oh dear god what is it with the phil collins and whatever musak service they have here in the biz center!?! how many times am i going to have to endure this!
...just got back from a whirlwind 22 hour visit to california for a really interesting one-day seminar on how women use the internet. considering that i'm a woman, i wasn't really surprised by anything. i mean, come on -- who's surprised to know that ivillage isn't where all of the women go when they're online? but still, it was an interesting day of discussions and there was hard-and-fast evidence that women aren't going to any particular type site (or type of sites) in vast quantities, so well, i guess that's something. i suppose i may have more to say on this when i'm not so damn tired, but really i just thought i'd stop in the biz center before even going up to my apartment, so that i could make sure that nothing exploded at work today. now, however, with the phil collins "dance into the light" (!) blaring, i think i might have to call it a day and turn in...
g'night brave internet users!
Thursday, April 29, 2004
Tuesday, April 27, 2004
fun link that really cheered me up today (thanks, Becky!)
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4146756343&category=6
i officially have two bosses now, even though when they announced the company restructure they said not to think of it that way.
i paraphrase, but here's how it went at the company meeting:
"for those people who have directly reported to one person and had a 'dotted line' reporting relationship with another member of management, you will now directly report to both. it may sound like you have two bosses, but it will actually be more clear now who you are responsible to and your current boss will still be in charge of your review, but will receive input from the other member of management that you work with."
clear as mud! luckily i work closely with both. still, it's very office-space-ish. that movie is such a great satire of how companie work nowadays that it's frightening.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4146756343&category=6
i officially have two bosses now, even though when they announced the company restructure they said not to think of it that way.
i paraphrase, but here's how it went at the company meeting:
"for those people who have directly reported to one person and had a 'dotted line' reporting relationship with another member of management, you will now directly report to both. it may sound like you have two bosses, but it will actually be more clear now who you are responsible to and your current boss will still be in charge of your review, but will receive input from the other member of management that you work with."
clear as mud! luckily i work closely with both. still, it's very office-space-ish. that movie is such a great satire of how companie work nowadays that it's frightening.
Thursday, April 22, 2004
we had our office move today. by 5 pm we had to be all packed up and have our computer equiptment all wrapped in pink bubble wrap. everything had a numbered sticker and the IT staff came around letting us know that all of the servers were going offline at 5:05. and they did -- i was right in the middle of submitting my timesheet (which was due at 5). doh! still, i can't believe how crazy our office looked during the course of this week, with piles upon piles of free crap from vendors and media kits and magazines and general mess! and the orderliness with which the whole thing was planned makes me believe quite confidently that all of my boxes will just be there in my new workspace when the new office opens on monday. and that will be amazingly hassle-free and wonderful. i mean, of course there will be unpacking just as there was packing, but it was all very organized. they were even taking down the company's name off of the elevator bank wall today. very, very efficient movers with their jumpsuits and tags for everything. if only we'd done that for our personal move...
hockey hockey hockey
yes, folks, it's playoff time again and the hall household provides loyal viewership to the networks silly enough to air the NHL (and i don't mean that in a bad way -- we're grateful they DO air it!) while it's not quite as much fun to watch games alone as it was to watch en masse at fort awesome, steve is still happy enough to yell at the TV while i putter around, half-cleaning, one-third reading and whatever-the-remaining-amount-is (it's late) watching the game.
steve doesn't enjoy hot-tubbing (some sort of fear of germiness, which makes me fear that he's becoming more of a hypochondriac like his mother) so i went down without him just now. it was like the UN of hot-tubbing. i shared the hot-tub with an Asian guy in a speedo and an African-American guy with big tattoos while the windows of the room were cleaned by a Hispanic building employee (who speaks little English, but is very nice and answered my questions about his web surfing habits when i ran into him at the mailroom internet kiosk reading Univision.com several weeks back). it was interesting that i noticed the multiculturalness of it all, because it's probably super common here, just as it would be in NYC. i remember that's what i really loved about living there; riding the subway or just being out around town and hearing all of the different languages and seeing what people from every different walk of life were reading, wearing, and talking about. i suppose this building really isn't a microcosm of Chicago since it's pretty expensive, but at least it's more diverse than most, if not all, areas of Ann Arbor would be. it's definitely more diverse than any of the neighborhoods that we wanted to live in around Ann Arbor, that's for sure. maybe if we stay in Chicago awhile i won't even notice the diversity, and i'll just notice it when i'm somewhere like Minnesota, and everyone around me is white...
hockey hockey hockey
yes, folks, it's playoff time again and the hall household provides loyal viewership to the networks silly enough to air the NHL (and i don't mean that in a bad way -- we're grateful they DO air it!) while it's not quite as much fun to watch games alone as it was to watch en masse at fort awesome, steve is still happy enough to yell at the TV while i putter around, half-cleaning, one-third reading and whatever-the-remaining-amount-is (it's late) watching the game.
steve doesn't enjoy hot-tubbing (some sort of fear of germiness, which makes me fear that he's becoming more of a hypochondriac like his mother) so i went down without him just now. it was like the UN of hot-tubbing. i shared the hot-tub with an Asian guy in a speedo and an African-American guy with big tattoos while the windows of the room were cleaned by a Hispanic building employee (who speaks little English, but is very nice and answered my questions about his web surfing habits when i ran into him at the mailroom internet kiosk reading Univision.com several weeks back). it was interesting that i noticed the multiculturalness of it all, because it's probably super common here, just as it would be in NYC. i remember that's what i really loved about living there; riding the subway or just being out around town and hearing all of the different languages and seeing what people from every different walk of life were reading, wearing, and talking about. i suppose this building really isn't a microcosm of Chicago since it's pretty expensive, but at least it's more diverse than most, if not all, areas of Ann Arbor would be. it's definitely more diverse than any of the neighborhoods that we wanted to live in around Ann Arbor, that's for sure. maybe if we stay in Chicago awhile i won't even notice the diversity, and i'll just notice it when i'm somewhere like Minnesota, and everyone around me is white...
Wednesday, April 21, 2004
It's a sad day for finger lickin' good chicken fans everywhere...
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-first-kfc,1,2159579.story?coll=chi-news-hed
I'm glad they're putting up a museum. And to think that the preparation secret was pressure cooking the chicken!
I love that old-school sort of fast food neon sign. I hope Arby's never demolishes the rest of their remaining signs...
http://www.geocities.com/chucksphotospot/signs.html
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-first-kfc,1,2159579.story?coll=chi-news-hed
I'm glad they're putting up a museum. And to think that the preparation secret was pressure cooking the chicken!
I love that old-school sort of fast food neon sign. I hope Arby's never demolishes the rest of their remaining signs...
http://www.geocities.com/chucksphotospot/signs.html
Tuesday, April 20, 2004
things i'm very excited about:
spring!!!
trying out Google's Gmail (yes, i am a dork)
Kevin coming to visit
going to New Orleans for the Jazz + Heritage Festival
open-toed shoes season
Jamba Juice (okay, so this isn't exactly a new thing, but we went there twice this past weekend, so it's really top-of-mind)
i suppose it's only fair to write about things i'm also not-so-excited about. we have a big office move coming up this friday. they are shutting off everything and kicking us out on thursday at 5 pm (which is good -- i need encouragement to leave at a reasonable hour). however, in the move a lot of us are losing our offices and moving to cubes. ew. i have no idea how we'll do our group meetings and i have a lot of stuff and a big fear that it won't fit. i already have a helluva time keeping clutter under control (my office frequently looks like a war zone). i have learned that i am the sort of person in the sort of profession that either needs a secretary or a lot of space. when i have neither (such as at my last job in pizza-land) the resulting workspace isn't pretty. in addition, i'll actually have to go oustide (!) to get to the new building. it's just right across the street from our apartment building, but STILL! hmph. the upside is that our new building is connected to a much larger pedway system than the current building, so i shouldn't really want for anything. mike (my star employee) and i gave it a quick look-see today and found: dunkin' donuts, cosi sandwich shop, fedex, starbucks, hallmark, several independent delis, a newsstand, kinko's, a chinese place, a key maker/watch fixer stand, and a secret-looking doorway to a bennigan's (god forbid i ever somehow need to go there!)
a couple of pedway links:
http://www.gapersblock.com/detour/archives/subterranean_city_a_tour_of_chicagos_pedway_part_1.php
http://www.dirtyoldtown.org/blog/chicagopedway.php
maybe i should take a pedway tour from the chicago architecture foundation:
http://www.architecture.org/tours_3.html
actually, i think i should take a bunch of tours from them: some of the buildings here are amazing and i'm intrigued by the history of it all (as opposed to my time in detroit, where there were awesome looking buildings left in such sad states of decay that i really didn't want to know the sad stories of their demise).
there were tornadoes just south of chicagoland this evening. crazy! i had no idea, and i was still at work on the 35th floor. i guess i kinda assume that if it was bad here in the city the building management would do some sort of alarm/alert.
steve has been very into the hockey playoffs, and i have been watching quite a bit over his shoulder. it's neat that they ended up with quite good matchups -- both between historical and neighborly rivals. other than that he's just been working. i am trying to encourage him to be social, but it hasn't worked yet. we had an awesome picnic this weekend in the park with some fancy-schmancy stuff from the local zingermans-ish deli. and then of course we went to Jamba Juice: twice (Steve insisted!). did i ever tell you that i looked into whether or not they'd franchise to me? i was convinced after my first trip to Jamba that if only they'd let me open a store in Ann Arbor i would not only be financially set for life, but happy and healthy and probably even prettier and wittier (okay, so i'm adding those last two on just for fun, but you get the point)...
i am really anxious to check out the white stripes/loretta lynn album.
final note for the evening: i wish ralph nader would go away.
spring!!!
trying out Google's Gmail (yes, i am a dork)
Kevin coming to visit
going to New Orleans for the Jazz + Heritage Festival
open-toed shoes season
Jamba Juice (okay, so this isn't exactly a new thing, but we went there twice this past weekend, so it's really top-of-mind)
i suppose it's only fair to write about things i'm also not-so-excited about. we have a big office move coming up this friday. they are shutting off everything and kicking us out on thursday at 5 pm (which is good -- i need encouragement to leave at a reasonable hour). however, in the move a lot of us are losing our offices and moving to cubes. ew. i have no idea how we'll do our group meetings and i have a lot of stuff and a big fear that it won't fit. i already have a helluva time keeping clutter under control (my office frequently looks like a war zone). i have learned that i am the sort of person in the sort of profession that either needs a secretary or a lot of space. when i have neither (such as at my last job in pizza-land) the resulting workspace isn't pretty. in addition, i'll actually have to go oustide (!) to get to the new building. it's just right across the street from our apartment building, but STILL! hmph. the upside is that our new building is connected to a much larger pedway system than the current building, so i shouldn't really want for anything. mike (my star employee) and i gave it a quick look-see today and found: dunkin' donuts, cosi sandwich shop, fedex, starbucks, hallmark, several independent delis, a newsstand, kinko's, a chinese place, a key maker/watch fixer stand, and a secret-looking doorway to a bennigan's (god forbid i ever somehow need to go there!)
a couple of pedway links:
http://www.gapersblock.com/detour/archives/subterranean_city_a_tour_of_chicagos_pedway_part_1.php
http://www.dirtyoldtown.org/blog/chicagopedway.php
maybe i should take a pedway tour from the chicago architecture foundation:
http://www.architecture.org/tours_3.html
actually, i think i should take a bunch of tours from them: some of the buildings here are amazing and i'm intrigued by the history of it all (as opposed to my time in detroit, where there were awesome looking buildings left in such sad states of decay that i really didn't want to know the sad stories of their demise).
there were tornadoes just south of chicagoland this evening. crazy! i had no idea, and i was still at work on the 35th floor. i guess i kinda assume that if it was bad here in the city the building management would do some sort of alarm/alert.
steve has been very into the hockey playoffs, and i have been watching quite a bit over his shoulder. it's neat that they ended up with quite good matchups -- both between historical and neighborly rivals. other than that he's just been working. i am trying to encourage him to be social, but it hasn't worked yet. we had an awesome picnic this weekend in the park with some fancy-schmancy stuff from the local zingermans-ish deli. and then of course we went to Jamba Juice: twice (Steve insisted!). did i ever tell you that i looked into whether or not they'd franchise to me? i was convinced after my first trip to Jamba that if only they'd let me open a store in Ann Arbor i would not only be financially set for life, but happy and healthy and probably even prettier and wittier (okay, so i'm adding those last two on just for fun, but you get the point)...
i am really anxious to check out the white stripes/loretta lynn album.
final note for the evening: i wish ralph nader would go away.
My favorite story of the week (not 'cause I am glad this happened, but I like the goofiness of it):
Close encounter with oven cools off Oliver's love story
London: Celebrity chef Jamie Olier learned recently that if you can't take the heat, definitely get out of the kitchen, at least when you're not fully dressed. While cooking a Valentine's Day meal at home for his wife, Jools, the Naked Chef took his moniker all too seriously -- with disastrous results. He elected to put the meal together while he was in the altogether.
According to a report in The Sun newspaper, the naked chef managed to burn his -- hmmm, how should we say -- manhood on the stove as he cooked away.
"I was naked in the kitchen and burnt (myself)," he told The Sun. "I really ruined my evening and my night."
The burn seemingly cooled down Oliver's ardor for the rest of the night, so, upon recovery, he took his wife to Paris to make up for causing the romantic inconvenience.
_______________________
If only Steve had been able to take me to Paris after he burnt his arm/chest/stomach in the kitchen last fall...
Close encounter with oven cools off Oliver's love story
London: Celebrity chef Jamie Olier learned recently that if you can't take the heat, definitely get out of the kitchen, at least when you're not fully dressed. While cooking a Valentine's Day meal at home for his wife, Jools, the Naked Chef took his moniker all too seriously -- with disastrous results. He elected to put the meal together while he was in the altogether.
According to a report in The Sun newspaper, the naked chef managed to burn his -- hmmm, how should we say -- manhood on the stove as he cooked away.
"I was naked in the kitchen and burnt (myself)," he told The Sun. "I really ruined my evening and my night."
The burn seemingly cooled down Oliver's ardor for the rest of the night, so, upon recovery, he took his wife to Paris to make up for causing the romantic inconvenience.
_______________________
If only Steve had been able to take me to Paris after he burnt his arm/chest/stomach in the kitchen last fall...
Monday, April 12, 2004
Okay, so on a more positive note, I was very lucky to see a good number of the people I love in Michigan this weekend. My good friend Christy had a birthday party on Friday night, so we saw a bunch of our friends there and kept Christy and Brian up until they practically had to kick us out at 2 am. I was really sad to have to go since I know we won't be doing that very often anymore. Then on Saturday I was able to see my friend Becky and her four month old son Liam and then my friends Holly and Brian and their new baby, Maya, who was born on Thursday. I took it as a lucky sign that I was home in Michigan the week that she was born so that I could meet her. I think it meant that this was a good weekend for closure and new beginnings. She was so small that it amazed me to hear that not only was I smaller than she was at birth, but that my brother was even smaller -- he was less than 6 pounds!
Were any of you loyal readers less than 6 pounds a birth?
Were any of you loyal readers less than 6 pounds a birth?
This weekend was our last weekend to clean out Fort Awesome, and it was really sad. Not only were there completely random things left behind, but the house was pretty dusty and had a bunch of those irritating dead Japanese beetle bugs lying around -- it really did look like nobody had been there. I took both my digital camera and my 35mm camera to Michigan and ended up not taking any photos with either since the house was too changed for me to do so. I wish I had taken some when all of our things were still there. I guess I was too busy getting ready to move over the holidays (as well as enjoy the holidays!) to do that, and I kept thinking I'd be back there for a weekend, and I wasn't. When we finally were done getting rid of everything and putting the trash out and sweeping, I wrote a note to the new owners and left it on the kitchen counter. I started crying, and I'm starting to tear up right now thinking about it as well... I loved that house, probably even more than the little house that I grew up in. I was really proud of it and loved that it was a gathering place for our friends. I told the new owners that we had a nickname for it and that they could email us with any questions. I want them to take good care of her...
I am crying again. I am such a sap...
I am crying again. I am such a sap...
Monday, March 29, 2004
we're back from our mini-vacation. it was nice to be able to do one of those all-too-rare escapes that was attached to work for both of us and therefore had minimal transportation costs. hooray! and to have gone to a fun city where i had old friends to visit (ones i hadn't seen in far-too-long), well, that's just gravy, baby!
if it seems like i'm in a particularly good mood, you're right. i had a new employee in my group start today and i'm very excited about it. i can finally focus on the bigger projects and be all smarty-pants strategic. hooray!
tonight steve and i went for a walk. it was nice to get out (and to get him out!). we didn't really know where we were going, and originally our goal was to find an ice cream parlor. we didn't have any luck on that front, but it was still great to be out. it's kinda in that in-between-seasons season, so it was nicely chilly enough to be rejuvenated, but not cold.
have you noticed that dashes are today's punctuation mark-of-the-day?
did you hear about the artist who spray painted an iceberg off of greenland's west coast bright red? check it out -- any one of a number of sources will pull up the article (covered by the AP) and photos, but i kinda like the graphic design of artdaily.com the best.
http://www.artdaily.com/section/news/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=9714
oh yeah, one more thing i'm happy about tonight: no more big stress at work about assignments. nothing is changing at all. for those of you i've stressed out to, thanks for listening.
g'night.
if it seems like i'm in a particularly good mood, you're right. i had a new employee in my group start today and i'm very excited about it. i can finally focus on the bigger projects and be all smarty-pants strategic. hooray!
tonight steve and i went for a walk. it was nice to get out (and to get him out!). we didn't really know where we were going, and originally our goal was to find an ice cream parlor. we didn't have any luck on that front, but it was still great to be out. it's kinda in that in-between-seasons season, so it was nicely chilly enough to be rejuvenated, but not cold.
have you noticed that dashes are today's punctuation mark-of-the-day?
did you hear about the artist who spray painted an iceberg off of greenland's west coast bright red? check it out -- any one of a number of sources will pull up the article (covered by the AP) and photos, but i kinda like the graphic design of artdaily.com the best.
http://www.artdaily.com/section/news/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=9714
oh yeah, one more thing i'm happy about tonight: no more big stress at work about assignments. nothing is changing at all. for those of you i've stressed out to, thanks for listening.
g'night.
Tuesday, March 23, 2004
steve had me all worried about this blog. he thinks i should take it down since i talk about work so much and that it will get me in trouble. i'm not sure if i should go through and maybe edit it first, but i'm definitely leaning in that direction instead of toward taking it down.
there are two other people in the business center tonight and both of them are playing bridge. i know because i walked by one on the way in, and the other one's computer faces the printer area, so i saw his monitor when i was printing stuff.
is bridge that popular?
he's a younger guy and she's an African-American mom.
interesting.
.
.
i have just figured it out: the music in here is some sort of dreadful taped mix that includes "groovy kind of love" and the other dreck i've complained about before. no wonder i keep hearing that song in here! i thought maybe the front desk staff just really liked some sort of "lite fm" channel. well at least now they're to the better part of the mix: "allison" by elvis costello. i love this song.
today was a wonderfully nice day. it was almost 50 and sunny. i met a rep for lunch a few blocks away and then took some time going back to the office by running a couple of errands. it was so cool to be out and about and to see everyone out in the sun. i'm starting to get excited about what it will be like in the summer.
i wish i had more to say, but my brain is tired. at least this week i've had relatively reasonable hours at work!
there are two other people in the business center tonight and both of them are playing bridge. i know because i walked by one on the way in, and the other one's computer faces the printer area, so i saw his monitor when i was printing stuff.
is bridge that popular?
he's a younger guy and she's an African-American mom.
interesting.
.
.
i have just figured it out: the music in here is some sort of dreadful taped mix that includes "groovy kind of love" and the other dreck i've complained about before. no wonder i keep hearing that song in here! i thought maybe the front desk staff just really liked some sort of "lite fm" channel. well at least now they're to the better part of the mix: "allison" by elvis costello. i love this song.
today was a wonderfully nice day. it was almost 50 and sunny. i met a rep for lunch a few blocks away and then took some time going back to the office by running a couple of errands. it was so cool to be out and about and to see everyone out in the sun. i'm starting to get excited about what it will be like in the summer.
i wish i had more to say, but my brain is tired. at least this week i've had relatively reasonable hours at work!
Wednesday, March 17, 2004
this has been a really hard couple of weeks.
last week i was working until midnight every night. i had company for a couple of nights, when we stayed at the office working in a big ol' group on a mega-presentation.
and then there was FRIDAY. big client presentation. lots of work ahead of time.
(call me or email me if you want to know more -- this section has been edited out)
i think i am going to go and flip through "in style" before going to bed. i don't think my brain can actually read tonight.
last week i was working until midnight every night. i had company for a couple of nights, when we stayed at the office working in a big ol' group on a mega-presentation.
and then there was FRIDAY. big client presentation. lots of work ahead of time.
(call me or email me if you want to know more -- this section has been edited out)
i think i am going to go and flip through "in style" before going to bed. i don't think my brain can actually read tonight.
Wednesday, March 10, 2004
hooray! alex got into grad school for public policy! now he can officially be a "wonk-in-training!"
imho, the news about him getting in isn't unexpected or surprising, but what i DO find unexpected and surprising is what an online marketing GENIUS he is. tonight i told him what i thought i should recommend for my client's marketing campaign (as well as the dumb ideas that others proposed) and he *completely* agreed with everything i said.
GENIUS.
and a great friend.
can i get a whoooooaaaaaa ALEX?!?
imho, the news about him getting in isn't unexpected or surprising, but what i DO find unexpected and surprising is what an online marketing GENIUS he is. tonight i told him what i thought i should recommend for my client's marketing campaign (as well as the dumb ideas that others proposed) and he *completely* agreed with everything i said.
GENIUS.
and a great friend.
can i get a whoooooaaaaaa ALEX?!?
Monday, March 08, 2004
looks like we sold fort awesome!
we only listed formally with a realtor on friday and had about 20 showings this weekend. we ended up with two competitive offers and a bit of a bidding war. i probably am jinxing it for writing this, but hopefully we'll hear that both the best offer and the backup offer are confirmed today. woohoo!
we only listed formally with a realtor on friday and had about 20 showings this weekend. we ended up with two competitive offers and a bit of a bidding war. i probably am jinxing it for writing this, but hopefully we'll hear that both the best offer and the backup offer are confirmed today. woohoo!
Thursday, March 04, 2004
for today's entry, i will re-post and respond to my post from Thursday, January 29, 2004. responses will be prefaced by >>
things i'll miss about fort awesome:
the huge amount of bathroom storage
>> really good thing about chicago: huge walk in closet
making mojitos with mint from our yard in the summer
>> really good thing about chicago: hip new bar just down the block with killer mojitos and some sort of magical never ending supply of ad reps that want to buy me drinks
the lilac bush in the backyard
>> really good thing about chicago: our building has killer flower arrangements downstairs and there's a good, not too expensive florist in my office building
the front porch swing
>> well, at least in chicago i can sit at our home and see something neat -- the view from sky hut's couch is better than from the ft. awesome front porch swing
having friends just stop by
>> well, at least in chicago there is the initial excitement about hanging out with new friends and/or realizing that these are new friends. i actually got my first unexpected unplanned phone call from a friend the other day asking if i wanted to go out (unfortunately we had just arrived back from las vegas and i wanted to shower, unpack and sleep! -- but still, it was very flattering)
the party center
>> in chicago we have signed up for peapod delivery service. steve spent an hour and a half last night (from about 11:30 - 1 am) shopping for groceries online. our first delivery is tomorrow. stay tuned...
things i'll miss about fort awesome:
the huge amount of bathroom storage
>> really good thing about chicago: huge walk in closet
making mojitos with mint from our yard in the summer
>> really good thing about chicago: hip new bar just down the block with killer mojitos and some sort of magical never ending supply of ad reps that want to buy me drinks
the lilac bush in the backyard
>> really good thing about chicago: our building has killer flower arrangements downstairs and there's a good, not too expensive florist in my office building
the front porch swing
>> well, at least in chicago i can sit at our home and see something neat -- the view from sky hut's couch is better than from the ft. awesome front porch swing
having friends just stop by
>> well, at least in chicago there is the initial excitement about hanging out with new friends and/or realizing that these are new friends. i actually got my first unexpected unplanned phone call from a friend the other day asking if i wanted to go out (unfortunately we had just arrived back from las vegas and i wanted to shower, unpack and sleep! -- but still, it was very flattering)
the party center
>> in chicago we have signed up for peapod delivery service. steve spent an hour and a half last night (from about 11:30 - 1 am) shopping for groceries online. our first delivery is tomorrow. stay tuned...
Tuesday, February 24, 2004
argh. i knew it. i thought i was all set to work on a big project tomorrow morning and then realized i had some sort of meeting tomorrow. so here i am, in my beloved computer lab, checking my work calendar. and my boss scheduled a meeting first thing in the morning to go over some process-related stuff. no fun for a first-thing-in-the-morning event. but then again, i am not a fan of mornings -- or meetings -- very much at all.
my current view of meetings:
http://www.despair.com/meetings.html
i suppose i should look on the bright side:
http://www.nyetwork.org/wiki/meetings.gif
well, i guess i'd better get back upstairs and finish working so that i can go to bed and get up and do more work-ing.
oh yeah, and i have to remember not to forget to program the coffeemaker. there's nothing nicer on a morning that you have to get up early than having the coffee brewing. well, except maybe having the coffee brewing and having a fabulous new outfit to wear. now THAT'S a good way to cope. i wonder if there's anything in my closet i haven't worn that's suitable for the meetings i have tomorrow (i just bought a tweed miniskirt last weekend that probably won't work). hmmm...
my current view of meetings:
http://www.despair.com/meetings.html
i suppose i should look on the bright side:
http://www.nyetwork.org/wiki/meetings.gif
well, i guess i'd better get back upstairs and finish working so that i can go to bed and get up and do more work-ing.
oh yeah, and i have to remember not to forget to program the coffeemaker. there's nothing nicer on a morning that you have to get up early than having the coffee brewing. well, except maybe having the coffee brewing and having a fabulous new outfit to wear. now THAT'S a good way to cope. i wonder if there's anything in my closet i haven't worn that's suitable for the meetings i have tomorrow (i just bought a tweed miniskirt last weekend that probably won't work). hmmm...
Monday, February 23, 2004
my thoughts on sex and the city (for what very very little they're worth):
i'm glad that carrie is back with big. in a way. i mean, they definitely had the best chemistry, so i'm glad for that reason. i'm a little bummed because it seems as though it's playing off the classic female fantasy that the guy with whom you had the amazing chemistry but who treated you like shit will come around if you just wait. i guess it can work (my college roommate actually went through this and they've been married several years now... and then of course there's kevin and whitney...). but still i get scared thinking about that sort of thing. i mean sheesh, if i'd fallen for that, well, who knows which of the many losers i've dated i'd be hung up on!!!
i loved the moment when she found her necklace. of course, the way they did it gave every viewer a moment to go "THE NECKLACE!!!" right before she pulls it out, and i'm not sure that was entirely necessary, but it was definitely a nice little plot element that she had it back.
of course, we were all rooting for charlotte to get her baby, and i'm really glad they didn't put on the hyperdrive and show the baby arriving. that would have wrapped things up way too neatly. at first i didn't even want them to say that it was all settled and the baby was coming, but the way they handled it was beautiful and definitely made me teary.
and then there's samantha. i was so hoping that she'd admit she was in love somehow, but i didn't really want her to get engaged. i thought it was a nice touch that he gave her narcissis bulbs.
so many women think they're like carrie. i'm like miranda. it may seem much more boring, but i'll admit it. i had the pushing-guys-away tendency, and it wasn't in the fun samantha sort of way. and it's damn cool that miranda is going out of her way to earn steve, since he is a gem: a real honest-to-goodness diamond in the rough sort of guy.
okay, so i know it's pretty dang narcisisstic, even for me, to post on here my silly thoughts about the silly show, but since i haven't really had the chance to talk to anyone about it, i kinda needed to let that off my chest.
*thanks*
i'm glad that carrie is back with big. in a way. i mean, they definitely had the best chemistry, so i'm glad for that reason. i'm a little bummed because it seems as though it's playing off the classic female fantasy that the guy with whom you had the amazing chemistry but who treated you like shit will come around if you just wait. i guess it can work (my college roommate actually went through this and they've been married several years now... and then of course there's kevin and whitney...). but still i get scared thinking about that sort of thing. i mean sheesh, if i'd fallen for that, well, who knows which of the many losers i've dated i'd be hung up on!!!
i loved the moment when she found her necklace. of course, the way they did it gave every viewer a moment to go "THE NECKLACE!!!" right before she pulls it out, and i'm not sure that was entirely necessary, but it was definitely a nice little plot element that she had it back.
of course, we were all rooting for charlotte to get her baby, and i'm really glad they didn't put on the hyperdrive and show the baby arriving. that would have wrapped things up way too neatly. at first i didn't even want them to say that it was all settled and the baby was coming, but the way they handled it was beautiful and definitely made me teary.
and then there's samantha. i was so hoping that she'd admit she was in love somehow, but i didn't really want her to get engaged. i thought it was a nice touch that he gave her narcissis bulbs.
so many women think they're like carrie. i'm like miranda. it may seem much more boring, but i'll admit it. i had the pushing-guys-away tendency, and it wasn't in the fun samantha sort of way. and it's damn cool that miranda is going out of her way to earn steve, since he is a gem: a real honest-to-goodness diamond in the rough sort of guy.
okay, so i know it's pretty dang narcisisstic, even for me, to post on here my silly thoughts about the silly show, but since i haven't really had the chance to talk to anyone about it, i kinda needed to let that off my chest.
*thanks*
steve is gone again. (sniff)
i had to watch sex and the city all by my lonesome last night. well, at least nobody saw me get all sniffly. steve watched it with a group of our friends, which was good for him but a little sad for me. i hope we have a group of friends here sometime soon. we've met a few people, but there are no groups that we're part of, which is kinda a bummer. and, of course, with steve still back-and-forth it's hard to get together with ANYONE.
sarah and alex were here this weekend. we had to tell them the sad news that we have three weddings the weekend that they're getting married and that one of them is for steve's old college chum sera, who is getting married (finally! after a couple of years of postponing) in amsterdam. luckily sarah and alex are reasonable people, but it's still a totally gut wrenching thing to have to tell a friend you can't make it when it would usually be a really reasonable and expected thing for you to attend their wedding.
i guess in hindsight it makes me a little less bummed/perterbed about the folks who missed our big party. the ones that had good reasons, well, i understand that it must have been hard to tell us. and the ones that didn't, well, i guess maybe i will never really know what else was going on in their heads, but at least i have renewed hope that it was a hard decision for him -- i mean them.
.
.
.
on friday i got into a bit of a snit with my boss. he was getting on me for not doing some things i'm supposed to be doing in quite the way i'm supposed to be doing them. frankly, i feel as though i'm not doing ANYTHING at work the way i'm supposed to be doing it. i'm doing everything half-way, late, and just plain wrong (i had no training!). i hate working this way because it totally saps my enthusiasm because it saps my self-confidence. luckily defending myself to my boss (who at first didn't want to hear it -- and i don't blame him, since i *do* tend to get defensive) ended up working out since he went that very day and followed through on a lead for a candidate for my group. :) and it looks like it will work out too. hooray! finally i will have some help so that i don't do the day-to-day things so shabbily and the strategic things so hastily.
________________________________________
good things for today:
1. there's a charity in chicago called "the happiness club" whose goal is listed on their website as: The Happiness Club is a group of Chicago kids who sing, dance, rap, and create their own material for their sensational musical show. Diverse in age, race, and socioeconomic background, The Happiness Club kids sing out against smoking, drugs, violence, and prejudice and say “YES” to education, racial harmony, high self-esteem and global humanity.
wow! i love it! i need to find out more... sounds very like good ol' um children's theatre!
2. the grocery store near us (the regular one, not the fancy schmancy one) carries the yummy salsa made in detroit that i'm so dang fond of. hooray! we're not all that far away after all! now if only i could find a store that sells better made bbq chips!
___________________________________________
bad thing for today: the secretary of state of the great state of illinois has a *snazzy* website with lots of great smiling photos of himself. however, the form that you need to fill out to register your motor vehicle in this great state is only available at major offices. and get this: i called to see if they could fax it to me, and they can't because it's a CARBON COPY FORM. sheesh. so tomorrow i get to go to the secretary of state's office and register our little yellow volvo.
i had to watch sex and the city all by my lonesome last night. well, at least nobody saw me get all sniffly. steve watched it with a group of our friends, which was good for him but a little sad for me. i hope we have a group of friends here sometime soon. we've met a few people, but there are no groups that we're part of, which is kinda a bummer. and, of course, with steve still back-and-forth it's hard to get together with ANYONE.
sarah and alex were here this weekend. we had to tell them the sad news that we have three weddings the weekend that they're getting married and that one of them is for steve's old college chum sera, who is getting married (finally! after a couple of years of postponing) in amsterdam. luckily sarah and alex are reasonable people, but it's still a totally gut wrenching thing to have to tell a friend you can't make it when it would usually be a really reasonable and expected thing for you to attend their wedding.
i guess in hindsight it makes me a little less bummed/perterbed about the folks who missed our big party. the ones that had good reasons, well, i understand that it must have been hard to tell us. and the ones that didn't, well, i guess maybe i will never really know what else was going on in their heads, but at least i have renewed hope that it was a hard decision for him -- i mean them.
.
.
.
on friday i got into a bit of a snit with my boss. he was getting on me for not doing some things i'm supposed to be doing in quite the way i'm supposed to be doing them. frankly, i feel as though i'm not doing ANYTHING at work the way i'm supposed to be doing it. i'm doing everything half-way, late, and just plain wrong (i had no training!). i hate working this way because it totally saps my enthusiasm because it saps my self-confidence. luckily defending myself to my boss (who at first didn't want to hear it -- and i don't blame him, since i *do* tend to get defensive) ended up working out since he went that very day and followed through on a lead for a candidate for my group. :) and it looks like it will work out too. hooray! finally i will have some help so that i don't do the day-to-day things so shabbily and the strategic things so hastily.
________________________________________
good things for today:
1. there's a charity in chicago called "the happiness club" whose goal is listed on their website as: The Happiness Club is a group of Chicago kids who sing, dance, rap, and create their own material for their sensational musical show. Diverse in age, race, and socioeconomic background, The Happiness Club kids sing out against smoking, drugs, violence, and prejudice and say “YES” to education, racial harmony, high self-esteem and global humanity.
wow! i love it! i need to find out more... sounds very like good ol' um children's theatre!
2. the grocery store near us (the regular one, not the fancy schmancy one) carries the yummy salsa made in detroit that i'm so dang fond of. hooray! we're not all that far away after all! now if only i could find a store that sells better made bbq chips!
___________________________________________
bad thing for today: the secretary of state of the great state of illinois has a *snazzy* website with lots of great smiling photos of himself. however, the form that you need to fill out to register your motor vehicle in this great state is only available at major offices. and get this: i called to see if they could fax it to me, and they can't because it's a CARBON COPY FORM. sheesh. so tomorrow i get to go to the secretary of state's office and register our little yellow volvo.
Wednesday, February 18, 2004
Monday, February 16, 2004
oh yeah, we may have named our apartment this weekend.
we were tentatively calling it "sky hut" for the past few weeks, but we weren't really sure if it was right or not. and then i hit on the idea of getting fancy schmancy (today's blog phrase of the day, apparently) old-fashioned and highball glasses with "SH" engraved on them...
Sky Hut.
Sara Hall.
(and oh, yeah, Steve Hall)
http://ww2.williams-sonoma.com/cat/pip.cfm?gids=g018&pKey=cglshdfi&root=shop&src=catcglshdfi%7Cp1%7Crshop%2Fcatcglsi%7Cp1%7Crshop%2Fcatcshop%7Cp1%7Crshop%2Fhme
we were tentatively calling it "sky hut" for the past few weeks, but we weren't really sure if it was right or not. and then i hit on the idea of getting fancy schmancy (today's blog phrase of the day, apparently) old-fashioned and highball glasses with "SH" engraved on them...
Sky Hut.
Sara Hall.
(and oh, yeah, Steve Hall)
http://ww2.williams-sonoma.com/cat/pip.cfm?gids=g018&pKey=cglshdfi&root=shop&src=catcglshdfi%7Cp1%7Crshop%2Fcatcglsi%7Cp1%7Crshop%2Fcatcshop%7Cp1%7Crshop%2Fhme
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
