Tuesday, May 30, 2006

The Office (Not THE Office)

Things that suck about my office:

That I have to listen to 107.7 all day, every day. Right now it's "Piano Man", just a bit ago it was "Wind Beneath My Wings" and any minute now that self-indulgent whiny pretentious James Blunt's "Beautiful" will come on. A few weeks ago a co-worker switched the radio to 105.1. During their Retro Bistro lunch hour they played "Push It" and I knew that wouldn't go over well with the honest, churchgoing ladies in my dept. The next day it was back to 107.7.

That I am the only one in my dept who has ever heard of Quentin Tarantino.

That Jim doesn't work here. Or Pam, either.

That sometimes I have to be here at 7:45am, and sometimes I have to stay until 9pm, and sometimes I have to work on Saturdays.

That one of my churchgoing co-workers thinks that all gay people have made a conscious choice to be sinful, and will go to hell -- and that our gay co-worker is a friend of hers, and seemingly her hateful, rightous attitude bothers me more than it bothers him.

That it is too hot outside to go for a walk during my lunch break without getting sweaty. That I don't have any place to walk other than the parking lot.

That I have 4 more hours of work to go today, my 9.5 hour day (+ 1 hour commute).

They just announced it -- James Blunt coming up after the commercial break.

Saturday, May 20, 2006

P!NK

We just bought tickets for the P!NK show at the House of Blues on July 26! We got the partially-secret reserved seats in the balcony, that are only available if you call the HOB box office and ask specifically (you can't get them through Ticketmaster at all). The vast majority of the HOB is general admission, there are only a few reserved seats, so Greg called right as they went on sale, and we got 'em! I'm so excited. I love Pink!

So I'm kind of pissed: a) at the people I work with, and b) at myself. I really should able to behave as if I were an actual adult, being kind and understanding and NOT being selfish and childish. Actually, come to think of it, I am doing that: behaving as if I were an actual adult... I am just feeling and thinking selfishly and childishly.

Anyway, since I came into this dept 3 years ago, I have given money to collections for presents for kids being born, houses bought, funerals, marriages, grandkids being born, hospital stays, etc. So I just bought a house, where's MY goddamn gift card?! I haven't said anything to anybody, I know they just forgot (we are really busy lately), but I am really kind of pissed. I got married right before transferring into this dept, I am not going to have a baby, so this is it for me: this was my one big chance to get some of that money back. Where's my collection? Where's my card that everyone signed? I have given money twice in the past 3 years specifically for others who bought houses. Fuck.

I really dislike this stupid job anyway, frankly. I also dislike my 40-minute, 25-mile commute on three different toll roads. I used to drive 10 miles, around 25 minutes, and no tolls. I used to fill my tank about once a week, now it seems like I have to stop for gas every other day.

A few months ago was my 10 year anniversary at this company. I'm 40 years old, I have spent half of my adult life at this company. Gads.

Revised goals for the next 6 months:

* Find new job

* Lose 20 more pounds

* Find excercise class that I enjoy

* Try out my new pool

* Set up easel/paints in sunroom

* Remove hideous wallpaper from kitchen and master bath

* Have back patio screened in

* Go back to Newport, VA to visit relatives I haven't seen in 10 years

* Get a tattoo

* Resist all temptation to adopt another cat

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

Turkey-head Ducks and Cardinals

It is nice to walk around at home and know that it's all ours! Right out back behind our little back yard -- practically IN our back yard -- is a pretty little lake with a fountain. I seriously can't wait to screen in our back patio, it'll be so peaceful and relaxing. We can watch the ugly turkey-head ducks (although, according to the head of the condo association, we are not allowed to feed them), we can admire the lovely hibiscus blooms, we can say hello to any elderly neighbors that might happen by. Plus we are planning to install a kitty door, so we can put the litter box out there... yay. The other people's screened-in patios look pretty big, so it would really add a lot of space.

I just realized today that I left my Marjolein Bastin cardinal decorative bell hanging on my ex-apartment porch. Dag. My Mom & Dad have one just like it, and it was kind of neat to have matching ones. I love cardinals especially, I remember seeing the bright red males and the pretty brown females often when I was growing up. They are the state bird of Virginia, you know... Of course you knew!

I love waking up in the morning and hearing birds singing, instead of motorcycles revving. I can't wait until my sweetie comes back home and we can go for walks every night when I get home from work. it's so quiet and peaceful.

So during the horror of moving, we went off our "diet" a little. One night we went to Steak & Shake and I got a grilled cheese and bacon sandwich and french fries, and he got a bacon cheeseburger. Anyone who eats healthy will know what happened next. As it turns out, eating grease was not much of a time-saver in the end (so to speak).

A day or so later we got a pizza, and it didn't even bother us. I guess our stomachs re-adjusted to greasy grossness pretty quickly. Then, just purely to comfort myself on Sunday when he had to leave town, I got KFC. Oh, the shame.

So, all in all, I gained one pound back of the 18 pounds I had lost. Given all the stress, I am just going to call it even and start anew. Monday, yesterday and today I ate really well, so hopefully I will start losing again.

Boy, that KFC was good though...

Monday, May 8, 2006

Moving Into My Life

Well, we are finally moved into our new home. I don't know if I have ever been this stressed in my life... I was aware that I was so freaked out/exausted that my brain was functioning at only a fraction of peak efficiency, but was helpless to do anything about it.

The floor guys took two days longer than they promised to get the floors done. I was afraid of that, and had scheduled the movers and furniture delivery late in the week, just in case. The new tile floor was completed the evening before the movers, which was okay -- except that it didn't leave any time to clean.

I had no idea how easy I've had it all these years of moving into nice apartment complexes, where everything is professionally cleaned before you move in. Poor Georgette, I'm not sure she can physically see well enough to clean. We had to put off moving the kitchen stuff until I could dismantle the refrigerator shelves/drawers and clean everything with bleach. I'm still working on cleaning all the kitchen cabinets and drawers, and putting in shelf paper. I always thought shelf paper was for little old ladies who live in little old houses, and there I was in Target yesterday trying to decide between the plain white, the textured or the daisy print. I just feel like these stained shelves will never get clean enough to put our dishes on!

Greg scrubbed the master bath/shower, and installed a new shower head. The shower doors are a whole different color now, and the shower head is a wonderful thing of joy. (Thanks to our friends Gretchen and Eddie, who gave us a Home Depot gift certificate!)

Plus the tile guys ripped out all the carpet, and just dragged it out to the curb in a giant pile of stained berber/stained padding/nail strips. The trash guys refused to pick it up, and the association people were -- nicely -- complaining about it. I don't blame them, it was a 4 ft pile of grossness. So late one afternoon Greg and I had to go out -- in the 93 degree heat -- and put it all into small tied-up bundles, so the trash guys would pick it up the next morning. It took forever, and was really freakin' hard work.

In the midst of all the packing and cleaning, I had to put my sweet kittie Zulie to sleep. It was terrible. I have had her since she was a kitten, for a little over 14 years. She was a sweet little cat who loved to sit curled up next to me on the couch -- not on my lap, just next to it -- and snore. She's been getting slower and more tired for a few years now. I remember when she could jump to the floor from the top of the refrigerator... She hasn't been able to get up there for years. I clipped a lock of her fur, I plan to put it into a memorial locket so I can wear her close to my heart.

I miss Zulie so much...