10.30.2008

homeland security

So for this small town girl, when a guy walks in and flashes his badge and say, "I'm from Homeland Security, and I need to talk to someone regarding a person employed here...", the heart finds its way into the throat. That's all I'm sayin...

For the 2nd time in a matter of weeks, Lee has mistaken the women's restroom for the men's. The first time, he noticed the door just in time. Yesterday, he did not. In fact, he didn't suspect anything when he saw no urinals, or when he saw the changing table (which, from what I understand, are showing up more and more in men's rooms). He was only struck with the horrible realization when he noticed the trash receptacles for "women-related trash". This was after he washed his hands, AFTER he had used the restroom. At this point, he rushed to the door and his worst fear of the day became a reality. Lucky for him, there was no one around to witness this debacle. However, in the Dept. of Agriculture building, security cameras abound...

I watched the last inning of the World Series game last night, where Philly won the pennant (or whatever the trophy is in baseball). I laughed out loud at the camera work done when the game was won. There was about 20 different scenes, all about 5 seconds long, depicting different players reactions to the final strikeout. The first few made sense, but after several of them, it just starting getting funny, because it was basically the same reaction over, and over, and over again.

10.27.2008

10.27.08

Today I woke up thinking that someone was operating on my skull without my consent. It hurt to walk, it hurt to open my eyes, it hurt to think. I stumbled into the kitchen, grabbed the ibuprofen and took two with orange juice. Right now, it is 11:20, and while I am functioning and can do my work, The base of my neck and temples are still tight and pounding. It's been a while since I've had this caliber of headache. I used to get them often when I was teaching, but without that stress of teaching, the headaches have faded. Don't know what brought this one on, but it can go away now!

I've decided that a WiiFit would be a great Christmas present for me. I used one Saturday at Jill and Sammie's house and my stomach is still sore. If you don't know what it is, it is this board thing that goes on the floor and you do exercises on it using the Wii as an instructor of sorts. One of the activities is Hula Hooping. You stand on the board and Hula hoop and the board registers your balance and rhythm and it is calculated on the Wii. It is so fun and exhausting!

10.16.2008

new job started!

Today is the first day that I am alone at the front desk. So far, I've answered many, many calls and got all calls sent to the accurate line. My outlook is not set up yet, and the girl I replaced forgot to give me her password stuff for her outlook, so I can't do 3/4 of my work. Frustrating, but that is just the way it goes. I have caught up on all my saved blogs and enjoyed reading about everyone. Monica's baby girl is so sweet-looking I teared up. Meredith's little boy is just the funniest thing...there was a video of him singing a song in the car that made me smile.

Everyone here at work seems really nice. It is a pleasant place to work. I am not used to sitting all day, though, and my hips scream for some activity. I didn't realize how active I am when I'm at home, but now when I go home I can't sit still. I'd rather do dishes or laundry than sit at the computer, since that is what I do all day.

We are going house looking the next couple of evenings. It'll be fun, but I'm ready to be in a regular schedule again. Our friend Rafael was visiting us for the past week, and while it was great fun, we found ourselves craving the normalcy of our regular lives. Plus, we are behind on all of our TV shows, and while that's a stupid thing to stress about, I truly find myself worrying about when we will get to watch last week's Office! We were a couple of weeks behind on Project Runway, so I finally just broke down and read spoilers about it online. It was honestly a relief to not have to set aside 2 more hours to finish up the season. Silly, I know.

10.06.2008

New Job!

I have a job! A friend from church had an opening in her office for a receptionist and when I interviewed, they offered it on the spot! The office does IT consulting for some huge companies, which basically means that they staff IT people into these companies. I will be editing resumes for potential staff, answering phones, doing mail stuff, etc. It seems like a very peaceful place to work, and the people were very nice. I think they will really work to see that I am comfortable with all my new tasks. Plus, there is a ton of room for movement in the company and they encourage you to pursue the areas that you really have an interest to work in. I will start early next week. God has definitely smiled at me with this job.

Today I got paid for 4 hours work at the temp. agency, even though I only worked 15 minutes. It was supposed to be a training session for a "counting cars" assignment that I have tomorrow. But, since I've already done it, they said that I didn't have to stay, but I'd still get paid! That's one sweet deal. But tomorrow I have to be at my intersection by 5:30 AM. Sooo early! But I've checked out a Janet Evanovich book to listen to while I work, so I think I'll be able to stay awake okay.

10.01.2008

Things I saw today

Here's my favorite Craigslist.com listing of the week:

I want to steal your picnic baskets (Dupont Circle)
Reply to: gigs-861801112@craigslist.org [?]Date: 2008-09-30, 10:25PM EDT
Needed – 10 people willing to dress like park rangers carrying picnic baskets for the next 2 weeks in an around the Dupont Circle area. Reason – I want to dress up like Yogi Bear and see if I can steal your pic-nic baskets. Why – To improve my stealth skills. Compensation - $50 if you can keep your picnic basket for the entire 2 weeks. Must be able to provide own ranger outfit and picnic basket.

I am so tempted...

Today I was sitting in my car, waiting for a realtor to show me a house. A bird flew by and startled this squirrel, right? So the sqirrel scrambles up a utility pole, then realizes that he can't fly, so he starts barking. I have never heard a squirrel bark, and it was quite disturbing. I was afraid, actually, that he was going to fly through my window and attack my smirking face. The sound that came out of that little furry body was somewhere between a quack and the sound you made when you were a kid and you were playing with your jacket zipper, quickly opening and closing your jacket. (I still tend to play with my zipper when I'm nervous.) Anyways, It was a really odd noise, and occasionally he'd add a sound that was clearly mimicking the bird, because it was nearly a perfect "caw". This was one talented, freaky squirrel.

I saw several houses today that I want to show Lee. One had an actual wood burning stove, like my Maw used to have. It reminded me of the long ago time when watching a Kleenex burn was valid entertainment. Just joking. I'd do that now, if I had a fire. At another place, as we opened the door, the realtor looked around and said, " Wow. I feel like I've fallen into a package of skittles." The walls were all painted different, bright colors: green, blue, peach, pink, purple, yellow, etc. It was really a neat house, but Lee would definitely require some wall improvements, since he isn't a Rainbow Brite fan.