By 9 AM I wanted to punch someone. That was how psycho my clients were in the first hour. Fortunately, I’ve gotten all but one dumped.
The upside to the day - BABY DUCKS! Yes, we’ve got ducklings in the pond behind the office, and I just spent a good chunk of my lunch taking photographs. Can’t wait to get home and download them to see exactly how they turned out.
Other than that, I got nothin’…
How you doin’?
It’s 1 AM again, and I’m still up. I swear, I just looked at the clock and it was NOT that late.
I am SO glad tomorrow is Friday. It’s been a very draining week on all levels.
I don’t think I have anything going on this weekend. I hope not.
So, yeah, time to get some sleep so I can slog my way through tomorrow and then chill for a couple days. Niters, all.
Lovely. Seems that someone, somewhere is using my domain for spoofing return email addresses and now I’m getting the sender unknown crap, blah, blah, yada, yada…
Corn Fritters
Ingredients
Vegetable oil
4 cups Original Bisquick mix
1 cup cold water
2 eggs
2 cans (15.25 ounces each) whole kernel corn, drained
Instructions
Heat oil (2 to 3 inches) in deep fryer to 375°F. Stir Bisquick mix, cold water and eggs in large bowl with spoon until smooth. Stir in corn. Drop batter by small spoonfuls into hot oil. Turn and fry until evenly golden brown. Drain on paper towels.
Yield: 4 dozen fritters.
I’ve caused workplace drama, and I didn’t even have to sleep with anyone to do it. Background: March was a very good month for me, stats-wise. 388 calls, a complete fluke, but still, a good fluke to have occasionally. The next closest count was 246. I can’t say I do anything special, I just come in, do my thing and go home. April has been much more of a normal month.
Well, apparently coworker 1 told coworker 2 that there would be layoffs because I closed so many calls. (Totally in jest.) Coworker 2 ain’t the brightest and seems has taken her seriously. (Obviously NOT reading the emails the past 2 days on how GOOD the 1st quarter was…) Well, at least it’s gotten coworker 2 off her ass and taking more calls. Of course, knowing coworker 2, I may just end up having someone try to break my kneecaps in the parking lot.
Weather has gone back to nice - a bit chilly but sunny for a change. Oh, and the irony for the day - I looked at the azalea in the front yard, and it would seem that due to a bit of overzealous and too late in the season pruning, full bloom is still gonna have a lot of green patches, LOL. So, I’ll just stick with closeups of it. :-D
Got an email from a buddy at AT&T last night - Skip was one of my favorite people there. He’s a bit of an odd duck, whose hobbies include sailing, drinking and quantum physics. From what he’s saying, it sounds like he’s about ready to make time travel work. Thing is, I think he could do it. So, when he wins the Nobel Prize for Physics, I can say I knew him when he was just an AT&T puke.
A boring end, but check out the cash! (That and the fact I’ll be 101)
I’m tired. I should probably get myself to bed soon.
Played more with the camera this evening. Still no regrets over the purchase. :) Definitely need to get the larger memory card for it.
This is what sits on top of the hutch on my desk:
Speaking of owls - I heard them out back again last night. Love listening to them.
I am feeling so *blah* tonight. Must be the lack of sleep. Or perhaps lack of anything interesting going on. Today was just one of those medium gray days that doesn’t leave much of anything stuck in your head. Seriously, I am trying to think back to today and it’s just one large beige blob.
Oh, and we are having pics taken at work for the user conference. Seems the clients like being able to put a face w/the names and all that crap. After playing with the self portrait feature on the camera last night, a photograph of myself is the last thing on earth I want anywhere.
So, yes, sleep. Seeing as how I was up until 2AM Sunday night, and then 1AM last night, it’s probably a good idea to try that sleep thing *now* rather than 2 hours from now.
Tasha called in sick - at least she sent an email. Bev called in sick, but was online, and didn’t tell anyone, so my blood just boiled for the first hour while I tried to figure out why the hell she wasn’t taking calls. Quite a ride for the first hour. I did notice I was feeling less lost w/out Tasha there than last time she was out. I think I took less AP and bank rec calls. :)
I got the camera today. OMFG. Incredible. I love it. Worth every penny. (Except for the self portrait feature. Dear lord that is enough to scare a ghost. I look like holy hell. I will be wearing makeup to work tomorrow.)
Tim thinks I should go to Camp Jeep. I think not. (And for the record, not because I can’t go without him, it’s just not something I’d want to do on my own. There are plenty of things I can and would do on my own - this is just not one of them.)
For some weird reason, today seems better than yesterday on the Tim front. I don’t know why.
ESS still isn’t showing any bonuses yet, dammit. And DeLaski put out an email on how kick ass the quarter was. Show me the money, Ken.
Other than annoyed at the wait for the bonus, I’m feeling good tonight. And that’s nice.
No pics in this post, I promise. :)
Yeah, the camera was a good call. I’ve been playing with it all night. In going through the manual I discovered it can use plain AA batteries, they just don’t last as long as the ones in the recharger downstairs. OK, so I sacrificed some batteries so I didn’t have to wait.
There is a lot to be said for being able to take upwards of 100 pictures and just be able to delete the ones that are too dark/blurry/have my foot in them/whatever, and not feel like I’ve wasted a ton of money on film developing.
It has some silly cool features, too. You can add sound to still pictures. You can do mini movies. It has a self portrait feature. (That I am not terribly fond of at the moment. Nothing quite like irrefutable proof that you really can’t go without makeup anymore and must do something about that hair…and for the love of all that’s good and holy, get some sun…)
I really like the macro feature and once I get the hang of the flash, that will be even better.
Can’t do a whole lot with the zoom indoors, as I don’t have much need for a photo of the chair down the hallway, LOL.
But I still don’t quite know what I’m doing with it, LOL, as evidenced by picture #1:
But, the macro works:
Lighting isn’t the best, but the fact that I was right on top of the flowers and they came out like this pleases me no end.
And, Target prefers to be photographed in Black & White:
(seriously, when I had it set for normal color, he wouldn’t sit still.)
And a good one of Snoopy:
Still need to get the hang of all the settings but I really, really like it.
The camera arrived and now all I have to do is wait for the batteries to charge up - which I will readily admit is absolutely killing me.
The picture card on it is so tiny - as in I’m afraid I’ll sneeze and lose it tiny.
I’ve installed the photo editing software on the computer, it came w/ a USB cable so it looks like I won’t even need a card reader.
I’ve even been reading the manual. Yes, I am that big a dork.
Not. Tired as hell, which is no ones fault but my own, but that’s OK. I left on Friday with no open calls, so hey, that’s not so bad, right?
Get into the office - only one unassigned call and it’s on the west coast. So far, so good. Except for the fact that my other two coworkers that are on from 8 to 9 with me are out sick. So, in the course of an hour, I went from no calls, to struggling to keep my call count at a reasonable level. (Amazingly I am down to 2 from 5 earlier. I’m quite pleased with that.)
It’s raining out. But - rain and 60s is still WAY better than rain and 36 degrees.
My camera is on a truck somewhere in the local area.
I see a call in the queue from one of our *ahem* less experienced clients…subject: Get Rid of Files. That just doesn’t sound like it’s going to have a happy ending.
Oh, and I said it once and I think I’ll say it one more time: Happy Birthday
After procrastinating far longer than the task deserved, the housework is done.
Found a new comic today, Cat and Girl, thanks to
http://www.catandgirl.com/view.cgi?114
and
http://www.catandgirl.com/view.cgi?148
It’s insanely late, so off to bed.
So, I decided that since I was still so wiped out from last night, I might be better off w/ a short nap.
Wrong. All the little things that have been bugging me invaded my dreams, complete with annoying music.
Someone asked in another forum what vacation plans people had coming up for the summer… Mine would be a big fat nothing. Ton of vacation time and not a damn place to go or money to get there, LOL. The camera is my big splurge for the year. Fortunately, it’s not that I’m living check to check (thank god) but after taxes, bills, 401k, savings, tithing and having to eat, there isn’t exactly bucketloads of cash left. But I can’t say my story is that different from anyone else’s.
I’m nowhere near done with the housework that I need to tend to. Considering that it’s already near 9:00, it is looking like I’ll be managing the bare minimum and no more, especially considering that I just realized I need to make a run to the store for cat food & litter. Just what I wanted to add to the list of things to do.
According to UPS, my camera should arrive tomorrow. A shiny distraction is probably just what the doctor ordered for a while.
So, yeah, off to the store.
So - what icons do you have & why?
Default. Saw the original image on Yahoo one day and had to have it. Simple as that.
Calvin & Hobbes.
Have had this floating around my compute forever. Usually reserved for good news.
Jameson Clark
Album cover from a lesser known country singer that I really enjoy.
CatAir
Picture has been around the internet for some time, I’ve always liked it.
Hobbes
For when I’m feeling devious. Which isn’t much lately it seems.
Beaker
I made this one in my last job from hell. I also had a larger version of it as my desktop in the office. That was how everyone in corporate was - panicking Beaker types.
South Park
From the “build your own South Park character” website that I don’t have a link to anymore. Rarely used, but it is so me - even if my hair is shorter now.
All the following are my Get Fuzzy icons, that I’ve made myself:
Oh the Horror!
Kinda speaks for itself.
Bucky Thinking
Or hurting himself trying to think, I’m not sure which.
Bucky Music
Something just appealed to me in the image.
Too Cool
Because yeah, I am just too damn cool sometimes. Not.
Chillin’
Because, like Bucky, I like to come home and chill out with a cold one at the end of a long day.
Zen
Rarely used, mainly because I am not often in much of a Zen state.
Um, Well…
Usually used when I am not sure whether to cry or throw up.
Whap!!
I’d been looking for a good ticked off Bucky icon for a while, a strip came out a couple weeks back and, voila!
I’m just not quite ready to go back to work tomorrow. I’m still tired as hell from last night both physically and mentally and it’s put me in a rather unfortunate mood.
Bah.
Scanning through the fark.com headlines, there appears to be a bit of a spring fever thing going on…
Continuing his reign of terror naked man chases girls getting off school bus
Naked man leads police on high speed pursuit
Naked man crawling out of manhole surprises pedestrians
Naked man chases motorist to her house to protest that she had parked badly
Well, the first annual dinner for the DC Chapter of the Theodore Roosevelt Association went off quite well. I picked up a nifty piece of vintage advertising in the silent auction, the food was great and everyone seemed to have a very nice time.
I had $130 a glass cognac. (Please note that I did not actually pay for said cognac. It came with the dinner.) I have discovered that I just don’t much like cognac. I don’t hate it, but I don’t think I’d intentionally order it again now that I have had the insanely expensive stuff and it just didn’t do anything for me. (I figured the first time I had it, it was just cheap crap and that was why it didn’t seem so good.)
The Occidental Restaurant is really fantastic. And in glancing at their site, I just realized that I should not have had to pay for my parking. Dammit.
The house has degenerated into a complete disaster area, so I need to spend some quality time today wrestling it back under control. Bleah.
PSA - If you’re noticing some changes on LJ, the most recent post at
The handbag situation has been taken care of. No trips to Target needed.
The restaurant has valet parking after 6. Unfortunately, I have to be there *at* 6. If I drive, that would be cutting it a tad close, I think.
Metro & cab may be the way to go. But I’d have to leave Huntington at 5 PM. Which means getting out of here at 4:30 PM. Which means I should probably get off my ass and take a shower, or start the ironing, or something so I am not running around like the proverbial headless chicken.
I wish I knew where my best chances of getting a cab were. Maybe I’ll just say fuck it and drive and pray I get there right at 6. Of course, I could call the hotel…
Excellent - if I get there pre-valet time, they will tell me where I can park. So, it’s back to leaving a touch later. I should go clean out my car…
Damn, even in my dreams he’s being a jerk. Guess that means that subconsciously I know he’ll never change.
He went off to the national meeting, then came back for something and was all pissed off - I still don’t know what it was about, but hopefully by the time I get to the dinner tonight he’ll be in better spirits. At least when I got in the car there wasn’t an angry message on my cell, so that was a pleasant surprise.
Stopped at CVS and got some hair clips, so I should be good to go for this evening. Just a matter of getting cleaned up and ironing the outfit.
I have to be spot on perfect tonight.
I ordered the camera. I actually made the decision this morning on my way out the door to work. The azalea in my front yard is *just* starting to bloom. It’s about 5′ high and 4′ wide, and the blooms are a good 2 inches across and when it is in full bloom, it is gorgeous. Every year I say I am going to get photos of it. I looked at it this morning and thought, “dammit, I am not going to miss it AGAIN this year.” So, I should have it right around the time it is in full bloom. :-D
Short day today. End of busy party starts at 2:30. Thank god it’s Friday.
When I got to the hotel for the seminar, there were about 150 middle schoolers in the lobby.
I like kids. I’d like to have a couple of my own someday.
But, wow, that’s a LOT of 13/14 year olds running around…
It just occurred to me that I have lived in this house for over 10 years. Good lord, it’s like my feet are nailed to the ground here or something…
Spent the day in DC at a “customer service seminar” that was unfortunately, rather useless for us. 2 tracks of sessions to choose from, 1 more from a organization/management perspective and the other on a individual perspective. The second one looked pretty good - sort of a “how not to kill anyone and not feel like your head is going to explode” session.
It looked pretty good until the woman that was doing the presenting did her opening remarks. Talk about a freak show on wheels. Black hair with bad blonde highlights and a shirt that matched it. She looked more like she was going clubbing or hooking rather than going any kind of presentation… Her presentation style was very disturbing too - like one of the other gals from the office said - “it sounded like she was leading some kind of cult thing”. Her presence was just so distracting that I couldn’t even listen to what she was saying.
So, we all decided to stick w/ the sessions in track 1, sort of… Lots of people from the government there, including a lady named Hilda who well, I can see why her bosses sent her. We came to the conclusion that she wasn’t gonna be happy with work no matter what. I cringe for her customers.
Made it through the first 2 sessions, then lunch at Union Station, sort of - the place was mobbed, so we went over to Cap City Brewing and ate there. It ran a bit long and we missed the 3rd session. Oops. Then we sat through the 4th session and we all ended up ditching the 5th one and heading out. Even though we missed 2 of the 5 sessions - I can’t say we really “missed” anything given how little we got out of the other three. And they kept trying to sell us crap. I put that in the review that there was WAY too much selling going on.
Discovered how unnerved I now get on the Metro. Learned how to get to New Jersey Ave from Union Station. After a nice policeman pointed in the right direction - I am sure I looked like a total idiot tourist.
On the way home, ran into a gal on the M in a wheelchair heading for the airport, with a second wheelchair in tow. Damn impressive seeing her get about w/all that when I can barely handle a suitcase and a purse when necessary. I couldn’t help but stare at the second chair - finally asked about it, saying it looked to be a wicked cool piece of equipment - turns out it is for basketball. Thing was totally built to move. (I also apologized for staring at it, she said “It’s OK - it really IS a cool chair!” And it was.)
And why do I keep getting spam from dating services? I do not want to meet real singles online, thankyouverymuch.
I finally finished the section in my budget spreadsheet from hell that handles the estimated taxes to my liking. (Many iterations, none satisfactory to date.)
So, there’s the day. Aren’t you just green with envy? ;)
Fox Clocks in More “24,” “O.C.”
I’m not proud of it, but I *love* the OC. Total junk TV at it’s finest.
No fate but the fate you make for yourself.
