Friday, June 30, 2006

Something's Gotta Give

This is one of my favorite songs right now. I kind of re-wrote it a bit to fit me. ;o) I need to go out and just buy this CD. (And can I just say that is is annoying me that everytime I post this, it takes out the spaces between paragraphs.)
Something's Gotta Give

[Stacey’] got a job, a [raccoon] named Jake,
[33] candles on her birthday cake
Next year
Thought by now she'd have a man
Two car seats and a minivan
But it still ain't here (hey!)
She's been lookin' for Mr. Right so long
But all she's found is Mr. Wrong
That's the pitts
She's drawn a line that she won't cross
Her and time are facing off
She says something's gotta give
Something's gotta give me butterflies
Something's gotta make me feel alive
Something's gotta give me dreams at night
Something's gotta make me feel alright
I don't know where it is
But something's gotta give
Friday night she had a date (okay, not really)
Cell phone junky a half hour late
That's the biz baby
She's riding out the twists of fate
She's had all that she can take
She says something's gotta give
Something's gotta give me butterflies
Something's gotta make me feel alive
Something's gotta give me dreams at night
Something's gotta make me feel alright
I don't know where it is
But something's gotta give
I swear
There's got to be a meant to be for me out there
Somewhere someday
I'm gonna find someone, somehow, someway
[Stacey’s] got a job, a [raccoon] named Jake,
[33] candles on her birthday cake
Next year
She thought by now she'd have a man
Two car seats and a minivan
She says something's got,
Something's got,
Something's gotta

Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Die Flies!

I have had the crappiest day! (Sorry, I know some consider any form of the word "crap" a bad word, but well, it's the worst word I use and today it was appropriate. Read on, you'll see). Anyway, things were already unstable because I’ve just been in a funk for a while now and the last few days the “funkness” has been a little more prevalent.

I get to work this morning, things start out pretty normal – not wonderful, but a level of annoyances that I’ve become accustomed to, so I don’t really notice them much any more. Then all of a sudden, it all hit. Everyone needed something. The Illustrator software we had purchased from a discount site because my original version was “borrowed without permission and not returned”, informed me that my access code was not valid. I called Adobe (as I was instructed by the pop-up menu to do) and discovered that in fact, my access code was not valid and they could not do anything to help me AND I got lectured by the customer service guy for purchasing a discount version instead of their upgrade for $699. I informed him that I worked for a church and that Adobe will not allow us to qualify for charity pricing (long story) and that I was left with no other choice at the moment since they no longer sold media for the version I had.

I get off the phone and try to find a phone number for the company we purchased it for. Nothing. This is when I realize that I never received a receipt or the actual media disk I ordered (they sent me the download online). Hmm, Sherlock, I think we’ve been duped! I call our IT guy who tells me to try emailing the company. I’ve yet to get a helpful answer from them. We’ll see.

While I am still on the phone, 3 people come into my office at different times to tell me the copier isn’t working. I go check. Can’t fix it. Call the repair guy. He’s in Ponca City and won’t be at our office till noon. Hang up. More people proceed to inform me of the obvious – the copier isn’t working.

Then someone else comes into my office to tell me her screen just went blue and her computer is making funny noises. I got to make her day better by telling her that her hard drive just crashed. I love spreading the joy!

At this point, I decided it was time for break, so I go to the server room to change the tapes and pick up another laptop that I need to switch over. I come back into my office to find the visiting missionaries kids rummaging through my office. I love Alan & Robin, but their kids are a little wild – especially after being on the plane for days and in a new place. Normally I wouldn’t have been as freaked out by this, but my office is FULL of computers right now because we’re doing this big upgrade and I already wasn’t having the best luck that day.

This is all before 10:30 this morning. Since my day was not going well and I still hadn’t started the bulletin, I had to call my friend, Jenn, and reschedule our lunch for tomorrow.

The two hours were a blur. I decided I needed to leave for a few minutes and go grab something to eat. I had left over pizza at home, so I would just go heat that up and rush back to work.

When I got to my house, I walk into the kitchen and see yet another pesky fly. I go to get the fly swatter and look up and there are LOTS of pesky flies. My window is covered with big black flies. I freak. I look at the patio door. It’s also covered with big black flies. I freak some more! I have no clue what happened but some how, my house had become infested with black flies since I left for work this morning. I called my mom, who told me to call a pest control company. So I call the guy who sprays our office. He tells me to go get a bug bomb and set it off in my kitchen. Since I’ve also has problems with other insect type creatures lately, he told me he’d come out next week and spray for me, but that the bug bomb was my best bet at the moment b/c I don’t want them to multiply.

Great! Bug bomb means having to wash all the dishes in the kitchen before I can use them again. So I call work and tell them I’m going to be awhile, go to Lowe’s and buy bug bombs and plastic sheeting to cover some things in the kitchen. Go home, cover stuff with plastic sheeting, and as I’m setting off the bomb I yell out “die flies!” Dumb I know, but I wasn’t of sound mind by this point.

Around 3:30, I go back to my house to open it up so it can air out before I get home and there were dead flies EVERYWHERE. When I lifted the blinds in the kitchen to open the window, there was this long black line of dead (or almost dead) black flies just laying there. Some of them wiggling their legs in the air. And I don’t feel the least bit bad about it. But as I type, I dread going home knowing that I have all of this mess to clean up before church tonight. YUCK!!!

So, here is what I was thinking on my way back to work. Things have been crappy lately. I’m burnt out at work, I’m worried about my mom as she tries to sell her house (that’s probably a post in itself), and life itself has just been tough lately. I need something exciting to take place. I need a really GREAT date. I haven’t had one of those in a long time. The kind of date that you get really excited about beforehand. The kind of date that you have such a great time you don’t want it to end. The kind of date where you go home and fall asleep with a smile on your face. Come on girls, you know the kind of date that I’m talking about. It doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with what you do on the date, but just the person you spend it with. Realistically, I don’t foresee this happening for me anytime soon, but it sure would be nice.

So tonight, when your reach for a glass in your cupboard without a second thought, think of me – who will be washing all of her dishes before she can use them! I’m so dreading this!!!!!

Tuesday, June 27, 2006

I'm an Idiot!

So much going on these days, but so little time to write about it. I did have to laugh at myself yesterday and thought I would share with the those of you who think I have it all together that deep down, I really am an idiot.

I was leaving work yesterday. Got in my car, started it, backed out of the parking spot, started driving and then realized something was not quite right. I forgot to take down my sun shades. How sad is it that I was half way across the parking lot before I realized what I had done?

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Can I vent for just a second?

I didn’t realize when I took this job that changing your hours when ever you felt like it and not telling anyone was an option. I’ve been missing out for the last 8 1/2 years! Okay, I’m done.

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

So Proud of Myself!

Score one for the do-it-yourself team (which would be me)! This weekend I faced my fears and I replaced my thermostat all by myself!!! My biggest obstacle was trying to figure out which switches on my fuse box went to my furnace and A/C (it’s not labeled properly as I found out when I tried to replace a light switch). So now I’m the new owner of a beautiful digital/programmable thermostat instead of the ugly ancient thing that came with the house and by the looks of it, probably original. I’m still trying to get the temperature programmed right (I know how to program it, just trying to find the right temperature).

Next project is to figure out the source of the stench under the sink and in the dish washer. I’ve tried pouring bleach down the garbage disposal, running vinegar in the dishwasher, Lysoling EVERYTHING, and searching for leaks under the sink. The only thing I haven’t done is pull the dishwasher out and look behind that. I think I’m nervous about what I will find.

Monday, June 19, 2006

Fortune Cookies

I love fortune cookies. Not so much for the fortune (though they are fun to read) but I actually like eating fortune cookies. Today we ordered in lunch from a Chinese food place and much to my surprise, my fortune cookie packet had one and a half cookies in it (along with two fortunes). Here are my fortunes for today:

1) Someone is speaking well of you. Hard to believe right now, and probably not true since it was only half a cookie, but it’s a nice thought.

2) Wisdom is acquired by experience, not just by age. So true, but it does depend on whether you took the opportunity to learn from the experience. Some people experience a lot, but never learn anything, which in my opinion, makes them foolish. Hmmm, I could almost write my own fortune cookies.

Friday, June 16, 2006

The Whistling Plumber

I had to call a plumber yesterday b/c the toilet in my bathroom was having issues. There was something wrong with the pump. At first, Jay, our maintenance guy, said that I could easily fix it myself and said he had an extra of the part I would need. But since my luck hasn’t been the best and I have this home warranty anyway, I decided that it was worth the $45 to have someone else do it.

The guy came by about 5 p.m. yesterday and was super nice. Feeling a little strange leaving a stranger a lone in my bedroom, I stuck close by. This guy cracked me up because the whole time he was working, he whistled – and was actually pretty good at it. He seemed to be a fan of Harry Connick/Michael BublĂ© type music. Normally whistlers bug me, but he was entertaining. He also didn’t charge me as much as he was supposed to because he was only there for 10-15 minutes.

And for those of you wondering, this plumber understands the concept of a belt and was crack-free!

Thursday, June 08, 2006

Just a note

If you are female and your job requires you to meet with clients for any reason (especially in the sales arena), here are a few very important fashion tips to adhere to.

1) Many offices are cold, wear an appropriate bra. Need I say more?

2) People pay more attention to your hands than you realize. If you’re going to be handing things to your potential client, make sure nail polish isn’t severely chipped. This is why I rarely wear nail polish on my fingernails, and if I do, it’s light. I work with my hands too much. Hot pink is very noticeable when severely chipped.

3) Pony tail holders around the wrist don’t look very professional…especially when you’re trying to sell expensive advertising.

Just a few things to take into consideration. Not trying to be tacky here, but it lessens your professional effectiveness when it is very obvious that you do not pay attention to detail.

Oh, and one more thing whether you are male or female. Many offices these days are “non-smoking” environments. If you’re a smoker, please try not to smell like an ash tray when you enter someone else’s office. The smell lingers and we have to light a candle or pull out the Lysol and listen to people walking into our office saying "what stinks?".

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

Not Meant to Happen

We're doing directory pictures at church right now and since I'm on staff, I HAVE to get my picture taken. Problem is, everytime I'd schedule my picture, I would do it on a night I had something to do for Relay and kept having to reschedule. I finally got it right and scheduled my picture for night that I had nothing else going on. Jamie came in this afternoon to tell me the photographer was sick and they're having to reschedule all of tonight's pictures. The next available time it next week. Better hope I don't sun burn my face this weekend. Time to find the sun block!!!

Thursday, June 01, 2006

This is Random

I know this is random, but I just thought about it. My friend, Fletcher, posted this story on his blog about how it's against the law to pump your own gas in New Jersey and it made me think of this. Recently (last few days) someone told me they just passed a law where they live (maybe it was mom and maybe it's Hutchinson or Kansas), but you can't run your windshield wipers without having your headlights on. Here is the discussion I had with the person that I can no longer remember: Does this apply to cleaning your windshield? Seriously. If I get a dead bug on my windshield and I use that handy little feature to spray cleaning solution on my windshield and remove it with the wipers, do I have to turn my lights on first? That just seems really silly. And do they post signs at the edge of town/state line telling you "welcome to ! Be sure to turn your headlights on if you're using your windshield wipers!" How stupid to get a ticket for that? Anyway, just a random thought.

Oh, and one more thing totally unrelated...in Edmond, Oklahoma it is an acceptable way of life to always have a Sonic drink in your possession. There are Sonics everywhere...almost easier to find than a McDonalds. But I don't really recall this being common place in my home town of Hutchinson, Kansas. Just wondering if this is an Edmond/Oklahoma thing or is it a nation-wide phenomenon?

Sorry Locks of Love

Yeah, I gave in and cut it. It’s not exactly what I wanted, but it’s close enough that once it grows out a little, adjustments should be easy to make. It’s definitely pretty a lot shorter, but I like it. It’s a lot cooler and a lot easier to take care of right now. For those of you sad that I cut it, well, I’m sure I’ll grow it out again some day. It’s this constant trend that I have…grow it out, cut it off.

As for the before and after pictures…they’ll have to wait. Suzy gave me one from the Survivor Dinner with my hair still long (also with a dorky look on my face – maybe it’s because of the person I was looking at). But I went to take a picture of myself and it looks really bad. My hair looks flat and I look like I have a double chin, but I’m having my directory picture taken next week, so if that turns out, I’ll scan that one in when I get it back.