Rainbow Holiday Fair

Ok, Ok, I have to give Ft. Lauderdale a little credit after blasting it with yesterday’s blog. I won’t take the back the fact that the AC in the office is not only freezing the mold out, but my brains as well, however once I left the office last night, the day was saved.

As I walked back to the hotel and wondered what I would do with myself that night:
Option A: Workout/Eat Dinner/Watch TV;
Option B: Don’t workout/Eat Dinner/Watch TV – but then how to kill the additional time?

I was pleased to discover a small street fair right in front of my hotel. Ultimately I was dying to go for Option B anyway, and this gave me an out from the workout, as well as killed time. There weren’t many booths, but the shops were still open and they were serving some food on the street. To be honest it probably was the most sparsely filled street fair (called “Christmas on Las Olas”) that I have ever seen, but there were a lot of people milling about, and four stages for entertainment. I think that almost every elementary school choir in town was performing, as well as other quality entertainment such as the Freedom Flamingo Band, Lambda Choir, and Pioneer Bell Ringers. Really. No Kidding.

So, that was my evening – I spent it wandering around Las Olas street, checking out the quaint shops and listening to some local entertainment along the way. After awhile I left the main street to find a restaurant for dinner that was less crowded and then ultimately ended my evening watching TV in the hotel room.

Ah…business travel…how do people do this all the time?

Freezing in Florida

Sunny Florida, my ass. This picture may be blurry, but the point of it is, it's 5:30, and although the sun has not actually gone down yet, it may as well have it's so dark outside. Although still around 80 degrees, it's pouring today. Oh, and in the building where I'm working they are trying to "freeze out the mold" due to the fact that Hurrican Wilma came through a month ago and blew out half the windows. This means that the AC is on max. So, although it's 80 outside, it's probably 60 inside. Thank goodness for a jacket someone loaned me. I can't believe that...I had to borrow a jacket from someone in Florida. I just read where Debbie needs a warmer jacket in Geneva...didn't think I'd have the same problem in Ft. Lauderdale!
Going home tomorrow, and although I hear it's cold and rainy there, at least it should be warmer inside!

More Cats

This one likes to help with dishes.

This one does not.

Good Plan

When my alarm radio went off this morning it was in the middle of a news broadcast:

"This year, the most heavily traveled day is the last day of Thanksgiving weekend, Sunday November 27"

I'm so glad that's the day I have to fly to Florida.

(sarcasm folks, sarcasm)

Have a Very Happy Thanksgiving with your Friends and Family!!

What's in a Name?

Today I came to work thinking, “why do I have to go to work??” I’m still in limbo as to what it is I’m supposed to be doing here. However, today, there was a significant difference from yesterday. Today, I laughed hard. All day – just giggled. You see, I finally changed to my married name in the corporate email system. Why is this funny you wonder?

The usual set up is: New Last Name (Maiden Name), First Name. However, the IT guy who assisted me changed my name to:

Ingle, MIngle

Yes, if anyone were to actually look for me in the Outlook Global Address Book, they would see Ingle, Mingle. This had me distraught for a few minutes when I realized that the few emails I still receive, would decrease even more if people can’t find me in the address book. I called right away and asked them to change it – and they did – it appears correctly in the address book now. However, whenever I send an email it still says it’s from Ingle, Mingle. And when I login – it says Ingle, Mingle too. My old coworkers are laughing their asses off and are grateful this has happened in time for the holidays. They like to sing “Ingle Bells, Ingle Bells, Mingle all the waaayyy….”

So, now I know why I came to work today -- even if I don’t have any work to do, at least I can still make people laugh.

A Japanese Star

A few months ago Mr. Mingle and I volunteered to be actors in a video commercial for my company. It was a video that we were told would be shown in banks all over Japan. We spent about an hour in the bank pretending like we were getting a loan while talking to the friendly bank manager, while my coworkers shot the video from all angles. Truly, we felt like stars - how hard could it be? There was no talking because there was going to be a voiceover, and we just had to look friendly and happy ... "look Dear..it's a loan application...isn't this GREAT?" And then we walked out of the bank hand in hand, so satisfied with our new home loan. (If only it were reality huh?)

Well, today I saw the final video for the first time. It's 16 minutes long and is primarily full of graphics displaying the success of one of the funds, and a lot of words in Japanese. But at 5min.14sec. into the video we get our 5 seconds of fame. No kidding! Five whole seconds! And, what's even better is that there are multiple things happening on-screen at the same time, so the actual viewing box of our fake loan video is an eigth the size of the entire screen. So, Mr. Mingle...when you are watching it later ... DON'T BLINK. But hey - you can now add to your acting resume that you were in a commercial shown nationally in Japan!

Kids these days

I took a kid aside during band rehearsal the other night and yelled at him. It was the most outwardly angry I’ve been towards a kid. First I tried to reason with him…”Do you understand you are at a rehearsal?” “Do you understand everyone around you is playing and yet you are not?” “Do you understand that you are annoying the people next to you who are trying to play?” To all questions, he responded with a smart-ass “yeesss”. At which point I yelled “Grow up! GROW UP!”. I even tried to intimidate him with my one-foot height and 50 lb. weight difference by looking down on him. It was so effective that he was caught screwing around again not 15 minutes later and was told to run a lap by another instructor. I’m so glad I made an impression…

My Day, Part 2

Meet with Boss – talk about future projects
Go to lunch with boss at Big Boss expense and insistence
Check emails
Respond to friends
Go to surprise shower for guy in department – wife having baby
Realize no one invited the guy in the department whose wife is having the baby
Return to desk
Plan pizza party for employee leaving tomorrow
Return to shower – someone invited the guest of honor
Return to desk – send out invite for tomorrow’s pizza party
Check emails
Respond to friends
Think about what to have for dinner tonight
Wait for phone to ring
Listen for boss to call my name
Watch the clock
Watch the clock
Watch the clock

My Day

Wake up at 6:30
Make Coffee
Turn shower on cat
Laugh internally so as not to wake husband
Feel bad – towel off cat
Take shower and stretch out the getting ready process as long as possible
Say bye to husband
Trick the cat into staying inside, while exiting
Drive to work - struggle to stay awake
Log in
Check emails
Respond to friends
Talk to boss about vacation schedules and her birthday plans
Get coffee
Think about the work to do today and postpone it so will have something to do later
Eat breakfast
Check emails
Delete junk
Answer phone – spend 15 minutes explaining to coworker how to use Excel
Check email
Check blogs – laugh at dooce.com
Write one email necessary for job – hold off on more work until later
Check email
Hope that friends write or phone rings
Open up the document that will ultimately work on when the time is right
Check email
Think about lunch
Write blog

Only 5,000 more push-ups to go...

Today I started Boot Camp. No, I did not join the army, however I did sign on with a personal trainer through our gym here at work and am in a 5 week class called "Boot Camp". There are 3 of us women who have agreed to meet twice a week in order to give a fourth woman the opportunity to torture us. And we're paying for it!

I was really nervous prior to this morning's session because I knew she was going to kick my ass, but I survived. I certainly feel like I got a workout, but I also feel like she went "easy" on us since it was our first day - and now I'm dreading Thursday's session. Not only do I think it will be harder, but I'll still be sore from today. We ran, did jumping jacks, push-ups, dips, lunges, sit-ups, crunches, weights - she basically kept us moving for an hour.

The most difficult part was that she wouldn't exactly tell us how many reps we were doing until we were half way into something. For example with running...she said "start running". Of course we all wanted to know how fast, and for how long. So she said "at your own pace", then 2 minutes into it she said "for 12 minutes" (at which point we judge, can I hold this pace for 12 minutes??). And similar with the push-ups..."start doing push-ups", at which point we judge, should I do these quickly? slowly? go all out? when will she say stop?!

I'd like to say I'm going to lose weight because of this, but to be honest I'm just happy to head into the Holiday Season of Eating knowing that I'm exercising. I don't have any plans to change my diet too.

One great thing about the work-out this morning is that I really feel more energized then I have in awhile. However, that may also be because they announced bonuses today. Can anyone say SHOPPING?

Chesty La Rue

I am a marching instructor for a local high school band. There are 250 kids in the band and each week I work with a different group, so unfortunately it’s impossible to remember every kid’s name. I tend to forget the names of the really good, well-behaved kids because well, frankly – we never have to yell at them. However, there are other kids, whose names I never forget, “Jeremy!! Stop moving!” “Matt! Pay Attention!” “Matt! Get Back to your Section!” “Leah! Move! Leah! Move! LEAH!! MOVE!!!”. And then there are others, whose names we remember for very different reasons…

This one girl approached me the other day before rehearsal and said, “Do you know my name?” And I immediately said “Yes, yes I do…but I cannot for the life of me remember it right now… let me get back to you.” She replied, “I know you know it – you said it the other week, and I was surprised.” She didn’t know why the marching instructors (there are 4 of us) would know her name. I assured her that we knew a lot more then she thought we did, and I promised I would remember her name in the next few minutes. What I did not tell her is that the reason I could not remember, nor say her name, is because the second after she asked me, my brain had one thought, “You are the one with the boobs.” This girl continued to ask all of the instructors if they knew her name, and then reported back to me and the lead instructor that, “All of the guys can remember my name, but Mingle can’t.” At which point I wanted to inform her that it was because They were MEN, and have affectionately dubbed her “Boobs McGee”. But of course, they could remember her real name when under pressure, whereas I had to fight down a fit of giggles.

I eventually did remember her real name that night, but continued to chuckle to myself the rest of the evening. And I couldn’t go near her for fear of laughing. So, I focused my energy on Matt that night and from 50 yards away yelled, “Matt! Get off the field!!” Man, that felt good…

Seasons of Love

I am getting really excited about my show this Saturday. “Broadway’s Greatest Moments” – a fundraiser performance for the local theater. In “Big Spender” I have moved on from doing cheesy 80’s poses, and am instead brandishing a riding crop whip. The guy who originally told me he could picture me in Fame is now scared by my dominatrix style impression of a ‘hard chick’, and yet also hopes I’m wearing leather this coming Saturday. And no – this guy is not my husband! (Nor is he even straight for that matter).

It is so fun to be able to act like someone completely different and see the reactions of the people around me. I’m a little concerned that some of the others in the show who don’t know me at all, think that I’m not acting, but am like this all the time at home. And yet, that too is funny in its own way. It also might be a little unnerving if I look out in the audience on Saturday with a scowl on my face and a whip in hand to see my mom, cousin, aunt and uncle gaping back at me with open mouths. “What has become of my daughter??”

Don’t worry Mom, I make it up in the end of the show with my “sweet” solo. I can’t believe it – they actually gave me a singing solo. And last night they switched it up on me, so now I not only have one whole singing line, but two! I’m telling you I’ve got mad singing skillz. Or perhaps it’s the fact that I carry the whip, and the guy I mention above is the music director… "give me a solo dammit!"

Either way, I’m glad for the challenge, and although there’s a possibility I will flop on Saturday, I’ve got a back-up plan: I will smack the ass of the 100 lb. 5 ft tall woman next to me, tell the skinny bitch to stay away from my Big Spender, scowl, and storm off stage. Now that’s acting.

Helpless

I swore to myself that I would stop writing about work in my blog, because frankly, I know that it is not very interesting - but darn it – everyday I am amazed by some other new thing I learn about this group. I want to bang my head on the desk in frustration. And, since I started this blog a) because I was bored and b) to talk about things in my life – unfortunately this leaves you with c) my work.

I have not yet figured out where supplies are in my new department, but luckily I came prepared with all the pens, paper, folders etc. that I need for awhile. However today I needed an inter-office envelope because I was sending something to another site of ours. In my old department there would have been a stack of these envelopes next to the out-going basket (they were crazy-logical like that), but I couldn’t find any in this department. So, I asked a woman (who I thought ordered supplies) and she gave me one from her ‘private stash’. Yet when I asked her if there was a stack of them somewhere for future use, she replied, “oh no, we don’t have any. I assume that when we get an Admin Assistant we’ll get envelopes.” Are you kidding me??! I’m not even sure that they are interviewing Admins at this point, let alone hiring one.

I have become very self-sufficient since working at this company, and can pretty much figure out where to find things on my own, so I was going to call the mail room myself to ask them to bring over a stack of inter-office envelopes. I figured I could take 30 seconds of my time to do so, as opposed to waiting months until we get this mysterious new Admin. I checked with another guy in my department to see if his team also needed envelopes, and he said that ‘no’ – he just got a stack for the group, showed me where they were, and then said I could help myself. This made me feel relieved, until he went on to explain that he could not unpack his boxes from the move because he doesn’t have file folders. He too is waiting for an Admin to order those…

I am concerned…are these people helpless? I know how to order supplies (because I asked my old Admin) and I’m tempted to order stuff for the group. But I know that once I do that they will realize that they don’t need an Admin because they have me – and I don’t even want to go there.

OK, that’s enough of the job rant for the day. Tomorrow I will try to come up with something more interesting. Oh, and if you do work in a place that has an Administrative Assistant, go give them a hug, and tell them how much you appreciate them.

The Man

In reviewing my blog entries, and considering the fact that I am a new wife, I feel remiss in the fact that I have not once mentioned my husband. I talk about work, cats and “stuff” and yet not one word about the Mister. Honey, is this what drove you to jump out of a plane yesterday?

Yep, Mr. Mingle went skydiving. Of course, I was nervous about this, and would always prefer it if his feet were firmly on the ground – but what am I to say?

“No, you cannot go. You cannot do exciting death-defying things, but must stay at home with me and the cats. Always.”

But no, I could not say this. (Although, secretly deep down – I really, really wanted to.)

As much as I was nervous for him, I was also very excited for him. I also must admit that I think it is pretty cool that my husband has the cajones to jump from a plane, and I didn’t hesitate to tell everyone I spoke to that he was going skydiving. (Did I mention I put it in my blog as well?)

I made him promise to call me when he landed, and to get a video of the event so I could share in the excitement later (on the comfort of my own couch, with a cat in my lap). With a big sigh of relief, all went well, and, after watching the video (in which he yelled “I love you!” some thousands of feet in the air) I am slightly tempted to one day try it for myself.

Way to go Mr. Mingle! Thanks for landing safely.

Ring dammit Ring

First of all, it must be said, Happy Friday! I love Fridays.

Long gone are the Fridays where I would look forward to a late night out with friends and maybe some dancing. Nowadays, a favorite Friday consists of an easy dinner (preferably one that I don't have to cook) and a rented movie. aahh...relaxation. Don't get me wrong...I still appreciate a wild Friday night as well. But when the work week winds down at 5pm, and there’s a busy weekend ahead, a quiet Friday is bliss.

However, as this blog points out, I cannot exactly complain about a super busy work week to wind down from. Today I literally found myself willing the phone to ring. But this time it was different (then the last 30 days). Now I have been given a project. My department wants me to go to Florida in 2 weeks. Why - you might ask? Well..that was the problem...I wasn't too sure. Something about automating something else. And I had set up an appointment to talk to the "one person with all the answers". I was just waiting for her to call.

Happily, she called, and shed a little light on this project 'o mine. However, the "one person with all the answers" prefaced the call with, and I quote from her email, "Just so you know, there's not much info to share yet!"

Oh, the joys of Fridays....

Moving Day

OK, I'll admit it. I'm a clutter-bug. Anyone who has ever lived with me can attest to that. I try to straighten, but I think I need to stop fighting it. I just like to have everything close at hand. At work I am the same way. Sure, I have files, and file drawers...but if I'm working on projects, I like to have everything on top of the desk so I can quickly grab it.

However, during my spare time over the last few weeks, I cleaned out everything...on top of the desk, inside the desk...I made nice labels...yes, I geeked out. I also threw out about as much as I kept, so when it came time to pack and move desks, it took about ½ hour to pack, and ½ hour to unpack.

I am now sitting at my new desk, enjoying the cleanliness of it. I know where everything is, and it is all tucked neatly away.

Of course, I know this won’t last. When the work starts coming – the desk will get messier, and I’m just going to accept it. But the great thing is, for the first time – my desk is tucked away from the rest of the department – so now I don’t have to endure the comments from others. Let the clutter begin!

Doing Laundry Can Be Fun!

Washing...

Folding...