May 30, 2007
Wedding Bells
Jon and I are off to Michigan for my sister's wedding. I have this terrible feeling that I'm forgetting something...
Posted by criminal at 4:33 PM | Comments (0)
May 27, 2007
The Long Weekend
I am so thankful for the long weekend. While I like the shift in my work hours, it leaves me without large blocks of time. My mornings are nice and slow -- I spend extra time reading online or watching the news, or making a few cards, but mostly the same as before. These days I don't get home until a quarter of eight most nights, so by the time I make dinner (or get Jon to) it's after 9, everything is closed, and it feels like I should be getting ready for bed. While I like my leisurely mornings, I'm not sure how I'll feel in the long-run about shortening my nights.
Posted by criminal at 1:26 PM | Comments (0)
May 18, 2007
High School Flash Back Meme
- Who was your best friend?
Kim was until she graduated. I don't think I made a "best" friend after that. - What sports did you play?
I did track and field for three years. And I was on the freshman basketball team for less than a week. The coach wouldn't comprimise on practice/game times when my marching band director would. I chose the band. Probably a good thing too, since I'm not sure the basketball team won a single game that year and half the team quit by the end of the season because the coach was such a jerk. - What kind of car did you drive?
Which year? A conversion van, a Lumina, a giant pick-up truck, and a Corsica. - It's Friday night, where were you?
At the football game! - Were you a party animal?
Not at all. - Were you considered a flirt?
Not really. I flirted to be funny, but that wasn't really my MO. - Were you in band, orchestra, or choir?
I was very, very much in the band. And like Amy, I lettered. Several times. - Were you a nerd?
If by nerd you mean smart, in all the AP classes, and in geeky extra-curriculars, yes. - Did you get suspended/expelled?
Good heavens, no. - Can you sing the fight song?
Certainly. In fact, I've been singing it on and off for the last few weeks since I got a scammy alumni directory request in the mail. What I really wonder is if I could pick up a baritone and actually play it without the music in front of me... - Who was your favorite teacher?
Mr. Ferriby. His American Lit class was one of the best I ever had. He really took time to entertain us with American Lit instead of drilling us, probably because an honors program that most AP-level kids couldn't participate due to poor scheduling left him with the dregs (and two AP kids). I might have also enjoyed it because other than reading, there was little homework. Or because Rob and I got to goof off most of the time. - What was your school's full name?
Carman Ainsworth Senior High School - School mascot?
Cavalier - Did you go to Prom?
I went my senior year but missed it my junior year to go to Alan's junior prom in New York. - If you could go back and do it over, would you?
Sure. - What do you remember most about graduation?
The surreal sensation that the band was playing without *me* in it. - Where were you on senior skip day?
Sadly, at school. I don't think I had enough sick/vacation days to miss another day. - Did you have a job your senior year?
Not during the school year. - Where did you go most often for lunch?
The cafeteria. - Have you gained weight since then?
Yes. I lost it all and then some, but I've put plenty back on. I'm about the size I was when I graduated though. - What did you do after graduation?
The post-party, which got crammed into the high school instead of the local college athletic center. - When did you graduate?
1998 - Who was your Senior prom date?
Alan - Are you going to your 10 year reunion?
If I can make it, yes. I'm hearing rumblings of the planning now, which I'd love to participate in. - Who was your home room teacher?
We didn't have homeroom. But I did spend my extra minutes before school in the band room. - Who will repost this after you?
You know, I'm not sure.
Posted by criminal at 11:47 AM | Comments (0)
May 17, 2007
Sometimes You Feel Like a Nut
Green Mountain's Rainforest Nut coffee is my savior. It goes down easy and gives me just enough caffeine to make it through the day. I will be very sad when the box of K-cups at work runs out.
Posted by criminal at 10:54 AM | Comments (1)
May 11, 2007
No Five
I totally forgot to write a Friday Five for today. I made sure to have some stocked up for the weekends I spent moving and visiting family. Why on earth didn't I just keep going?
Bad Sarah.
I guess it's never too late to put something up. And few for the rest of the summer too. Any topics you throw at me I'll use, I promise.
Posted by criminal at 4:26 PM | Comments (0)
May 10, 2007
Summer Stampin'
Summer is a great time for stamping. Especially when companies start rolling out all of their new designs.
Last summer I participated in my first A-Muse-A-Palooza stamping extravaganza at Ink About It and absolutely loved it. It's like Christmas in July! And that's not just because the newly released stamps are about Christmas. They're unveiling new summer stamps this weekend, so I'm hoping they'll tide me over until the big event July 9-15.
I also have to remind myself that I'm a Stampin' Up! demonstrator now, so I can't go blow my entire craft budget on A Muse stuff. We just retired a couple hundred stamp sets to make room for all of the new stuff in the July catalog. The sneak peek brochures will be available in three weeks. I can start ordering to prepare for my card classes then too. Not to mention the hundreds of new stamps and accessories that will be in the catalog on July 1.
Lest I forget, I'm also headed to the Creating Keepsakes convention in Manchester next weekend with Amy and Carol. There are sure to be more than a few stamps there, so I'll have to pace myself. I'm signed up for a couple classes and a card swap. Mostly I like browsing all the vendors in one location, not just buying. That's easier when you have friends along to enable too.
It's almost too much for a craft-a-holic to handle.
Posted by criminal at 6:04 PM | Comments (0)
May 9, 2007
Working Late
In an effort to provide better customer service, we're extending our official support hours at work. Instead of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. we'll be manning the phones from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m. -- all Eastern time, of course. Instead of rotating shifts and creating complicated schedules, we've all agreed to shift our schedules a little bit. Two of my co-workers who are usually in around 8:30 will be in before 8 and leave by 5. Since Lake and I come in later, we took the later shift from 10 to 7.
It's only an hour different from my usual schedule, but it really makes for a long afternoon. I'm trying to push lunch to 1 so that I don't feel like I'm chained to my desk for six hours. I may still have to introduce the idea of an afternoon coffee break, even if it's just to step away from our desks and catch up on what everyone else is doing. Even though I miss the evening hour, I have to admit that an hour of regular business time in the morning is very appealing. Especially when I need to get to the town offices and New Hampshire DMV to register my car and switch my liscence.
Posted by criminal at 6:51 PM | Comments (0)
Doctor Barb
My little sister is a doctor.
...of horses and other furry critters, but a doctor all the same. I watched her swear to use her scientific knowledge and skills for the benefit of society at her graduation ceremony last Friday. I sobbed through the entire thing, just like my mother. I couldn't stop thinking about the sheer amount of passion for life and learning it took to make it through all of the long classes, rigorous exams, and exhausting clinical rotations. In fact, it's hard not to cry now just writing about it. I feel an abundance of admiration, respect, and even a little pride when I think about her achievement.
I'm a little sad that I wasn't able to get better photos of the hooding ceremony and of Barbra in her cap and velvet-trimmed gown. I really wanted to remember the grin she had walking across the stage and the look of relief that she and all her friends wore after the ceremony. What photos I did manage to take are in my photo album.
Posted by criminal at 6:08 PM | Comments (0)
May 1, 2007
Launched!
Our new system has launched. The e-mails have been sent. The champagne has been poured.
Now we just have to hope that everyone likes it.
I would prefer that they like it so much that they won't need to contact us for a few days. That's pie in the sky thinking, but why not? When I started here, this new interface seemed to be a dream that would never come true, and now it's here. I think this is just the first of many things we're doing to bring our focus back to the publishers. Which means I wasn't the only one that drank the kool-aid.
Posted by criminal at 10:17 AM | Comments (0)