September 28, 2007
Workplace Hazzard #218
Settling into a long conference call only to be hit with an overwhelming urge to pee...
Posted by criminal at 3:25 PM | Comments (0)
September 27, 2007
In the Zone
I am completely incapable of concentrating today. My attention span is so short that many would consider it non-existent. I can't even concentrate on the next sentence in this post because my mind has skipped onto several other things I want to do.
Posted by criminal at 6:53 PM | Comments (1)
September 26, 2007
Saving Grace
Thank you, Dunkin' Donuts, for making coffee. Especially pumpkin spice coffee. Without it, I would be a little more than a zombie.
Posted by criminal at 12:10 PM | Comments (0)
September 24, 2007
Another Weekend Update
- Friday's appointment with my endocrinologist went well. We're not making any immediate plans to remove my thyroid and I don't have to see him again for six months. I still owe him a blood test for TSH levels, but that's easy compared to the biopsies and surgeries I thought I might have to go through.
- I think it's time to go see my optometrist again because I'm getting a lot of migraine headaches. At the very least I plan to replaces the scratched lenses in my glasses. Might as well make sure the prescription is the same.
- I'm a little disappointed that I wasn't able to make it down to see Caitlin, the newest addition to the Marr family. Although I try to act nonchalant about them, I'm at the age when babies begin to become more important than just about everything else. Heck, even rambunctious toddlers hold a certain appeal. So I'm hoping to schedule a visit for the upcoming weekend.
- Our trip to New York is back on. Tuesday this time, with a later first meeting and tickets purchased well in advance. Tomorrow will be a long day, but only one day.
- After being told that suits were required for the canceled meeting and running out to buy one, I've been informed that the people we're meeting wear business casual and that a suit wouldn't be necessary. I think I'll still wear it, since it is relatively trendy, but nix the conservative shirt, shoes, and accessories I originally chose.
- My stamping area is finally back in working order after using it as a dumping ground for the last two months. And only because I bought a few new stamps at Ink About It on Saturday and needed a place to use them. It does feel nice to have it mostly clean. Makes it easier to sit down and make something when I'm feeling inspired too.
Posted by criminal at 2:34 PM | Comments (1)
September 21, 2007
Labor Days
Right now my friend Amy is at the hospital trying to give birth. And posting to LiveJournal. And chatting online. She's been there for the better part of two days with little to no forward progress, so I'm sure she's getting lonely, bored, and frustrated. Still, I find it a hilarious sign of our times that a woman in labor can sit in her hospital room and chat it up with friends.
My favorite excerpt from our conversations thus far, in which I expressed interest in having children:
amy: well let this be a warning to you
amy: IT HURTS
I really hope it's over for her sooner rather than later. I think she's been at it long enough.
Posted by criminal at 4:04 PM | Comments (0)
September 20, 2007
The Hubby's Home
Jon has been out of town for training since early Sunday morning and I have been trying to survive without him. I'll admit there are times when I hardly realize he's gone, but mostly I've been missing him. My routine has been thrown completely for a loop, and not just because I spent the first half of my week scrambling to go to New York. Jon keeps me conscious of the passage of time and anchored more firmly in reality. It will be good to have him back tonight.
Posted by criminal at 6:40 PM | Comments (0)
September 19, 2007
Ticket To Nowhere
My trip was just cancelled. We were planning to leave the office in about five hours for a meeting that was to start in less than 24. How's that for lead time? On the bright side, I can now slow down a bit.
Posted by criminal at 11:49 AM | Comments (0)
September 18, 2007
Throw Mama From the Train
By the time we tried to buy our tickets this morning, the early train was sold out. And the second train gets in just a few minutes before our first meeting, so that's a no go. Enter our back-up plans: driving to Stamford, flying from Manchester, flying from Boston, or taking the train the night before and getting a hotel. With the potential traffic problems and the ridiculous prices on last minute fares (or cheap fares that connect through, say, Cincinnati), we've chosen to go down the night before. So now I'll be spending the night in New York instead of my comfy new bed. I can't wait until our American Express Travel service starts and we can foist all of these arrangements off on someone else.
Posted by criminal at 11:56 AM | Comments (1)
Serendipity
Normally I start work at 10:30. Today I got a call from my boss just before 10 to make sure I would be in on time (I'm frequently rushing in the door at 10:30 or a few minutes after) because the big kahuna wanted an impromptu meeting about the client I'm seeing on Thursday. She had it pushed back to 10:30 to accommodate my schedule, but I got to tell her to switch it back to 10 because I was just around the corner picking up a straw for my iced coffee. I picked up breakfast at the Dunkin' Donuts in Hudson, where they neglected to give me a straw, because I saw no point in sitting around at home when there were so many things to do at work. I was awake and ready to go for my appointment with the cable guy at 8, so when he was done, I had nothing more to do. And I love that it worked out.
Posted by criminal at 10:36 AM | Comments (0)
The Suit (So Far)
My first stop tonight was the Lane Bryant near the office, where I found a charcoal heather suit jacket. It fits, is pretty flattering, and was pretty much the only thing they had that wasn't a swing jacket (oh so trendy but dangerous for fat girls) or shot through with gold lame thread. They were sold out of the matching pants in my size, but we were able to locate a pair at the Pheasant Lane Mall closer to home. That was my second stop. I didn't have time to make it to the Avenue or any of the Mall anchor stores, but I may try those after work tomorrow.
I love the suit, but I'm concerned that a short-sleeved suit could be casual. Am I just second-guessing myself or is it too casual? And what on earth should I wear under it? It looks best with something relatively low-cut, like a camisole, but it's likely I'll want to take the jacket off, so that won't do. All of the blouses at Lane Bryant were tunic-length or puffy sleeved. My closet is sadly lacking in dressier options.
Posted by criminal at 12:04 AM | Comments (0)
September 17, 2007
In the City
I just found out that I'm going to New York on Thursday morning. A few of my coworkers and I need to catch the 5:29 a.m. Acela Express from Westwood so we can be ready for a 10 a.m. meeting with a new client. Which means I'll need to leave home before 4:30 a.m., throw any dreams of a full night's sleep out the window, and pray I don't miss the train.
I've also been informed that suits are not optional. [insert mild panic here] Nevermind that I've never been to a meeting that required a suit; I simply don't own any. I have casual blazers and one lonely interview blazer that no longer fits. Off to the mall!
Posted by criminal at 6:33 PM | Comments (0)
September 14, 2007
Matchmaker, Matchmaker
1. Go to www.careercruising.com
2. Put in Username: nycareers, Password: landmark.
3. Take their "Career Matchmaker" questions.
4. Post the top ten results.
- Website Designer
- Desktop Publisher
- Artist
- Technical Writer
- Multimedia Developer
- Computer Trainer
- Librarian
- ESL Teacher
- High School Teacher
- Community Worker
Posted by criminal at 8:37 AM | Comments (3)
September 12, 2007
Sleeping Beauty
The bed is indeed fabulous. Jon can thrash about on his half acre without disturbing me, get up and down a dozen times without waking me, and push his pillows all over without pushing me off the bed. All thanks to the large surface area and the wise person who tried giving each mattress coil should get it's own little fabric pocket, thus freeing it's motion from those coils next to it. There's even room for both cats. At once.
Posted by criminal at 3:51 PM | Comments (0)
September 11, 2007
Get Carded
- I plan to place a Stampin' Up! order next Monday. If you think you would like something, please let me know by Sunday night.
- Stampin' Up! is offering 30% off six sets for our Fall Frenzy Sale. You have to spend $30 to get the discount, but the sets are super cute. I'm a big fan of Haunting Halloween and Stem Silhouettes, myself.
- In honor of World Card Making Day, I'm going to haul all my card making supplies down to my dining room and invite everyone over to have at it. So mark your calendars: Saturday, October 6, from noon 'til we get sick of each other or have to break for dinner. If you don't make cards, you can still come hang out and knit/crochet/sew and make tags for your holiday crafts.
- Speaking of holidays, I'm putting myself out there to make Christmas cards for anyone that would like them. Just send an e-mail. I'm may not be as cheap as a bulk box from Wal-Mart, but I'm competitive with individually priced cards, and nicer than both. And heck, if you would rather make them yourself, I'd help you plan them and find supplies for free.
Posted by criminal at 6:41 PM | Comments (0)
Bedded Bliss
Hooray! Our bed showed up this morning before I left for work. It's comfortable. It's enormous. It's heavenly.
I can't wait to sleep in it.
Posted by criminal at 4:24 PM | Comments (0)
Dark Days
It was officially dark when I left work last night. OK so the rain may have been partly responsible. Last week it was just dark by the time I got home. Now it's fully dark when I leave. That can only mean one thing: winter's darkness is descending upon us.
Posted by criminal at 8:24 AM | Comments (1)
September 10, 2007
Food For Thought
- Snyder's of Hanover now makes multi-grain snacks, including several flavors of cheese puffs, which I tried this weekend. The puffs are crispy and cheesy without the greasiness traditionally associated with fried cheese snacks (and with 40% less fat too). The cheese doesn't stick to the puffs quite as well without the extra fat, but it's good cheese flavor. I'll be buying these again and trying a few of the other snacks in the line to doll into my snack-size baggies.
- I like a my Dunkin' Donuts medium iced coffee with two packets of Sweet 'N' Low. It's just enough to cut the bitterness without making it taste sweet. This morning when they translated two into five, I discovered that over-sweetening is worse than under-sweetening. I couldn't finish it until the ice melted and watered it down.
- Although I used to scoff at those anal-retentive people who planned their menus well in advance, I'm slowly becoming one of them. For the second week in a row I've planned out our dinner menus on the weekend and purchased most of the supplies in advance. Our evenings have been less stressful with the dreaded decision already made and all of the supplies waiting in the fridge. I still don't do much of the cooking because of how late I get home, but I feel like I'm contributing my fair share by planning and shopping.
- Another new food product I'm enjoying is Healthy Choice's Cafe Steamers. For frozen dinners, they're actually pretty good. Because the meat and veggies are suspended above the sauce, they don't get soggy. The flavors seem to be more robust and the seasoning more balanced than the usual Healthy Choice fare. I'm just sad I didn't fill up my freezer with them while they were on sale. If you want to try one, there's a $1 off coupon on the Healthy Choice site.
Posted by criminal at 3:49 PM | Comments (0)
September 7, 2007
A Week
- Long weekends really make the work-week much more bearable. In fact, I think we should have them much more often. This week has just flown by without the usual stress.
- Just four days until I see bedded bliss. Sadly, the headboard I painstakingly made last year is too small. I don't know whether I should make a new one, buy a cheap one, or just live without one until we break down and buy the bed frame we want next year.
- We're heading up to Portland for Jon's Master Brewers conference. Just like last year, I'll be on my own to wander the streets while he's learning discussion hop flavors and barley crops. Handy that the Museum of Art has a Frank Lloyd Wright and House Beautiful exhibit I want to see.
- Now that I'm actually remembering to create the Friday 5s, I don't seem to be answering them...
- National Card-making Day is a month away and I don't have anything planned. I know there are people out there planning big stamp camps, open houses, and classes, but I don't have the drive to pull those off. Maybe just a crafty day with friends.
- Still no positive confirmation on the shoes I ordered on Tuesday. I'm beginning to worry that they never really existed in the first place.
Posted by criminal at 9:42 AM | Comments (0)
September 6, 2007
iPod, do uPod?
The new iPod releases yesterday have made me start thinking about whether or not I want one. And if I do, which one. I have a Shuffle, but it's limited storage space and lack of playlist capabilities mean I don't use it as much as I could. I like the storage space of the latest iPod Classics, the size of the new iPod Nanos, and the function of the iPod Touch (especially the wifi). While I understand that they couldn't give the iPod Touch more storage because it would've required more battery power and made it huge, I can't wait until they do. The classic is at least compatible with all of the existing iPod gadgets, so it will probably end up on my wish list.
Posted by criminal at 12:48 PM | Comments (0)
September 4, 2007
Early Bird
I'm discovering that waiting isn't always a good thing. The cheap (but totally hot) shoes I wanted to buy at Payless are apparently sold out in my size now. I should've snapped them up right away. My only recourse is that some Payless store out there somewhere could have them and I might be able to track them down before someone else snaps them up.
Wait! As I was looking at the site to snag a photo of said shoes, I discovered that they're now listed as in stock. They weren't at 11 p.m. last night, but now they are. Ohmigodimustorderthemrightnow. The shoe gods are smiling on me.
Posted by criminal at 2:23 PM | Comments (0)
King Me
We're finally upgrading to a king-size bed.
We've been talking about it for a while, but since our current mattress set is only four years old it was mostly talk. But with Jon's back trouble and our difficulty getting restful sleep, we decided to think about it more seriously. Since we can afford to fix the problem (our overly firm, bouncy queen-size bed), why not?
A few people recommended Select Comfort's Sleep Number beds to Jon, so I spent a couple hours checking them out on Saturday. They were surprisingly comfortable and totally adjustable, but I couldn't get over the feeling that I was on an air mattress. And what Jon could do to said air mattress with one nocturnal flip. The Tempur-Pedics were blissful, but I knew that Jon probably wouldn't be as comfortable on them as me. That left conventional mattresses, which I knew I would need Jon's help to pick out.
So I did some more research online and convinced Jon to go with me on Monday. We struck out at Bernie & Phyl's: the only mattress we liked there was over $5000 for a king-size set. We can afford a bed, but not that much bed. Jordan's was much better. We ended up choosing a Simmons Beautyrest that is very similar to the Heavenly Bed used at the Westin Hotels. Firm support but a heavenly plush pillow-top. It's being delivered next week and I can hardly wait to sleep in it.
Posted by criminal at 12:55 PM | Comments (0)