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29 June, 2008

Under the Wire

Phew! I'm glad that's over with!

I just applied for a job.

That's ironic, considering that I promised The Boss that I'd stay there another year if he would get me my own phone line and let me learn expense reports. He agreed to both and turned over the phone line to Number Two. It's been a month, and he hasn't done so much as call Telecomm Services to get the ball rolling. As for expense reports, The Boss just got back from a business trip and he's still having someone else do them. Needless to say, I don't really feel guilty about applying for this job.

Plus, this is *my* job - the one I've wanted since the last time it opened up. It's a secretary job, in The Hotel, reporting to The Boss's boss, and assisting the rest of the Food & Beverage team. Sadly, that boss has recently taken a position elsewhere in The Company, and the new guy (whom I haven't even met yet) is from "the outside." [insert ominous "ooh" here]

The last time this job was posted, I technically met all of the required qualifications. I didn't apply for it because I didn't really think I had enough experience, and at that time I wasn't even ready to contemplate leaving my current job. This time, a few new bullet points were added to the requirements, which may keep me from even getting an interview. My biggest concern? "Minimum 2 years professional administrative experience in The Company." See, I've been at The Restaurant just shy of 2 years, and even this is pushing "administrative" a little farther than I think they're willing to go.

My guess is that my resume won't even get past the HR computer system. However, I did mention to The Boss that I was thinking about applying. He thinks I'm totally qualified, as does his former boss, but I didn't see the job posting until Friday and he had his head so far up his own @$$ working on month-end inventory that he didn't even notice the jug of orange juice and the box of cough drops on my desk. I doubt he's inclined to make any calls on my behalf.

I had to have Scott log into my work account and send me my resume, because God Forbid it be where I need it when I need it! And I even wrote a cover letter explaining why I feel I am uniquely qualified for the position (despite the lack of actual experience!), hoping that might buy me a second look.

The application deadline is 11:59 tonight, and I submitted mine at 11:37. Like I said, I'm glad that's over with! And now, the waiting game!

Strep Mining

If you're looking for me today (or were looking yesterday), don't bother looking at work. In fact, don't really look for me anywhere. I'm most likely on the couch, and most likely catatonic (with an orange feline heating pad on my chest).

I'm sick.

And we all know that I whine fairly often about a stiff neck or a headache, but I drag myself to work and get the heck over it. That's what I did on Friday. I woke up and when Scott asked if I felt any better than the day before, I started to cry. But it was just a sore throat. No headache, no congestion, no fever. I muddled through the day, bolstered by the orange juice that Scott brought me along with a pack of throat lozenges (and not the kind that taste good...so you know they are working).

I left work 1/2 hour early, at 10 pm, and proceeded to get stuck in the worst 192 traffic ever. I got home at 11:25 and called Scott and had a complete melt down. It went something along the lines of "Iwenthomeearly... becauseIdidn'tfeelgood... andI'mhomelate... andIwanttogotosleep... andnotwakeupforaweek..." Also, my digital thermometer is on the fritz, but I managed to get a reading of 99.3.

Yesterday morning, I woke up and took my temperature again - 100.3. No work for me! Fevers apparently exhaust me more than I realized, given my mental state the day before. By the time we made it over to the walk-in clinic down the road, my BP was high, my pulse was high, my oxygen was low, and my temperature was now 101.7! The diagnosis? Strep throat. No surprise, given my (mostly) lack of other symptoms. It still hurt to swallow, but swallowing was easier when I was drinking something. The doctor told me to take a decongestant to get the crap out of my lungs and when I asked if I was contagious, he said yes, until 1 hour after I take my first Amoxicillin. Seriously??

So yesterday I watched movies and TV, ate soup and ice cream, took a nap, and drank a lot of orange juice and water. That's pretty much the plan for today as well.

Today, I didn't wake up until 11:30, and realized that I was seriously congested. Two tissues full of snot later, I decided to take a shot of alka seltzer and then get in the shower and try to knock the rest of it loose. "The rest of it" turned out to be a golf ball-sized wad of disgustingness that flew right out of my right nostril with the help of some shower steam. (aren't you glad I don't have a stomach flu?)

Anyway, my throat doesn't hurt as bad today. On a scale of 1-10, I'll give it a 4 or 5. However, both ears hurt, I'm all snotty, and I'm pretty sure the fever is still there. The thermometer finally died yesterday - there's another one around here, but I don't really care enough to tear the house apart looking for it.

So like I said, don't look for me. I'm quarantined until at least Tuesday.

Now go wash your hands!

26 June, 2008

Eating Well

Two quick photos for you:



The sashimi bento box at our favorite Japanese restaurant. I was a little skeeved out about eating raw fish without even any rice for back-up support, but enjoyed them all. I even liked the salmon better than I like cooked salmon! Also in the box: california rolls, dumplings and sticky rice.


Scrapple, currently cooking on the stove. Scott has never had scrapple, and he made the mistake of reading the label. ("It has tongue! Skin!") But I don't even have adequate words to describe the delicious smell coming from the kitchen. This is a meal worth being late to work for!

And yes, I had to put them both in the same entry because I'm thinking most people wouldn't be willing to eat either of these foods, and even those willing to try one would probably not enjoy the other. And amazingly enough, I'm guessing most Americans would be more willing to eat the sashimi!

Good News: We've Compromised Your Credit

So...when Scott and I sold our Disney stock last month, apparently we set off a chain of events we weren't expecting. About the time we were depositing checks into our bank account to rebuild our CD to its former glory, the company that provides "stock transfer" services was losing boxes of back-up tapes with information including our names, address, SSN and information on our stock ownership.

oops!

Apparently this kind of gross negligence comes at a cost to the company: we each now have 24 months of free daily monitoring of credit reports and $25,000 in identity theft insurance.

Sweet!

Really, I'm not that concerned. But I'm certainly going to take advantage of the credit monitoring. Works out well for us, I'd say.

25 June, 2008

Any Port in a Storm

Milo isn't fazed by the lack of empty boxes in the living room. He just makes due with whatever is handy. In this case, he looks like he's ready to go shopping... but I'm guessing he wouldn't actually enjoy being toted like a purse dog!

22 June, 2008

Happiness Factory

Good (belated) news!

I found the "documentary" from the World of Coke on YouTube. Scott and I can now re-live our favorite part of the tour without going back!

Sorry, I wanted to embed it here, but apparently Blogger and YouTube aren't communicating this morning. Go watch it anyway!

20 June, 2008

Cats-Ploitation

WARNING: if you fall asleep in a funny position on my living room floor, I reserve the right to post humiliating doctored photos of you on the internet.

17 June, 2008

Fun With Bananas

oh the google hits I'm going to get with that headline!

Rotten bananas got you down? Already made banana bread? Sounds like it's time for banana pancakes!

Looks like I'll be having a hot breakfast for the rest of the week.

It's banana-licious!

It's banana-tastic!

It's banana overkill, but I do love them so!

15 June, 2008

$41.01

Mark the date.

Today, I paid over $40 to fill up my gas tank.

"...and that's all I have to say about that."

14 June, 2008

Uniquely Florida?

Around 11:15 this morning, our apartment was shaken by the distant rumble of a rogue thunder clap, or maybe a giant explosion. Of course, my first thought was, "please tell me that explosion wasn't between here and work." Self-absorbed? Nah, not me!

Of course, the explosion was no more than the space shuttle returning to Cape Canaveral after its mission to the ISS. Scott changed the channel, and we watched the landing on CNN. Please tell me how that human-sized parachute can actually stop the shuttle...

Watching the shuttle coverage caused me to leave home a few minutes late... just on time to watch a 4-5 foot black snake crossing the sidewalk between me and my car. No worries. I stopped 3 steps from the bottom of the stairs, reached for my camera phone, and grabbed it just
as the snake slipped into the bushes. Bummer - that's the second snake that I've been that close to in the past month or two and I have YET to get a picture!

And in the car, I thought to myself that I must officially be a Floridian. Neither the snake nor the sonic boom ruffled my feathers. I know that 4 or 5 years ago, either would have shaken me to my core.

Funny how things change.

...and where else but Florida are you going to get shuttle landings and snakes in the same day?

Mail Call?

We got a letter in the mail earlier this week from the IRS. The envelope was the quintessential example of false advertising, proclaiming with bold logo, "STIMULUS PAYMENT."

The letter was simply a notice that our stimulus payment was scheduled to be issued on June 13. "If you don't receive your payment within 6 weeks of this notice..." contact us.

No check yesterday. And now I get to check my bank account 3 times a day "just in case" the payment drops in.

Here we go again!

On the bright side, I now know that we are scheduled to get the full $1,200. I guess that's a silver lining to my non-existent money cloud!

12 June, 2008

No Further Comment Required

Yeah. What he said!

So it’s basically fine for Fox News to use “Baby Mama” for Michelle Obama, slang that implies a married 44-year-old Princeton-educated lawyer is, to use an Urban Dictionary definition of the term, “some chick you knocked up on accident during a fling who you can’t stand but you have to tolerate cuz she got your baby now.”


There's lots more beyond that link that is worth reading... especially if you are one of those people out there claiming that Fox News is a reliable, responsible news outlet.

I Heart Ben Barnes

Who is Ben Barnes? None other than the title character in the second Chronicles of Narnia movie, Prince Caspian. And also, I loved the movie.

I was really concerned that they turned a 70-page story into a movie that lasted 2 1/2 hours. In the book, the story includes flashbacks all over the place. To their credit, the filmmakers created a much more linear story. They added a battle scene (the first major good vs. evil battle) that at first I was annoyed with, but I found that it really added a depth to the main characters that wasn't in the book. I found myself surprisingly emotionally invested in the story.

I'm looking forward to the DVD, and am keeping my fingers crossed for a commentary with the stars of the movie.

This is the second movie in a row that Scott and I have seen where we end up sitting in a row all by ourselves. It's really starting to give me a complex! A couple will come up, sit in our row, wait a minute, and then go find seats elsewhere. I think it's because we sit where there's a lot of leg room but you have to sit up straight in order to see the very bottom of the screen over the seats in front of you. But maybe it's our aroma? Or they just sense that I sometimes have trouble keeping Scott quiet for the duration of a movie! Whatever it is, we enjoy not having anyone too near us.

06 June, 2008

Treading Carefully...

I have $13,000 worth of port in my office. In two medium-sized boxes.

One bottle is from 1900.

I'm afraid to walk around my desk, worried that I'm going to do some Dick Van Dyke face plant and be paying 10% of my wages back to The Restaurant until the end of time!

04 June, 2008

Food, Glorious Food!

Scott and I have started a new blogging adventure together:

Boiling Over: Cooking with Two Armchair Chefs

I'm already having fun with it, and I hope he does too. At the very least, blogging gives me an excuse to get in the kitchen and try scary things like cooking meat. And cooking gives Scott something to blog about!

There's three posts already, and I suggest you go to the bottom and start from the beginning. It might make things a little clearer.

We'll see you there!

Seeing Double

For adoption: one hardcover copy of John Scalzi's The Android's Dream. The novel, which I would describe as SciFi comedy, has been read twice and the dust jacket is creased. Other than that, it's in perfect condition.

I decided to give away my original copy just after I found myself in possession of a personalized signed copy. I met John's wife and daughter last month, did them a favor, and the book was a thank-you for that.

This book is one of very few science fiction books in our collection. Neither of us is really a fan of the genre. Frankly, I was a fan of Scalzi as a blogger first, and as a novelist second. That said, I've read all of his novels. I love them, and would recommend them to anyone.

...so if anyone wants to give him a chance, I have a fun book to start with.


(just not this copy!)

Hooray!

I was relieved last night after watching Hillary's non-concession speech that Barack went ahead and proclaimed himself the nominee. The last minute of this speech got a certain song stuck in my head (Janette, this performance is dedicated to you. ).








22 Weeks until the general election. What a ride it will be!

03 June, 2008

Excuse Me!

Good news: I've been excused from jury duty.

Even better news: I didn't even have to make the drive to the courthouse to weasel out of my civic duty. They never got to my group number.

Yay!

A Toast

I'd like to raise a toast to Mike and Reyna on their anniversary. Of course, I already consumed my glass of wine, and it's after midnight anyway. Happy belated anniversary, I guess!

The wine, by the way, was the end of a bottle I've had in the fridge for a while. I drank that last glass while soaking in a hot tub of bubbles... trying to ease my back pain and scrub any remaining baby vomit off my leg that may have soaked through my jeans!

Tonight I learned an important lesson: four kids is too many for me to handle by myself. The kids were good - even charming in brief shining moments - but at 8:30 when I talked to Scott on the phone it was all I could do to choke back tears!

Kids are hard work!

Here's what else I learned tonight:

* According to Conner, the dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets taste the best. They are also nice and juicy.

* Babies move fast when you're not watching.

* Babies move in perceived slow motion when you are 10 feet away and there's no way you're going to clear that distance before they tumble head-first off the sofa.

* Babies scream loudly when they are hurt... and also when they are freaked the hell out by falling off the couch.

* If she cries and rubs her eyes, a bottle and a crib is the easiest solution.

* Poopy diapers are exponentially harder to clean once the kid is mobile. I remembered this belatedly from my days sitting for the older ones. There came a time when I would literally sit at Conner's feet and straddle him, my feet up over his shoulders pinning him down. I should have tried that tonight... though it is amusing wiping a butt that's scooting away from you.

* The older kids have learned the virtues of "Mommy does [insert random crap here] before bed." I did not supply chocolate milk or brownies. They got water in sippy cups. All three wanted to sleep in the same room, which I allowed. I also let them fall asleep watching a movie. I have no clue whether Mommy really does any of those things, but it got me peace a mere 45 minutes after their normal bedtime. Victory is mine!

I still totally love those little monsters, but I feel like I'm taking the mature, responsible path here when I say I can't watch all four of them by myself... not unless I bring along blow-darts loaded with Benadryl!

02 June, 2008

800!

Happy 800th post to me!!

I am celebrating by changing my profile picture. In the words of Juno, "woah, dream big!"

And I also have a you're-not-going-to-believe-me-but-I'm-going-to-tell-you-anyway story for you.

I'm sure the vast majority of my readers (all 3 of you) are familiar with the main entrance to WDW property. There's a big arch with giant images of Mickey and friends on either side. It's the photo op from Hell. Why? Because it's over a road where the speed limit is 50 mph, there are always people who are late for work trying to go 70, and there are tourons who do one of two very stupid things. Either they:

* Slow down to around 30 while the wife snaps a picture that's sure to turn out blurry, or they
* Pull over on either side of the road or (my personal favorite) stop in the striped-off triangle merge point with traffic zooming on either side.

Dey peez mee off.

Today I saw a car pulled over on the right shoulder of World Drive, door wide open, man standing in front of the car facing the arch. I watched him bend over and grab what looked like a small white garbage bag.

Then I noticed he had multiple white garbage bags.

Then I realized those garbage bags were inflatable sheep!

I think there were 5-10 of them lined up. I'm not sure if the man had already taken the picture and was grabbing them to go back in the car, or whether he was just positioning them. Sadly, I was one of those people going the speed limit, and I lost sight of him after just a few seconds.

I just can't wrap my brain around it. I know what I saw, I just can't figure out why it was there!

01 June, 2008

Summer Vacation

I received an e-mail last week informing me that I am no longer accruing vacation hours because I have too much time stored in my bank. My options were to continue not accruing hours, buy some out at an outrageous tax rate (basically get a double paycheck), or take some darn time off.

Guess which I chose!

Yep - time off. Encore! rehearsals are Mon/Weds/Thurs, so I put in to take vacation every Thursday for 7 straight weeks. That means I'll only be working 3 days and still be making full time pay. I spent this afternoon considering the merits of part-time employment during that time some place I could walk to like Quizno's or the library, but I think I talked myself out of it. If I worked for $7/hour, I'd probably end up owing even more in taxes next year, and basically blow the cash on stupid stuff anyway.

I figure this gives me an excellent opportunity to learn to cook, spend time with Scott (since he's still working that "temporary" shift that doesn't start until 5 pm and has been waking up early to spend time with me before work), and get some stuff done around the apartment. How nice it would be to not have a mountain of laundry to spend a whole day on every week!

I feel more relaxed already...