I swear there is mold, we NEVER get told when there is a fire drill, bomb threat, jumper on the inside ledge.

7. Parking costs WAY TOO MUCH!!! $17/day. Enough said.

8. The nazi patrol that guards the adjacent building - really, I don't have any weapons stored in my slingbacks - why are you wanding me? - EVERYDAY?!? - THEY ARE THE SAME DAMN SHOES!!! This is why I wear flip-flops (see below) - all rubber, all the time, baby.

9. The bitchy lady who told me I couldn't bring my $900 bike and leave it in my office suite (she caught me at the elevators). I can name at least 6 other bikes on the higher level suites that take their bikes inside, I think she thought I was a courier - but still, she was a bitch about it.

What I do like:

1. Very lax environment. I don't punch a time clock, no one hounds me for my 8 hours (granted, I usually give them one or two extra, for free - maybe that's why I'm not hawked).

2. I get paid LOTS of money to do something I'm pretty good at.

3. Even with my gripes, I like my *boss* - he makes me laugh - as much as he makes me cringe, so I guess that one is a draw.

4. Even though I hate to admit it, I like being in control of my little world. The *boss* doesn't mess with my little world, I'm the big kahuna there.

5. I have ALL the best equipment - (I should say "we" - our whole group is pretty well outfitted with stuff). I've worked in other places where you'd be lucky to have a productive PC 3 out of 5 days.

6. I have a nice big office with my own A/C. Oh, does that sound odd to you? You have to understand, I am always hot - being able to control my environment is AWESOME!!!

7. From the first list - being in the basement - I get to wear flip-flops all day, no worries of running into the higher-ups in the building (who is gonna schlep all the way to the basement?), I'm one of maybe 3 females in the basement who get to use the 6-stall bathroom (always clean).

8. As far as city offices go - we are in the best building. It's right downtown, with nice things all around. Very pretty.

9. I rarely have to work against a deadline. I guess this is another one that can go on both lists. If you've read some of my earlier posts, I don't have enough self-discipline to really make that work. But I try (I impose deadlines on myself by telling other people when they can expect something - they usually forget and don't hold me to it).

10. Did I already rave about my uber-flex schedule? That definitely takes the cake. My neighbor was ragging me earlier - she said she's noticed that I'm leaving for work later and later (yeah - well, if she's able to notice, that means she's still at home too).
.....................

I guess, I should stop complaining. I really don't have it all that bad.

The other kids in the fam...

2005-07-31T22:32:00.000-04:00

Marley and Colby (Marley is the fat-ass cat):

Marley chilling in the leather bucket:

The weekend roundup

2005-07-31T21:57:00.000-04:00

I love Netflix! Living in DC, it is soooo handy - parking is always at a premium, so running to a video store is out of the question. I have something like 25 movies in my queue - every weekend is something new (keeps me on my toes, I guess).

This past weekend: XXX 2, Constantine, and The Upside of Anger.

XXX2 was cute - not oscar worthy, but a good way to unwind after a long week.
Constantine was wierd, I'm not sure if I didn't like it or if I was REALLY tired, I sort of fell asleep 3/4 of the way through it.
The Upside of Anger - AWESOME!!! See previous post.

Other than that, nothing really happened this weekend. I cleaned out my nasty backyard, picked up the tree branches and icky leaves from last weeks storms. I hate touching wet foliage/tree branches/whatever - so I had to let it all dry out. Ended up being 4 trash bags full of ickiness.

I think Seb is being harrassed by a ghost. He keeps jumping up and looking behind him as though something has startled him. He's about to wear himself out. He keeps looking to me for help, but I can't figure out what is bothering him. At first, I suspected fleas, but he looks clear, I gave him some treatment just in case. The pic below is of him on the bed (which is RARE) - he usually is too hot to be on the bed, this is just a sign that something BIG is bothering him.

Pitiful:

Random Observations...

2005-07-30T23:28:00.000-04:00

On my way to my shopping destination, I observed some funky road rage - picture this:

20-something white female (20WF) riding northbound in the left turn lane
older black family (OBF)- mom, dad, teenage kids in backseat (2) driving southbound, preparing to turn left - thereby crossing in front of 20WF.

20WF proceeds to flip off OBF (silly move, there was plenty of room/time/whatever - just rage) and OBF (mom) gives 20WF a thumbs up and a great big smile, and OBF (dad) proceeds with his left hand turn. all's well.

Why did I recall this observation? Because last week, I had a similar experience, but I was the OBF in the story and the idiot driver who was cursing me was the driver of a boat named "T&T" from Burke, VA - asshole. Anyhoo - the reason why I remembered it was because when he raged on me, I returned the rage and told his wife she should be embarrased by that asshole and that I hope his boat sinks while he's in it. next time, I'll just remember to smile and give a thumbs up.

Another observation: do you remember the episode from friends where Phoebe is running through Central Park and Rachel won't run with her because she runs all crazy? Well, I saw someone today from the Phoebe running school at the gym today - but she was running crazy on the elliptical machine. it was funny - distracting - but funny. She's my new role model.

Ok, I don't think I have anything else. Moving on - I just watched "The Upside of Anger" - GREAT MOVIE!!! Joan Allen rocks!

Long day at the office

2005-07-28T17:52:00.000-04:00

It seems like this work day will never end! I'm ready to go home, but wanted to try out this mobile blogging/emailed version thing first.

The good: today was relatively quiet; most folks were out in meetings all day - all of the cool folks hung out at the office with me.

The bad: one of my co-workers is moving on, she will be missed! I'm still convinced she's leaving because of the crappy environment, but she's trying to maintain some level of professionalism.

The ugly: the gossip tree has low branches - folks were stopping by and calling to solicit gossip, but better when it is subtle - if at all.

That's it for now. I'm out of here J

Again with the stinkin discipline...

2005-07-27T22:01:00.000-04:00

So, I think I'm going to have to start (and maintain) a nice hobby or project.

-Last winter, I took up knitting - but my hands were always dry from the yarn and so I have about 6 scarves that are only halfway completed and probably won't reach their intended recipients this Christmas.

-This spring, I started a workout routine, but that has sort of slowed to a trickle - I attribute that to the heat, I'll get back on track soon - really - I will.

-This summer, I wanted to start a scrapbook, but started this blog instead.

-This fall, I had planned on going back to school, but that is beginning to look like it might be a next winter/spring project.

Wonder why I can't do it all? Lazy, I guess. Maybe that will be my project - self discipline.

Seriously, can we get a cool breeze?

2005-07-25T18:04:00.000-04:00

It is so freakin hot outside! All I can say is that this is yickie. Nothing more, just yickie.

Two in one day

2005-07-21T23:25:00.000-04:00

It's amazing how many people I've lost touch with over the past few years. I think some of it has to do with my father's death. His death is a definite mark in my life.

I fell out of touch with most (read: all) of my friends after his death. The ONLY people I still speak to post death are my family. And that is unfortunate, as I had some really good friends. I think I cocooned myself for so long after he died that they got fed up with me and moved on. The point of all this is that I realize that I don't have any friends, besides JD2, that I have known for any length of time. and that sucks butt.

I envy the folks who have lifer friends - you know, the college buddies, the high school buddies, the summer camp buddies. I don't remember anyone from college. Sure, I remember a few names from high school, but as I recall, high school wasn't very pleasant, so it's just not worth the time to try and locate people... and what do I do when I find them? First I'd have to remember whether I liked them or not. Ugh.

The folks I know now are worker types - and most are so backstab-y that I wouldn't trust them with a 10 foot pole on anything that meant something. That sucks too.

I really miss ZA, but after she got married and didn't invite me to the wedding (she said it was a small affair - we were best friends!!!), I was a little slighted. Her mom called me and asked me why I wasn't there. Finally found out that ZA didn't invite me because she felt I didn't lean on her enough after my dad died. Now she's gone off to FL, at least that is the last I heard.

Another one - DS. I'm actually trying to find him, he is my one friend from the high school days that I've tried to stay in touch with, but, again, after my dad passed, I became the most miserable miser ever and drove most folks far, far away. DS, to his credit, tried to stick around, but I think my craziness just pushed him over the edge. I found his latest address (or rather, my intel analyst friend found it for me) and wrote him a letter - still haven't sent it, not sure if its wise.

There use to be a whole slew of folks at GMU when I was an RA that would have been worth holding onto, but I can't even remember their names to drop them friendly lines.

Ugh - I need to find a way to be happy with my life. All I do is complain. My dad would have been so disappointed.

Purpose

2005-07-21T19:42:00.000-04:00

Ok, this is going to sound pretty shallow - maybe...

I want the perfect job. You know, the one that probably doesn't pay a living wage, but gives you the most satisfaction out of life. The problem is, I don't know WHAT the perfect job entails for me. I wonder what makes musicians musicians - is it something they feel in their soul? What about doctors? Cops? Firefighters?

The other problem is, I make a pretty good living doing something I'm pretty good at, but doesn't bring me a lick of joy. What prevents me from venturing out to do more interesting work? I like the security of my job, and I'm not really convinced its all that secure.

I have aspirations of quitting my job, moving to another city and starting fresh. But I am unable to articulate my marketable skills in such a way that will allow me to earn the same ridiculously high salary that I currently make.

I think I would like to do event planning, but ask my family, I have a new dream job every six months. This sucks.

Catching Up

2005-07-19T21:33:00.000-04:00

OK, so it's been about a week since my last post. I've started two, but never finished them - so, why, do you ask, am I starting a third??? Because this one has no theme. I can just ramble on and on without any concern as to whether this makes any freakin' sense to anyone but me.

BTW - the second of the two "draft" posts is titled "discipline, discipline, discipline" - you can only guess what that topic was about. Wish I had enough discipline to finish the damn thing. It was supposed to be my marathon bitch out session to myself - you know, trying to whip myself into shape and get some self-discipline. No luck.

Why, oh, why??? (All because of a lack of discipline):

- I continue to type without putting on my glasses knowing that it will give me a headache in, oh, about 22 more minutes.
- I don't put lotion on my feet, but I really should be soaking them in a vat of vaseline.
- My garbage disposal broke, but, I won't call the plumber - mind you, I've probably spent in Drano/Liquid Plummer what it would cost for a plumber to come in and fix it.
- I let the battery run down on my cell phone.
- I let the battery run down on my pager.
- I leave my work cell phone at work (no, really, I plan on turning it back in, I don't want it anymore, so that doesn't really count).
- I'll open a new jar of anything (and not throw the old one away - and don't you dare suggest that I marry two bottles).
- I won't buy generic.
- I don't eat leftovers (thankfully, I have a human garbage disposal, so when I cook big portions, I call him over - he's also usually my dinner-out date - he takes leftover's home)
- And finally, as would be expected - I have a little issue with credit cards.

I think I suck at discipline. The ONLY arena in which I have a tad bit of discipline is when it comes to my dogs (hell, sometimes I forget to feed the cats, but the dogs are never lacking in ANYTHING!).

- I am up the same time every day, not by choice, but because my HUGE furry beast is breathing on my face ready to go for a walk.
- I will forgo EVERYTHING in order to spend time with my dog (while I have 2 dogs, it is my HUGE furry beast that keeps me grounded - he's been the only constant in my life for the past 5 years, since he was about 2 months old - don't get me wrong, I love my little ball of fluff as well (the devil dog - his pic is in an earlier post), but I'll leave him with friends in a heartbeat to go on a trip, but I'll cancel the trip if I think my big dog will be the slightest bit inconvienenced. I think I spelled that wrong - the headache is coming on...
- I haven't been to see a doctor in over a year, but Sebi gets his bi-annual checkups like clockwork.
- I'll make his bed before I make my own (he sleeps on the floor next to my bed - see, I'm not that freakin wierd).

Well, I guess this took on a theme after all. Go figure.

Ahhh....the perils of youth

2005-07-12T22:41:00.001-04:00

Octavious, so far, seems like a bit of an idiot... At least, according the lovely little mini-series airing on ABC. I mean, c'mon - how goofy can you be? Folks are trying to kill you and all you can think about is getting a wee bit of ass - you deserve to suffer.

Ok, back on track. Today was quite dull.

I think I have an allegeric reaction to heat. As soon as I step outside - total misery. Can't even recall the days events.

OH Wait! I recall the spicy tuna roll after work. Yummy - and I don't even like sushi, but this tasted like sesame butter melting in my mouth.

More when the weather starts behaving.

7/11

2005-07-11T22:30:00.000-04:00

Today - it was HOT, HOT, HOT!!!

Did the usual - got up, walked Seb, showered, left for work. Decided I was going to metro it in today (which I usually don't do on hot days - by the afternoon, folks are stinky). Glad I did, there was a hot guy on the metro - he was the epitome of the DC style metrosexual, with the mussed hair and everything. Yummy.

Work was so-so...I'd rather not discuss work when I'm trying to relax.

After work, I rode back with the smelly people on the red line - which reminds me, pet peeve of the day - don't sit on the outside seat of the metro during rush hour thinking that if you don't make eye contact and stay firmly seated you won't have to share, I mean, c'mon... so, you know what I do? (which is equally obnoxious) I stand obscenely close to the offender and make sure one of my daily accoutrements (backpack, purse, lunchbag - ANYTHING!) is resting on either the offending arm or keeps bumping into him/her during the jerky start/stops of the ride. Nice right - yeah, I'm REAL grownup...

Ok, so back on track - stopped in at L'Occitane and bought another $16 candle (SOOOO worth it - green tea and mint, yummo!).

Went to dinner with CT. Headed out to "Aladdin's Eatery" - quite tasty.

After dinner, went to "The Curious Grape" - nice little wine store in Shirlington.

What a boring day...

Got home, walked Seb...Spent an hour trying to fill out my grad school app - not because I'm slow, but the online app is goofy.

Can't wait to go tubing!

2005-06-21T15:55:00.000-04:00

devil dog...
Posted by SebMarley

Baby, it's COLD outside!

2005-01-17T22:35:00.000-05:00

Man, it's absolutely freezing outside (Washington DC). I don't recall it EVER being this cold here. I'm sure it has been. But it's so deceptive. No snow, sunny, clear, crisp, blah, blah, blah.

I walked to my car (all of 1/4 of a block) to get some crap I left there and my fingers were frozen before I got back to the house.

My poor Sebastian - he loves this weather, but it is too cold for one of our long walks. Not gonna happen tonight, bud. Sorry.

Intro to the Sebmarley world.

2005-01-16T13:02:00.000-05:00

Forgive me if this looks silly. I'm sort of new to this. I guess I just pick a topic and write. What a way to relieve some stress.

I don't have much today. It's the weekend. I'm usually pretty braindead on the weekends. I would like to go to a bookstore to get some books on project management.

Project management - it almost seems intuitive. I mean, life is a project, and we are able to get through it. Why is there an entire industry to managing projects? That's a stupid question. I know why. Now I need to learn from this industry.