Some Things

1.  I have discovered where the smell is coming from that makes me hate my basement.  It's coming from the laundry room.  I don't know what's causing it yet, but the door was shut for awhile and blocked by a towel and I found I that the smell has dissipated and I didn't want to gag when going into the basement.  When I opened to door to do the laundry I almost fell over with the power of the smell.  So good news is that I can shut the door and enjoy the basement, bad news is that I still have to do laundry!  Oh the horror.

2.  I went to a seminar yesterday.  The key phrase there is that "I went".  That in itself is an accomplishment.  I got out of the house and actually did something!  My outlook thanks me and I'm sure my paycheck will too.

3.  But really, about the seminar.  It was good.  It was inspiring.  It was a motivational seminar designed to not make our work better but to make us better as people in all aspects of our lives.  If we are better people then better work will  naturally follow.  It was filled with phrases like "Humility is the pathway to power"; "Insight changes eyesight", "Our life follows our language" and my favorite "I am a human becoming not a human being".  It was good food for thought.  Glad I went.

4.  With the discovery of the origins of the "bad smell" I might just end up moving my office back down stairs.  I really should put quotes around "office" because it's kind of a joke. It's just the laptop.  I wouldn't mind my ergonomically correct office chair back though.  So much better than a stool.

5.  I crafted.  Crazy huh.  I haven't felt like doing that in months!  But I started and I enjoyed it!  I made a wreath for the front door, Fall signs to hang from my banister and a pretty good start on Christmas cards.  I figure when you're in the zone just keep going.  It felt good, but now I have to clean up the mess it made on the kitchen table.  Sadly I don't seem to be discovering a "zone" for that yet.

May your day be lovely.

To Tweet or not to Tweet...

Because when I make a decision, things get thrown out of whack. 

Remember when I told you I was going to do Write Words Weekend every Wednesday?  Well wouldn't you know it as soon as I commit then something happens.  She's taking this weekend off.  What's the deal with that.  So I have a question for all of you wonderful people out there.

Twitter.

1. Do you use it?  Why or why not?
2. Do you like it?  Why or why not?
3. What do you do with it?

I'm going to start my own Twitter account not because I'm oh so into it, but because I need to research it out for work to see if it's something that would be right for Dining Services.  I myself have never used it. I just created a profile and it took me way too long to even get the stupid picture to upload.  So I need some feeback from those of you who have or haven't and your thoughts on it.

Help!!!

An Update of Sorts

There are a few significant factors that have come into play today that I feel are worthy of mention.

1.  Today is the official 1 month mark for having shaken off the shackles of the regular desk job and joined the realms of part-time at home workers.  I do spend enough time in the office on Wednesdays though to still keep in touch with things while enjoying the freedom of doing laundry on a whim.

2.  We are officially in the first stages of IVF.  That being said we are on birth control.  What a crazy life huh! Fertility that starts out on birth control.  As a humorous side note, the nurse asked me if I had a preference on which birth control to use.  I said "what is this birth control you speak of." She laughed and said "yeah, we get that a lot."  Injections of drugs scheduled to start April 29th and full cycle completed before Memorial Day.  Phew!

3.  While enjoying the luxuries such as free lunch at the office yesterday, a co-worker came in and said "now that you are at home... insert ominous pause... I have a kitten that has your name on it!"  So for all of you cat owners out there, give me the scoop. I haven't officially said yes to this, but am considering it.  Talk to me about litter boxes and cat hair.  Pros and cons.  How do you deal?  As a child I used to sneak kittens into my room all the time, as the person who has to clean the house... 'nother story.  As a person in the house alone most of the day (who doesn't really have a problem with that but...) Talk to me.

That's it for now, though on a side note I did the aerobics class again today and I'm now having trouble going up or down the stairs!  Should be a fun weekend recovering from this one!

Have a fabulous Thursday!

The Now

Image clearly borrowed from shutterstock.

Yesterday I sat at a restaurant by myself.  I took a full hour to enjoy my meal.  I savored every bite.  Till the point that some of it was cold but that didn't matter, I still enjoyed the flavor.  I took a book and enjoyed the moment. I even had dessert. The waitress was surprised. I guess no one has dessert for lunch... or at least no one but me did that day. I enjoyed every bite of it too. Usually I am in such a hurry that the flavors blend together and I'm not really even sure what I ate or how fast I ate it.

I can't enjoy life that way.

I have been woefully absent from the blogosphere of late.  I have had a few things to figure out.  Some discoveries to make.

1.  I need a schedule.  No matter how much I would like to throw caution to the wind and live for the here and now, I need a plan for the day, even for the week sometimes.  When I have an idea of when things are going to get done, then I can relax and enjoy the present.

2.  Making my own lunch has really thrown off my groove.  For the last 4.5 years I could go to the Hub, Marketplace, Skyroom, Quadside, or Junction and get whatever it is my taste buds felt like that day.  Now I have one more thing to plan and winging it is not working so well.

3.  The non-separation of the work computer from the home computer strangely limits my natural desire to blog, or really do anything "personal" on the computer.  I still have several topics waiting in the wings, I just haven't felt like actually writing.  I am kind of disturbed by this revelation.  It goes against my commitment to moderation as well as taking care of that need to express myself.

4.  Despite the fact that I work from home now and have "more time on my hands" I have learned that I can't say yes to everything that is asked.  I still have to take charge of my life and not be tossed about with every whim or request.

5.  Moving forward with our infertility options is scaring me right now.  I've never been good with needles and there will be a lot with IVF.  A lot that I have to give myself.  I'm scared of the effects of the hormones and exceptionally strong fertility drugs and all that things that could go wrong with it.  I'm scared of the fact that it might not work either.  So I'm taking a bit longer than I thought to "dive in" to it.  I want to enjoy my sanity a little while before I lose it completely.

Now, there's a lot in there that needs a "Toughen up there cupcake!" and that's okay.  I'm working on it.  But for the last 4 years or so these are things that I have not had time in the day to deal with.  They have haunted me at night, or in the wee small hours of the morning.  Now I have a little more time on my hands and things that have been buried by busyness are now coming to the front lines.  And that's okay.  Sometimes it really is the little things that do the most damage, and now is the time to deal with them.

So like my dessert yesterday, I plan on enjoying this time.  Figuring things out and savoring the moments both good and bad.  The good because they give me something to hold on to during the bad.  The bad because that's usually when I learn the most about the changes I need to make.  Both help me move forward.

What I Like About This

"This" being this stay at home thing.

1. eating breakfast with David
2. exercising not at 5 am but more like 10:30
3. running errands during the day
4. eating lunch with David
5. doing laundry while things are downloading from work
6. music as lound or as quiet as I want it
7. the phone doesn't ring
8. jeans
9. slippers
10. not hauling a laptop around in my bag
11. making my own schedule
12. lunch with friends without the hassle of leaving campus
13. the sun streaming into my window
14. the ability to drop everything and take pictures

There are things I miss about the office too.

1. my friends there
2. my friends there
3. breakfast burritos in the morning
4. my friend there

That about sums it up.

Change: The First

Well, I did say that 2011 would be one of change.  One of moderation.  So here's the first.

I quit my job.  Okay, not really, just the full time part. Yikes right!

David and I did some serious thinking over the weekend and discussed such things as quality of life, ability to support one another, what we want instead of what we have defaulted to, those kind of things.  So after much thought, prayer, and the use of the magic 8 ball, we decided that it would be a good idea for me to go to part time status and see about working from home.  (just kidding about the magic 8 ball though it would come in handy sometimes.)

The extra good news is that it's kind of a phase-in/out process.  I will continue on full-time through February and then start part time hours in March.  I can use my vacation time to go towards making up the hours so in all reality we'll be getting a full-time paycheck for a few months after I go to part-time. Can you think of anything better!?! Working part time, paid in full.  Yep, I'm excited.

The extra extra good news is that my boss/bosses/co-workers are in full support of my decision and are just awesome!  And because they are so awesome the things that I love most about my job are the things I get to keep. And they are things that can easily be done from home.  Cool huh!

Yep, it's starting out to be a pretty good year.

What do you do when you're all alone?

Today I am alone in the office.  And by alone, I mean alone.  No boss, no co-workers, no other office mates who don't report to the same person.  If you listen closely enough and hold your breath you may even hear crickets.

So what do I do?

For starters I walked in, flipped on the lights, and yelled "Hello".  No one answered.  Which is good because if someone had I would have freaked out!

Next step was to get the computer up and running and put on the musical selection of my choice brought to me by Pandora... no office should be without it.  It's kind of a random mix too.  Everything from Chris LeDoux, to Broadway hits, to Inspirational sounds, and a little bit of Blue October thrown in the mix.  It makes me happy.  Best part: if I feel like singing out loud I can!

Then I sit and ponder what is to be done today.  Ponder ponder ponder.  "two people on vacation... one herding cows with family... one out with the army... I wonder if I could have gotten away with a hat today... why did I wear this* shirt!... crap someone is coming in the office, quick do something... why do I have "Downtown**" running through my head?"

Then naturally I write it all down in a blog post because that's what good employees do?  Hmm.  Maybe I should do some work.

Wishing you all a lovely, productive day

*This shirt refers to the fact that I wore have a button up shirt tucked in and it's just a bit too short to not come untucked whenever I do such things and pick up a pen or breathe.

** Downtown, where all the people are. Downtown where all the shmuh shmuh... Downtown.

It Pays to Have Amy Friends...

... and their daughters.

Daughter of said Amy brought this in to work today.  She said I could borrow it to get me through the week.

on the back it says...

"Powerful Stress Relief"

"I dedicate this candle

to you that I may enjoy

immediate relief of the

stress of the everyday pressures of life.

Through your great power allow me to

juggle my responsibilities with a minimum

of anxiety medication.  Help me focus

on what is most important and keep my

blood pressure within normal levels.

Keep my path clear of drama queens;

manic depressives, and emotional

vampires.

And with the most fervent

desire of my soul I ask that I be allowed

a day off OCCASIONALLY.

Amen."

Directions for use:

"place candle on yoga mat and light.  Contemplate your navel while repeating the prayer every time the phone rings.  In extreme cases, repeat prayer continuously while programming your massage therapist, psychiatrist, and pharmacy on speed dial.  Good luck!"

Enough said.

Silver Linings

Do you ever feel like this?  The world, your problems, your particular situation is just too big.  Well, there are always silver linings.  Always.

Let me tell you a story about my friend Amy, who is my sole salvation at work, and her lovely family.  A couple of weeks ago life was crazy as usual.  Only on this particular Saturday one curve ball after another was thrown at her.  Her teenage son was having a dinner party for Homecoming at her house.  She was to be the cook because she is marvelous at it and is willing and is generally a good mom like that. 

So being the good mom who also knows her boundaries, she ordered some side dishes from work because she is also smart like that.

Her day started roughly at midnight the Friday night leading to Saturday.  It started because she realized that there was a final count due for an event on Saturday that she never received.  It's one of those things that if not checked on then you could potentially throw both staff and chef's "under the bus" so to speak.  So up she gets and logs onto her email at work to find the very message she was looking for giving a count change to 250 box lunches to be delivered at 11:30.

She kindly waits until 6:00 or so to text this information to the involved parties.  But you know how it is sometimes... You know you can't do anything until 6 but that doesn't stop you from worrying about it the entire rest of the night.  Yeah, it wasn't that restful for her.  But 6 rolls around and everything is taken care of.

At approximately 11:25 she drops in to the kitchen to pick up the items she has ordered from Chefland.  While there she sees a staff member wrapping cookies.  She says "Hey staff member, why are you wrapping cookies?"  Staff member says "This is stupid and I hate it. No one prepped the box lunches and now I have to do it whine whine whine, blah blah blah."  Amy responds with a panicked "you mean for the box lunches that are to be delivered to an off-site location in 5 minutes!?!"  Staff member "yeah.. blah blah blah, whine whine whine."

Amy immediately wishes death on all stupid people in the world... maybe not all but at least the portion that have reared their ugly heads this particular Saturday morning... and takes charge of the situation.  There are 80 more lunches of the 250 that need to be packed in to their boxes.  She takes over the wrapping of the cookies, gets help from other apparently stupid staff and whips things into shape all the while muttering in her head "seriously! seriously! what would have happened if I hadn't shown up!"

The lunches are late, the customer isn't all that pleased but at least it wasn't as bad as it could have been right?  And now she is free to take her food and reconvene at her own home and handle the situation there and she lived happily ever after.

Or not.

You see that particular day there was also a wedding... and a wedding cake.  She had met with bride and mom of bride for at least 8 gazillions hours discussing the intricacies of the wedding cake and had gotten herself invited to the wedding.  I picked her up because I wanted to take some pictures of said cake to put on our website.  So off we go. 

Two things should be taken into consideration at this point.
1.  The bride's thoughts on the cake were "the groom could not show and it would be better than the cake being wrong."  No pressure.
2.  The baker had asked if he could arrive at 5 (one our before the reception) to set up the cake.  Information was passed on to the mom of bride and all were satisfied.

That is until we showed up at 5:40 to take pictures of the cake and there was no cake.  And there was no baker answering the phone to assure us of a cake on it's way. And there was a panicked bride running around with a floral bouquet in one hand and a diet coke in another threatening to hyper-ventilate. And there was a mom of bride with flames coming out of her eyes.  Amy and I spent the next 30 minutes with cell phones on re-dial all the while reassuring said stressed bridal party that everything would be okay and didn't the decorations look lovely. 

At 6:20 the cake arrived, it wasn't exactly what she wanted but it was at least there.  Bridal party calms down, everyone gathers around the cake and oohs and aahs.  Snap snap of the camera and we are on our way.

As I am driving Amy back to her house and the dinner party that was to arrive at any moment (snap snap of camera was supposed to be a 10 minute venture tops) when her phone rings.  "Hello... The grill is on fire?!... Calm down.... I'll be home in 5 minutes."  At this point we both start laughing cause it's the only response we have left.  Her phone rings again.  "Hello... You used a fire extinguisher to put out the grill.... Was the chicken still on it?...  Okay, put it in the oven I'm on my way."

As we drive up to her house there is a haze over the neighborhood as evidence of the grill fire and the homecoming party is walking up her drive.  I drop her off amid not so stifled laughter and wish her well.

As I'm on my way home I get a text:  All is not lost. Bryce (her son) and his cousin are dressed up as French waiters with penciled mustaches and thick French accents.  Apparently they were in character the entire night, had finished cooking the chicken (which was not subjected to the fire extinguisher) and entertained the guests.  The party was a hit and everyone wanted to come back again for another round.  But because family is what it is, little brother of Bryce waited  until the bitter end of the evening to introduce him to the French foreign exchange student.  Suddenly Bryce didn't feel so good.  Fortunately she got a kick out of the whole thing rather than being offended by the American version of an over-the-top French waiter and all was still right in the world.

So, silver linings?  Amy was able to enjoy the evening with the best of them despite the stressful/horrific day thanks to her own sense of humor and that passed on to her family.  Laughter really is the best medicine... which means I spend a lot of time heavily medicated.

On Customer Service

I've been thinking a lot today.

About how much I can handle.

How much can I take before it "does me in"?

How far does customer service go?

How far does "exceeding expectations" go?

Work has been a bit beastly as of late.  As evidence of this I bring my 57 hour work week to the judge's attention.  I feel fragile.  I feel over-worked and under appreciated.  K, so I know that my efforts are appreciated, but... 

How far do you go to do the job?

Where is that line in the sand that says enough is enough!  I'm done, I'm finished, I refuse to do more!  And where does that cross into the personal life as well?

I think I have been so long in the customer service field that I have lost all sense of reality.  "The customer is always right."  That's okay except sometimes the customer is dead wrong.  Sometimes we really can't do what they want.  Sometimes the impossible is all that is expected and no matter how hard you try, it simply is not going to happen.  Sometimes those customers don't even know what they are asking.  And sometimes there are absolutely no boundaries to guide your decision.

I'm tired of it.

On my way home from Bridal Fair today (hence the extra long work week) a scene popped into my head.  It's from Life Is Beautiful, one of my all time favorite movies.  The uncle explains to his nephew, Guido, about service and how far to bow to the guest as a waiter.

"Think of a sunflower. They bow to the sun.

But if you see some that are too bowed down...

it means they're dead!

You're serving. You're not a servant.

Serving is a supreme art.

God is the first servant.

God serves men, but he's not a servant to men."

I don't want to be a dead sunflower.

I don't want to feel stretched too thin.

Just throwing it out there.  Boundaries are a good thing.  They guide us, they help us make good decisions... or at least decisions we can live with.  Decisions that won't keep us awake at night.

Perhaps my Monday will be spent finding those boundaries.

Dementors

Do you ever have those people that just suck the fun out of life?

Or tell you all the reasons why your great idea won't work instead of helping to bring it about?

Does there presence stifle your creativity or your ability to work?

Do happy thoughts flee in terror at the mention of their name?

Do you feel cold inside when even their shadow makes contact with you?

Are you you're own Dementor?

Do the world a favor, don't be the Dementor. Don't suck the life out of those around you and especially not out of yourself.  It just isn't worth it.

Words to live by my friends, words to live by.

What kind of a day are you having?

I thought I was doing pretty good today until Marketing Meeting.  It's at 11:00 am and I have been here walking around and talking to people since 8:30.

Marketing meeting.

Lindsey:  Did you mean to wear two different earrings?

Me:  No, these are the same. (I clearly remember picking up the gold dangly ones I love that would go perfectly with my hairdo that is cutely fashioned away from my face so as to accentuate the earrings and their cuteness)

Lindsey:  No they aren't.

Me: (feeling them as proof).... crap!  ( 1 gold dangly, 1 beaded nowhere close to the same color other) Tells you what kind of a day I'm having!

How's yours?

Names Have Been Changed to Protect the Innocent

So today was an interesting day.  Went to work, full of the usual work-related stuff.  Had a few meetings, harrassed people about payment, tried to un-bury my desk.  You know, the usual.  At least that was the way it started.  Then we had "the meeting". 

This wasn't just any meeting.  This was a behavior meeting.  A meeting instituted by two specimens of the male gender in efforts to straighten out the wayward women in the office. There's too much history to repeat now and frankly I have no desire.  It tires me to even think about explaining the office dynamics at this point and I doubt anyone could really understand it unless they spent some time there.  Suffice it to say an office space is shared by people who's jobs coordinate with each other but don't fall under the same boss/leadership.  Different ideas, different agendas... same work space.  Difficult.

Meeting: Despite good attempt, it has been confirmed that men just do not understand women whether in the work place or out of the work place, it just ain't happenin'. 

You know it's bad when the men make a reference to Festivus and the 'airing of grievances' right at the beginning.  It's like they wanted to see a cat fight or something.  Fortunately we didn't satisfy. 

I know that all was meant well and for the good of the whole.  But really?? So many reasons why I love my job.   sigh...

Vegas... do we really get along?

Some of you may or may not know that I am currently spending my time in the city of sin.  Yes, I have hung my my hat temporarily in Las Vegas. 

My view out the window:

I am here because of this:

and will be here till Thursday afternoon when we fly out.

We flew in on Sunday and being bored out of my mind I finished this:

I quite enjoyed it though I was apprehensive about how it would turn out but that's for another day.

Monday night brought us here:

It was a lot like this:

We were there till midnight.  This morning this helped:

Imagine what it would have been like if I was a drinker!

Speaking of drinking.  There's a fridge in the room but it has this on it:

Which is a shame because of this:

Though I didn't pack a supply of bottled water I did pack this:

and it has helped immensely.

In summary:

The goods and bads of Lora in a Las Vegas night club:

Positives:

#1.  If I went into cardiac arrest the beat of the music would have resuscitated me.

#2.  I was the only sober person so I knew the cover band stunk.

#3.  It's fun to watch unattractive, overweight, older women gush at younger men.

#4.  I actually remember the entire night.

Negatives:

#1.  I actually remember the entire night.

#2.  No one dances unless they are drunk.

#3.  I wear too much cloth on my body to fit in properly.

#4.  I kept on trying to turn into a pumpkin at 10 o'clock.

all in all I still have this on my face:

Sharing

Do you ever feel like THIS. ( I tried to embed the clip from youtube but it's not an option. I'm sure you'll enjoy it just the same. Side note: don't click on the picture, it doesn't go anywhere but to a bigger version) I think this clip encompasses a least a small portion of the work week. Too bad I'm not the owner and a there is no broom in the office. Maybe I'll get one. Hmm...

Enjoy.