Looking back: 2011

I did this last year...it helps hold me accountable for the goals I've set for myself.  A lot changed for us in 2011.  Some of our highest highs and definitely our lowest lows.  So although I didn't do everything I resolved to do I am happy with the path my life is on...and the things we accomplished that were not on my list. 

Let's remind us what I wanted to change: 

Be better with birthdays
Lose weight
Read in the scriptures everyday
Find a new job
Do one random act of kindness for a stranger, once a month

And now for the Report Card: 

C: Be better with birthdays - Still not as good as I want to do...I am hoping that this new organization/planning idea I found in Pinterest will help me.  I love it when other people remember my birthday and I would love to be better at doing that for others.  

D: Lose weight  - Fail.  100%.  The truth is, losing weight is hard for me (damn PCOS).  We made some pretty big changes this year to our lifestyle  - we got (and used!) a gym membership (until we got Miles) cut out Diet Coke (seriously...and I'm still alive.  Amazing, yes?)...even after we got Miles I exercised (walking everyday with him) but still no weight loss.  It's frustrating to put in the effort in diet and exercise and see NO results.  I am going to have to learn to just be happy with the number on the tags in my clothes...and focus instead on staying healthy.  

C: Read in the scriptures everyday - I go through streaks where I will do awesome...and then not so awesome.  Once Miles came along we started reading to him from the children's versions of the scriptures every night...so that's a start. 

A+: Find a new job - I did.  I quit my horrible job in February and then in May I got hired by the best. boss. ever.  I don't even mind it when he throws up on me...that's how awesome he is.

B: Do one random act of kindness for a stranger, once a month - I missed a couple months...but then other months I did more than one.  I liked searching for opportunities for random kindness, especially when I was having a bad day.  Nothing like anonymous service to lift the spirits.  

No more Sunday Night Blues

Right now I'm chilling on the couch with my beloved and my fur baby...watching a little Extreme Makeover Home Edition.  You know the best part??  I have no pit in my stomach.  No Sunday Night Blues.  No dread over going to work tomorrow.  That tells me I made the right decision.  And what's even better?  My sweetie has tomorrow off!  So we're able to spend the day together and have a make-up day for our Ninth Wedding Anniversary...since our celebratory plans for that day were foiled by Snomageddon.  

Life is good.  

Oh, PS....

...I quit my job yesterday.  :) 

I have never really liked my job, even in the fall of 2009 when I was a temp...but I knew my employment there had an expiration date so I stuck it out.  When I got offered the position again this past May, I took it because I thought I'd only be there until mid-August when the twins would be born.  When that adoption failed I decided to stay and work until we were placed with a baby. (I never imagined we'd still be childless six months later)  As the months wore on I remembered just how much I disliked the job.  Crazy hours, the hour commute, working 6 days in a row...sometimes 7, working holidays (yep...even major ones like Christmas and Easter and Thanksgiving), all the drama, being called stupid, getting yelled at on an all-to-frequent basis...good times, right?  Um...no. 

I've been thinking about quitting for a couple months now...especially after the hellish month of December.  (Remember that one?  Where my boss told us just two days before Christmas that one of the four of us was being let go the first week of January??  Incidentally...no one was ever let go...it was a scare tactic)  I've weighed the pros and cons and debated back and forth...but could never quite come to a final decision.  I got in a yelling match with my supervisor and came home in tears twice last week...but even that didn't seal the deal on leaving.  You wanna know what did??  On Thursday night when we heard the news about that adoption situation falling through, my first thought was "Oh crap...that means I'm stuck at my job."  Yep...before I even thought "Oh crap...I'm not going to be a mom."  I quit the next morning.

Immobile

You know that handy reset button on a computer?  I wish I could have had one this week...or better yet, a fast forward button.  I had a rough couple days at work (oh ya, I got a job...it is the same company I worked for last fall.  A position opened up and they asked if I wanted to come back.  No where near my dream job, but hey...a job is a job, right?)..and then after a rough day at work I still had the hour and a half commute home.  Saturday came and things got worse.  I woke up to HORRIBLE pain and stiffness in my neck.  (My neck is stiff every morning...but today it felt like the day after my accident)  I've been through three rounds of a Flexeril/Lorotab cocktail and slept/rested/been drugged more hours than I've been awake...and I've only seen slight improvement.  Winston has been a cute little companion...he's enjoyed the two days of momma-snuggles.

I'm hoping this week goes better.

A Week in the Life

I started my job on Tuesday and I am not exaggerating in the least when I say it was an AWFUL day. It all started in the morning. I woke up and took a shower and only realized when I was getting dressed that I forgot to to shave my legs and I was wearing a skirt. Good thing I had stockings! Then I tried to peel my hard boiled egg for breakfast and the shell WOULD NOT come off. It messed up my egg (which by itself isn't bad, but just keep reading...) I had to be to work at 8:30 and MapQuest said it would take 25 mins. I wanted to make sure I was ontime so I left at 7:30. I figured it would be better to be early than late. Well, its a good thing I left early because I hit tons of traffic. I pulled into the parking lot at 8:25. I get upstairs and tell the receptionist I'm starting today. I got a perplexed look, she made a quick call and then asked me if I was in the right place...no one was expecting me. So I sat in the lobby for an hour while they straightened it out. Once I got where I needed to be it just got worse. The room where I work is a large closet (not really a closet, but pretty close) with no windows. There was a major crisis that morning so tensions were high and people were too busy catching up to really start training. I sat on a chair off to the side for an hour or so. I got to go to lunch, but not until way late and my blood sugar dropped pretty far...those of you who don't hang out with me on a regular basis need to know that when my blood sugar drops too low I get mean. Being in a new situation, I had to keep all that hostility bottled in. Let me tell you, that is healthy for the soul...not. After a day of feeling so lost and socially-restricted (did I mention I work in a closet?) I left. I hit even worse traffic going home. I left work at 5:00 and didn't get home until after 6:00. (commute count: 2 hours...yuck!) I get home and we have to take the dog out (which is my ...favorite... thing to do. ever.) and as we walk into the hall I ask Nathan "You got keys?" Ya, you know where this is going. I just broke. I fell to the floor (a.k.a. two year old tantrum) in the hallway of our building and started sobbing. Big, old aligator tears were streaming down my face. I immediately think that well have to call a locksmith to come unlock the door, and that will cost us a pretty penny. Nathan thinks to himself that he has a better idea...he decides to be SpiderMan and climb up our downstairs neighbor's balcony up onto our balcony and come in the apartment that way. Yep you read that right. Just for reference, here's a pic of our place, just so you can see the scene of insanity.


I couldn't watch him do it, because I knew I couldn't watch him fall to his death. I stayed in the hallway, crying when suddenly the door opened from the INSIDE...SpiderNathan's mission was successful!! I couldn't believe it!

We had a quick dinner, went to bed early so I couldn't use staying up late as an excuse to bag out on the job. Wednesday I went back, against my better judgment and I liked it. Today was even better! I have started getting to actually do the processes, which helps my time pass faster and helps me feel like I should be there. Working in the cave is taking some getting use to...not sure I'll ever fully enjoy it, but for now it's ok.

In other news, we got an offer on our house. It came only a couple days after we dropped the price AGAIN. The offer was another $5K below the new price AND they want us to pay their closing costs...we countered and hopefully we'll hear back soon.

My mom was here visiting last weekend that it was really nice having her around. In completely un-Holly form, I took no pictures. But much fun was had. I showed my mom that Sushi can be yummy, I helped her spoil me, we loved the fur kids, took Besta to the dog beach and just enjoyed spending some time together.

Well, I gotta head off to bed. I'm a working woman now. :)

News!!

I GOT A JOB!!!!!

This pic doesn't have anything to do with the job but I had throw it in because we're just so stinkin' cute.

It is only temporary, but hey, a job is a job! The contract is for 3-4 months...so I'm guessing I'll work 'til sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I'm not sure exactly what I'll be doing, but from what I was told it will be basic admin/clerical stuff. The hours are crazy...some days 6-2, some 8-5 and some 12-9. I can deal with that because you know what a job means???

Getting out of the house on a daily basis? Yes, but that's not it.
Conversation with other humans? Definite plus, but not the reason I'm looking for.
Money to pay the bills? Obvious plus, but still not the one.
Give up?



I can FINALLY buy curtains for our living room!!!!

Wanna see the ones I've been lusting after?

Auf Wiedersehen

Friday was my last day at my job. I have been counting down the days for months...not because I hated it but because I was just ready to move on and get going on the next phase of our lives. My replacement started on Monday and I spent the week training her...I hope she does well. She seems pretty bright...I hope she makes it through the summer. (summer=want to chop your head off...right Sam?). As I was saying my good-byes I got a bit teary a few times. The senior VP told me I was the best they ever had. :)

Britt did get me a pretty sweet cake. See:


Here is the little square of the world where I spent most of my waking hours the last three years. (See the pretty flowers? My mommy sent them to me)
I now have this week to sort, clean, play, sleep and bond with friends and family who we will soon be moving away from. Nathan is coming home on the 17th or 18th...I can't wait to see him.

Ummm...ok, cause that makes sense...

Yesterday the head chef walked out of the restaurant. His wife (who was the manager) had quit about a week ago, and he gave his 2 weeks last Friday but yesterday he got into a fight with one of the investors and he grabbed his recipie book and walked out.

This ought to be interesting. I am predicting that the restaurant will not be open in another month. It always frustrates me when 'upper management' (in this case the investors) think they know what's best when in reality they know jack squat. I fear for the quality of food - that was one thing we always had going for us - but now that the chef and his recipies are gone, I don't know...

So I think I'm going to quit today. I am tired of working two jobs anyway, and I just don't want to work for an organization like that.

Tipping 101

I have seen and heard quite a lit lately on the crazy American cultural custom of tipping.  Here is a story in a nearby paper where a server wrote a Letter to the Editor complaining about tipping.  He (maybe she) didn't put it into words the best and so got a slew of negative comments...  Erin (I went to HS with her) posted an entry on her blog about tipping the take-out guy/gal. And has more recently asked about tipping the bag boy.  I think overall, tipping has become such a mystery that we all just guess - and no offense, but most of you (us) fail. 

I work two jobs.  As my second I wait tables at a local restaurant.  I know it isn't glamorous, but I really like it.  I get to work in a fast-paced environment with fun people and great food.  Plus I get to walk away at the end of the night with cold hard cash, always a bonus.  

I am going to give you tipping advice - those of you who have been servers can vouch for what I'll say.  

If you go to a restaurant and you are satisfied with the outcome - food, service, etc. You should leave 20%.  If you feel like your server was awesome, leave a couple extra bucks.  Last night we went to Applebee's (I know, fancy shmancy huh??! -sarcasm-) and our bill only came to $29.  Our waitress was awesome.  So I left $8 - and I wrote on the ticket: "You were Awesome!"  Too often all the server hears is negative, so if I felt they were great, I'll tell them and so should you.  - But don't just tell them, show them in the form of a healthy tip!!    

Tipping etiquette dictates that you should NEVER leave less than 10%.  I would disagree, but only in certain circumstances.  If the server verbally insults you or one of your guests, or if they throw food at you, or if you place you order and then never see anyone again.   In instances such as these you should contact the manager.  If a server has behaved this way to you, chances are they have behaved that way to someone else and they should no longer be working there.   If you just leave a cheap tip or leave no tip, they will just think you were there the problem, not them.  We as servers don't know if the 10% tip is because we totally forgot to get you something or if you are just plain cheap.  

I often feel like patrons at our restaurant (which is defiantly a step - if not many - above Applebees btw) are looking for reasons to lower their server's tip.  One of my brothers has so wisely put it: My glass is their tip gauge, if it gets empty, they get no tip.  Not refilling drinks is a horrible thing, as is forgetting customer requests, bad food, slow service, etc...but you as a guest need to look a bit further than your overly tight wallet when deciding what to tip.  

When you don't get that refill right away, is it because your server is lazy or because you gulped it down in 20 seconds.  Is it your first refill or your twelfth? (we have more to do than to be soley responsible for you draining the world's supply of Mountain Dew)  And often, some specialty drinks (flavored lemonades for example) are not refillable, or get only one refill.  When in doubt - ask.  

If your food was bad, chances are your server will have no fault.  Yes, we do occasionally put in the wrong order, but if your steak wasn't cooked right, we aren't the ones over the grill, and we don't cut into it before we bring it to you to check it's doneness... That is why we check back to see if it's ok.  Don't hesitate to tell us it is wrong...well, maybe hesitate.  If you ordered it Medium Rare and you're mad it is red in the middle, that's not anyone's fault but yours.  If we walk back to the kitchen with a Medium Rare steak and tell them you want it well done, you can bet the cooks will be pissed.   And pissed off cooks are NEVER good...trust me.  If we do something wrong with the food we should catch it right away...I do...and fix it before you ever even see it. 

A server should make their table feel like they are the only table in the restaurant, but sometimes this is just logistically impossible.  On Thursday I got double-sat.  Hostesses are supposed to sit you one table at a time to ensure good service, but sometimes they don't, for whatever reason (some of them are just retarded).  If you get more than one table at a time it is called getting double- or triple-sat.  So back to Thursday, I was taking the order from my first table as I noticed I was getting a second one sat.  I smiled at the second table with a 'Be there in one minute look' and finished the first.  I went to the second table and greeted them.  They had lots of questions about menu items, and they wanted to order right then.  It took about 7-8 minutes.   When I walked away from their table a guy at table one (they are right next to each other) flagged me and said "Excuse me mam, where are our drinks?"  I wanted to STRANGLE him...I had been standing not 3 feet from him for that ENTIRE 8 minutes taking an order...and he had seen me because I had made eye contact with him several times.  I hurried to the bar and grabbed their drinks and took them out.  He was ticked for the rest of the night and only left me $5 on an $80 bill.  The motto?  If you don't get something right away - look around.  Is your server taking an order?  carrying out food to another table?  (in the land of a server, hot food take priority above EVERYTHING...because we don't want the cooks pissed at us either)  And if you can't see them, it doesn't mean they are in the back playing poker...we are probably refilling your drinks, cutting bread, traying food, making salads or chasing down some ridiculous request of another guest (or maybe even your ridiculous request) 

As a server, once all my tables have gone for the night I am assigned SideWork (SW) to do before I can go home.  SW varies from restaurant to restaurant but every place has it.  We have to polish all the silverware before we go home.  This may not seem like much until you think that each restaurant guest uses at a minimum 3 pieces of silverware: Salad fork/soup spoon, dinner fork and butter knife.  You add into that steak knives, crab forks & crackers, bread knives, pasta spoons, dessert forks/spoons, etc.   Times that by hundreds of guests and you have a whole boatload of silverware.  We also must fold 100 napkins each...not just any fold either, a cute little silverware envelope contraption.   The rest of the SW includes: taking out the trash, taking out the linen bags, sweeping, mopping, cutting lemons & limes and wrapping them for the next day,  cleaning breadboards, wiping down large and small trays, disassembling the soda fountain and cleaning all nozzles, refilling ketchups, steak sauces, salt & pepper shakers and oil & vinegar bottles.  Refilling sweetner caddies, consolidating water/soda glasses, filling trays of ramekins with butter & sour cream, organizing and putting away all the polished silverware, wiping down countless walls, counters, racks, etc.   The kicker is that while we do this we are getting paid $2.13 an hour.  

My philosophy on tipping is this: If you are ever debating on how much to leave.  ROUND UP.  The extra $1-2 won't break you, but it will make the server's night.   Also, when you are factoring the tip, think of all the special requests you and members of your group made.  Did you require things that were not on the menu?  extra sauces?  an exorbitant amount of refills on your soda?  special things for your kids?  - make sure you compensate your server.  Oh, and just a friendly piece of advice, you get the best service and food outside the dinner rush (6pm-8pm).  

As far as takeout goes, I think it doesn't hurt to leave $1-2 bucks if the order is for a few entrees - especially if you asked for things on the side or extra anything.  Once again, the extra $1-2 won't break you but it will make their night.  

Bag boys are another story.  Those of you on military bases (at least the ones in VA and RI) should tip your baggers because they are not paid a wage.  But here in 'civilian-land' they are paid...so I wouldn't tip them - except if it is pouring rain or snowing and you want them to come cram 2 carts of groceries into your car...or right before Christmas, slip the kid a $5...make his day. 

Bottom line: Don't be cheap.  And maybe even cheesier...think What Would Jesus Do and leave the extra $2.   

Receptionist's Day!

Our Crusher Foreman comes walking in today and says he heard on the radio it was National Receptionist's Day, asks me if I am a receptionist and I say yes and he hands me a pack of Oreos! :) What a sweet guy!!

So I went online and sure enough - today (second Wednesday in May) is Receptionist's Day. I saw one website call us (receptionists) Director of First Impressions, I like that title and I think I might use it on future resumes.

So Happy Receptionist's Day to all my fellow Directors of First Impressions!

That was NOT in the job description

I noticed the date today (not that I don't notice it everyday) and it occurred to me that I have been gone from the Chamber for 2 years.  I got all nostalgic and my memory wandered to the many odd tasks I had been asked to do over the years.  Data entry while being 'grounded' to my desk is bad but I have been asked to do worse.  

When we moved to RI I contacted a temp agency to help me find a job.  I was assigned one and I showed up on Monday the following week.  The second day I worked I was asked by my boss to remove all the drapes from the windows in the building and then hang the new ones - after ironing them of course.  So there I was all dressed up an standing over an iron...

It got me thinking - what are some of the most outrageous things your past (or present) bosses have asked you to do?

...more later...

...so the later came a little later than I intended, and quite a bit longer than I thought, but ah well... (I will still love you if you don't read it)

So, where did I leave off?  Oh yes, the week of hell... Lets start with the physical, it is a little less complicated.  I woke up Tuesday with a stiff neck, I thought I had slept on it weird and that it would just go away...but it didn't.  It got worse by the end of the day (stress at work likely a contributing factor...keep reading for the details) and after a shift - albeit a short one - at work I knew something was wrong.  I came home from waiting tables, took some pain killers and went to sleep.   Wednesday when I woke up it was worse, I could barely move my neck at all.  I made an appt with a chiropractor and went in over my lunch.  I had two bones in my neck that had slipped out of place - one in each direction - and it felt a little better once they were popped back into place.   Thursday morning when the alarm went off I couldn't even get out of bed to turn it off.  Nathan called into work for me because I couldn't get up and I spent the day in bed flat on my back except for my trip to the Chiropractor.  Friday went ok...I walked like a penguin most of the day and Sat came and went with a bad night at the restaurant and Sunday morning brought me the worst pain yet.   I went to the chiropractor again today and he said that waiting tables is putting stress on my neck and back and I need to be careful because I am on the verge of causing a permanent injury.  Now don't get me wrong...I LOVE having my neck snapped back and forth and all...I just don't love shelling out $20 a pop for the co-pay...at this rate I'll be working the restaurant just to pay for the spinal adjustments for the pain and injury I incur while working at the restaurant...does that seem like flawed logic to anyone else??!?

Ok, now for emotional.  So Tuesday I was already not feeling well (neck) and so when my boss came down on me for something that I was 'not doing' (but in reality I was doing,  apparently just not fast enough for The Giver) I fell apart.  (Readers Digest Version: I had been asked -about 2 weeks ago - to input the data from about 400 or so sheets of inventory.  When I had been given them I told The Giver I would never be able to finish them on time - it was just too much for me to physically do...well Tuesday the boss came out because he had the 'distinct impression' I had ben told not to do it by someone else and was mad because it wasn't done.)  I had heard stories from many others who work there about his tirades and I had just thought them exaggeration until one of the said tirades was directed at me...it was the first one I had seen in over a year of working there.   After 'the incident' just kept to myself and worked non-stop on the inventory, putting off everything else.  In fact everyone was told to stay away from me and not to give me anything to do until I had finished.  (I am still not done.  I still have about 130 sheets to go...they were supposed to be done last Friday...it does give me some satisfaction that I was right about not having them finished...even though the last week has SUCKED because all I have done is data entry...and that is all I will be doing this week too...yippee)   Then on Wednesday (neck worse) my boss came out and said he was getting the idea that I wasn't happy with him and then he said: "Haven't you learned yet that what I say goes?"  Word.For.Word.  There was also something about how I should never question what he says to do.  This is when the stubborn streak in me prevailed...I was not going to let him think I was mad because he told me to do something...I told him that I was mad because I HAD been working on the inventory and that I had told The Giver (who incidentally happens to be my boss' son) that I wouldn't be done when he wanted and that I would need help.  When he (boss man) heard this (although it took me several attempts to get it all out because he kept cutting me off...and by the end I was crying) he mumbled something, rolled his eyes and walked away.   I couldn't function.  One of the other guys I worked with (lets call him Joe) walked out just then and all I had to do was see him and I started crying.  He told me there is 'no crying in construction' (nice League of Their Own reference on his part) and smiled at me with one of those "I've been there" smiles.  Joe just happens to be dating a girl in the office (lets call her Suzie) and within moments of him walking away Suzie comes up (he must have clued her in) and sees the mess I'm making of myself and asks what happened.  I relay the info in-between hysterical sobs and she tells me to go take a breather.  I went to my car and cried uncontrollably for 10 minutes.  Now you may be thinking 'Man, she is overreacting' but you have to take into consideration all the extenuating circumstances...the hurt neck, the stress of getting yelled at, hormones I had been on for PCOS, and the impending major life change(?) of a move (?).    

Then comes Saturday.  I had asked about the manager opening at the restaurant and had been told they weren't going to fill it...well they did.  And yep, it is not me.  Add to that the BIGGEST JERK I have ever waited on or met IN.MY.LIFE.  and the neck pain and you get one hell of a shift.  

So that's where I'm at today.  Lets review shall we:

-I am 'grounded' to my desk with the never-ending inventory pile.  

-My neck is staging a revolution against working two jobs.

-We still don't know where we'll be in four weeks.

-I haven't slept a solid 2 or more hours in over a week.  

Pretty good for a Monday.  

Do you ever wonder...

...did I unknowingly break a WHOLE box of mirrors???  I seem to have some of the worst luck... 

I mean, it has been three and a half years of trying for a baby and we have yet to have a pregnancy go past 8-9 weeks.   We have had roughly 40 shots at getting a baby and we have ended up with zip... Not to mention we've lost more than one friend over the uncomfortableness of our infertility...

We buy a great house that turns out to be in a HORRIBLE neighborhood.  We have a congregation at church that could really care less that we inhabit said house....in fact when we move I don't think anyone will even notice. 

We have owned four cats since we've been married (well, anyone who has a cat knows you don't own it, it owns you)...and two of them have died...that's 50% chance of survival for the poor things that choose to let us own them...

And at work I seem to get all the bum-deals.  I had a party of 14 that had a reservation for 5:30...well they didn't show.  No big deal, right??  WRONG!  We cannot sit anyone at those tables for 1.5 hours before the reservation to make sure they are vacant and so I got no one... then I had one table tonight leave me $60 to pay for their $58.77 dinner and my tip...  ??? ...add a few 10% tips and at the end of the night I ended up walking with $45.  Which is great, but not when other servers are walking with $150.   And I did good the whole night - I didn't screw up orders or forget to refill drinks or anything...I just got the bottom of the barrel tonight (except for my brother and his cute wife)

So this whole thing leads me to wonder if I broke a whole box of mirrors at some point, you know, to explain the slew of bad luck I've had...

Liar, Liar pants on fire

In my job as a receptionist I have the wonderful opportunity to speak with several telemarketers a day. I have put our numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry but apparently this does not apply to businesses... grrr. On average I would say I get between 15-25 calls a day from said telemarketers and as of late their 'entry line' is getting more and more creative. I still get the "Can I please speak to the person in charge of ordering supplies?" or "Can I please speak to the Office Manager" - in which case I kindly transfer them to a voicemail set up that goes like this: "Thank you for contacting ---- Construction Company. We do not accept solicitation over the phone. You may leave information on your product or service on this voicemail and if we determine it is something that would be of use to our company we will contact you."

Now I have no problem with them normally - I understand they are a business and they need to make money, blah, blah... I do hate the phone calls asking us to renew someone's free subscription to (----fill in one of many titles here---) magazine - of which I get at least 3-4 a day. However, I recieved two calls today that caused me to ponder if these companies crossing the line of honesty. This is how the first one went: (Names have been changed to protect the innocent, and the guilty)

Me: Joe Shmoe Construction, how can I help you?
TM: Can I please speak to whomever is in charge of maintenance at your facility? I forgot his name.
Me: Maintenance of equipment?
TM: No, the grounds.
Me: The grounds? At which location (we have 6)
TM: The ------, -- location (conveniently, the city where our PO box is...) I spoke with him earlier but I have forgotten his name.
Me: Earlier today?
TM: No, earlier.
Me: We don't really have someone in charge of maintaining the grounds, what specifically were you looking for so I can get you to the right person?
TM: Flooring. He called me asking a question about flooring and I am getting back in touch with him.

Now at this point I KNOW they are not being honest with me, but my Ms. Manners brain doesn't let me scream "Liar, Liar" into the phone... so I transferred him to someone who I knew would be honest with them and -not too politley- ask them never to call again.

Here is number two:

Me: Joe Schmoe Construction how can I help you?
TM: Can I please speak with Susan? (Now Susan is the president but she's kinda like the Queen of England - she has the title but doesn't have much power...in fact, she only comes in the office once a week to sign payroll)
Me: She doesn't work here in the office, is there someone else that can help you?
TM: Well, this is Stan from XYZ Aquisitions and I sent her an e-mail yesterday and I was just following up to see if she had received it. (Ok, liar liar... she doesn't have company e-mail...lets see how far this kid's nose can grow) Is there another number where I could reach her?
Me: She is home most days - she only usually comes in once a week.
TM: Oh. Well can you check to see if she recieved the e-mail I sent her?
Me: She doesn't have company e-mail (ha, ha, the jig is up!). Is there someone else who can help you?

The conversation goes downhill now - he knows he has been caught and he knows that I know...I forward him to someone I know is gone today and tell him he'll have to leave a voicemail.

Does it bother anyone else that they are getting a little shady now?? Joy (link to her blog on side) tells of an experience where someone actually claimed to be her brother and was calling asking for money...the funny thing is that she is american and she is living in Taiwan...and the man who called was Taiwanese...

Winds of change

As you hopefully noticed, I changed the look of the blog...and added some sound :) If you don't want the sound or want to change the song, you can just click 'Pause' or click on the song you want to hear. Kinda cool huh??

I have just felt so stagnant lately, on my blog and in my life, so I needed a bit of a change.

Work is still going good...it sucks to have to work two jobs though. I rarely have time to do something for myself. I am hoping I can get my 'second wind' this week and be able to better use my nights at home. I bought some fabric at Joanns and plan on making me some skirts (thanks Janus!)...if they turn out ok, I'll post some pictures. :)


So, what do you think of the new look/sound??

Wiped out

Yep, you saw the posting time correct...11:48pm...I walked in the door from work about 20 minutes ago, started a load of laundry, took a shower and ate a can of Mandarin Oranges (which is pretty much all I have eaten today except candy at work)

Having two jobs is wicked hard, but works out good because Nathan quit the grocey store on Saturday ... The thing that sucks is that this job was supposed to be for $$ for my Mustang and to pay off debt, but now it will be so our house doesn't get taken away. STRESSFULL...

Anyway, I just wanted to check in, let you know I have made it half-way through my first 'Double Full Time Jobs' week.

A job, a job....I got a job!

SUPER EXCITING NEWS BELOW:


So I have known that I really needed to pick up a second job for a while...and I have looked and applied at Walmart and Home Depot and Lowes and Smiths, etc...but then a friend of mine (I love you Cas!), her dad is building this new building and it is going to be a restaurant...so I get a number from my friend's little sister and I called today (I know Cas, I was going to do it earlier...but oh well) on my lunch break...Susan (owner...along with hubby) said they were pretty full, but she didn't know for sure so please stop in and see her. So I went by after I got off work, and she talked to me for only TWO minutes and then said they had an opening for someone Mon and Tue evenings...do I want it?? So I stayed and did the training which happened to be that night and I think I am going to LOVE it there. The restaurant is upscale, the owners have ran restaurants before and they really seem to care about their people... so I have more training on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday...Friends and Family night on Thursday, VIP dinner on Saturday and then BAM right into the fire, we go live on Monday the 29th!

I am just SOOOO excited right now I can hardly wait! I served before and loved it so I am hoping this will be fun too - I stand to make significantly more money than my last serving job so that will be good too :)

Well I need to go take my drugs, get a quick bite to eat and get to bed!


The only bad thing about all of this is that I missed Grey's tonight! :(

:::rant:::

So I have been a slacker and have not updated in a while...sorry :(

Ya know how sometimes you meet people for the first time and you just get a feeling and you just don't like them? One of the girls who still works at the baby store is like that...anyway...she tried to tell me she knew ALL about what we were going through...although she had only tried for 1/2 as long...I am supposed to work at the baby store on Sat for the new guy - (it is his anniversary) and I realized this past weekend that the 17th (this Sat) is the year mark of when we lost our baby :( So the last place I'll really want to be on that anniversary is at a baby store. So I asked him if he could see if Feelings Girl to work for him instead. Well she threw a temper tantrum and demanded that I work for her the following Saturday and owe her one more....I'm thinking to myself...Um...you are not working for ME, honey...you're working for the new guy...HE should owe you not me...psycho. So I don't want to have her thinking that "Holly totally owes me" so I am just going to suck it up, take some Prozac and work Saturday.

Oh, did I mention that Feelings Girl is pregnant? Only like 10 weeks, but when she was 6 she was blabbing it to everyone...even customers. When she had her first ultrasound, she came in and asked me if it bothered me when other women talked about having babies, etc around me. I told her it didn't as long as they were not totally callous towards my feelings....well she proceeds to pull out her ultrasound and just go off on how great it is to be pregnant, etc...saying ALL the wrong stuff like "You just need to relax, that's what we did" or "Don't worry, you'll get your own someday"....ggrrrrrrr....

Now I have other friends who are good at the whole thing...they are happy for themselves but still aware that it might be painful for me so they are just nice about it...and man I wish they could teach classes to everyone on how to act because I KNOW I am not the only woman going through this out there!

Its like my other friend who started trying for a baby last spring and will have her baby this spring...she has this long sob story about how it took them so long...3 months?!? There are a TON of women who would KILL to only have to wait 3 months to get pregnant. And she then tells me she's pregnant through a mass e-mail. If she supposedly knows how hard it is to watch everyone around you get pregnant, and she didn't want me to have hard/mean feelings towards her when she got pregnant, couldn't she have at least sent me a separate e-mail, or called?!?

Sorry for the long rant...I have just been touchy, feely on the whole baby thing this past couple days. :(

...right??

The new job is going better...it helps that I work with some of the nicest people around... :) I have adjusted ok to the 'dress code'...hehe...I wear jeans, but usually with stilettos and LOTS of bangle jewelry...

I started thinking about something and wondered if anyone else has had this experience as well...if so, please share.

While job searching, I had several interviews where I never heard ANYTHING back...obviously I didn't et the jobs, but even a "Hey, sorry we thought you really sucked and we went with someone else" phone call would be nice...am I wrong?? I think if you take the time to go in and interview with a company they should at least have the courtesy and respect to let you know, even if they didn't pick you...right?

...lucky...lucky...lucky...

Not sure how many of you caught the Chargers-Patriots game on Sunday...but if you did you would have to agree that the Pats are LUCKY...they really should have lost that game...BUT, then you get down in the 4th quarter, behind in the score and you got Ice Man on your team so I shouldn't have worried...but I did, and Nathan didn't think they could pull it out... but I had faith in my guys and they did it...now it is on to the Colts this Sunday...this could be interesting...seeing as how the only points the Colts scored in their game on Sunday came from their kicker Adam V...who used to play for the Pats...that could make for some fun game chemistry on Sunday...

The new job is going ok, it is always a bit of an adjustment when you start something new...and I am ok. I cried earlier this week...I just felt so useless...I used to have a job where I was important, I planned big events, did financial stuff....HUNDREDS of people knew who I was...now I am just the 'Front Desk'....I feel like I got demoted :(

I am excited about a new gadget I recently acquired...it is the COOLEST candle warmer...it is a little lamp and it heats from the top...so you don't have to wait for the entire candle to melt before you get the fragrance...you get it within minutes! Here is a picture of it:

It is amazing what a little emotional shopping can do for your moods.