Transportation Hell

Today I was supposed to fly up to Bellingham, WA for work, but first I had to go into the office in SF. I started the day by dragging my suitcase to the bus stop and then carting it to work with me via bus and muni train. All in all, it wasn't that bad (thank god for wheels - they truly are a marvelous invention). I was supposed to leave work to catch BART at 12:45, and around 12:30pm I found out that my flight between Seattle and Bellingham was cancelled due to snow, and the rental car company was inquiring if I still wanted the car since Washington State was putting out a warning to stay off the roads if possible. Apparently the poor Seattle-ites who went to the Seahawks game last night were still trying to get home this morning.

I decided that I would fly to Seattle anyway and then take a bus up to Bellingham, so I dragged my suitcase, and my new computer case (also with wheels) to the BART station and hopped on. (When will wheels be developed that work on stairs?) While on BART I had the brilliant thought to call my customer in Bellingham to make sure they would even be open tomorrow. She confirmed that they were, but expressed concern that I was still coming. We decided that if it was okay with my company I could support her testing requirements over the phone rather then in person tomorrow. By the time I got to the airport, and dragged the bags through the BART turnstile (when will they make BART exits that accommodate bags with wheels?) I was pretty sure that I would not be traveling today. Fortunately my company agreed with me and I made all the calls to postpone my trip.

But I still had to get home. The original plan was to have Mr. Mingle pick me up when I returned home Thursday night - I hadn't intended to come straight home today. Dragged the bags back through the turnstile, back onto BART, to go to the stop nearest my home. The escalator at the station was working but at the top I dragged the heaviest of the two bags over my heal while trying to avoid a petitioner at the top. ouch. (when will they make wheels that are foolproof?)

Now I had to take the first of two busses to get home - the total mileage was maybe 2 miles. Not that far, but too far to drag the bags. Fortunately I got on the first bus immediately and got a seat. The lady driver was one of the surliest, but no harm done and I got off a mile later. Dragged my bags across the street and waited for the second bus. And waited.. and waited. Finally it came and I dragged the bags onto the bus and grabbed the first seat I could.

It was after we started moving that I realized the man to my left was full blown crazy. He started cussing and swearing and talking about all the things he could/should/would if he could do to women. It was as if his angry speaking intensified with the speed of the bus. The faster we went, the crazier he was. When we stopped he was quiet so another unsuspecting soul would sit down. I had to laugh internally when I realized the woman who was sitting directly across from him, seemingly on the other end of his tirade, was blind. The poor woman - I've never seen a blind person move so quickly when her stop came. My bags and I got off a few stops later and tried to wade through little kids waiting to get on. (when will they make wheels that go over kids?) As the bus pulled away, I looked up to see the mother and kids sit down directly across from Mr. Crazy. Those poor, poor children...they may be scarred for a long while.

Two and half hours after leaving work, I was home again and the good news is - I got home earlier then I would on a regular work day - so I have time to blog about it!

A Mingle First

In all my life, I can never remember a time when we had the Christmas tree up and decorated any earlier then a week or two before Christmas. I knew that there were families out there who started decorating the weekend after Thanksgiving, but frankly, I thought they were a little crazy…

This year however, after hosting Thanksgiving at our house, Mr. Mingle and I were overcome with the holiday spirit. It started off when Mr. Mingle spent all day shopping downtown on the busiest shopping day of the year (I unfortunately had to work) and it didn’t push him over the edge. Instead, the two of us went back downtown the following day as well and bought some ornaments.

You see, this is the first year that we can actually have a full-size tree in our house, and we were very excited to put it up. We bought our tree last night, and as I write this blog now, it is already up and decorated!

I supposed if you also think, as I once did, that to decorate so soon is just plain crazy, then so be it. I will enjoy one full month of Christmas spirit, sipping spiked egg-nog, singing Christmas carols at the top of my lungs, and trying to put reindeer antlers on the cats. Of course, that is until we actually go away for Christmas, this year to Hawaii, where I doubt I’ll see much in the way of Christmas trees. Maybe Santa pulling a sleigh led by dolphins, but somehow, it’s just not the same.

I'll keep trying until Mini looks happy about it

Christmas 2004

Our old tree is one and half feet tall. Our new tree is over 6 feet!

A Mingle Thanksgiving

For the first time ever, Mr. Mingle and I hosted Thanksgiving at our house. We are happy to finally have a home that is big enough to entertain, and were excited to test it out. We started cooking two days in advance, and I’m pleased to be able to tell you that it was a success!

Ten people in all came (plus one more non-eater – Little Baby Sniffy), but only eight stayed for the full meal. Step-sis and beau Mackus had to leave early to have dinner at her mom’s house. Rounding out the rest of the crew were Mom and J, Uncle D and Cousin G, and Sniffy, Hubby and little E.

We started everyone off with some Thanksgiving punch made with fresh squeezed OJ, grapefruit juice… lightly spiked with Cognac. For appetizers we made sweet potato bruschetta, and mom brought some olives over for a little extra.

The turkey was ready around 2:00 and after that, it was time to stuff ourselves silly! Everyone had seconds so I took this as a positive sign that the food was yummy. Mr. Mingle and I got our recipes from Food and Wine Magazine, AllRecipes.com, epicurious.com and williamssonoma.com. We were happy with how everything turned out, and aside from lots of chopping and preparation ahead of time, they were fairly easy recipes. The “Country-Bread Stuffing with Parmesan, Raisins and Pine-Nuts” was the overwhelming favorite of the whole meal. I would happily recommend all of the recipes below if you are interested in making a Thanksgiving meal of your own.

The Mingle Thanksgiving Menu
Citrus-Cinnamon Punch
Sweet Potato Bruschetta
Classic Roasted Turkey
Country-Bread Stuffing with Parmesan, Raisins and Pine-Nuts
Holiday ONLY Mashed Potatoes (Because they are too fattening for regular consumption)
Spicy Cranberry Chutney (My personal favorite)
Peas (Thanks to Mom)
Salad (Thanks to Sniffy)
Pumpkin Pie
Strawberry Rhubarb Pie (Thanks again to Mom)

We were blessed with beautiful weather too, as it was clear and crisp. The perfect temperature for walking off the meal by traipsing up to the top of the hill and taking in a view of the city. At the pace we travelled I doubt we knocked off any calories, but it sure felt good to go for a walk after eating so much!

The Chefs are relieved their first turkey turned out

Mingle and family enjoying the view

A Surprising Success

This past month has been a very busy one. I've already mentioned that work is hectic, and Mr. Mingle is in a play, but I have also been busy planning a surprise 60th birthday for my dad (Pop). I first got the idea to throw it only 6 weeks ago, so my party planning skills were kicked into high gear immediately. I originally thought it would be easy after planning my wedding last year... I still don't think anything is as involved as planning a wedding... however this party still proved challenging. I immediately began trying to find addresses of Pop's old friends which was difficult considering I couldn't ask the main man directly and my step mom doesn't share the same address book. Not to mention she was in Hawaii for two weeks with Pop during the initial planning stages so she was pretty much out of contact.

I enlisted my aunt to get me some addresses, but that took a few weeks, so in the meantime I went on an internet search. I found one of Pop's old coworkers and called him up, which fortunately turned out to be the right connection. After flubbing through the initial conversation with his wife, "Hi, I'm Mingle, I used to be Smith's daughter..." "You used to be Smith's daugher, but you aren't anymore?" she quickly replied.. "no, ha ha, I'm still Smith's daugher, but now I'm Mingle..." she gave me addresses of other old coworkers so I sent those invites out.

I then searched through old emails from Pop, to see if there was anyone on the CC list who I could contact. This proved fruitful for a few gentleman from Pop's other life. "Hi", I would write, "I don't know who you are, but I found your address on an email from my dad, would you like to come to his party?"

Invitations went out to about 50, and 30 were expected. Then the other plans started...many calls with the stepmom and aunt both of whom I don't speak to on a regular basis. "yes, yes" says Mingle, "I did consider buying food..." "yes, I did invite my family", "Yes, I am getting alcohol..." I found myself repeating many conversations over and over, because in my mind, I had everything planned and under control and just needed others to bring a few items. The others thought I was not buying anything and went out and bought over and above what we needed. ("Yes, yes I did bring plates (read: I'm not an idiot, please leave me alone)". During the last two weeks stepmom called even more, "Hey Mingle, I invited so and so's mom....Hey Mingle, my son is bringing his 3 friends - they know Smith....Hey Mingle, I invited the gardner and the tenants..." I was kind of waiting for the postman and garbage man to show up, but alas they must not have run into my stepmom in time. Finally, I realized that 50 would most likely be the number. Some would come, but not respond, some would respond but not come, and some would just show up. So, about two weeks ago anytime someone asked, "how many people are coming?" I'd just respond - "Oh, about 50". Sure enough... it was right.

My mother, who is the last person I wanted to ask to help me (because she is no longer married to my father), realized the state of panic and stress I was in about 2 weeks ago and went out and bought all the decorations for me. I can't say thank you enough. Pop's friends picked up the key to the Senior Center (that's where we through the party - GREAT irony) and came to help me set up. They also led the cleaning brigade at the end of the party, and had almost everything done, (along with Fossie the mopper) before I needed to lift a finger. This was the first time I have thrown a party where I didn't have to do the cleaning. Grateful doesn't even begin to explain what I felt tonight.

But, the best part, was seeing how pleased Pop was. He has been Mr. Grumpy McGrumpigus leading up to his 60th birthday. He's been down, and a sour puss, and just resisting the whole idea of getting older. But tonight, for the first time in a few months, he was happy. Happy, touched and genuinely surprised. And that made all the planning worth it.

Head Above Water

Hi! Long time no blog!

I must say that the worst thing about getting a job that keeps me busy is not having the time to blog. After JWTLV left the company I got her clients which quadrupled my workload (not hard to do when you only start with 1 client) and sent me traveling.

Shortly after Mr. Mingle and I moved into our new house in the city we were barely around to be able to enjoy it. He's been busy rehearsing for his play (Our Town) which opened last Saturday, and I had to go to Chicago and Phoenix for work, and then perform my duties as a marching instructor on the weekends.

But the good news is, when we are home - we love the house! It's so great not to have any neighbors below or above, and we have our own backyard, garage and laundry room. Oh, and did I mention that our front yard has a picket fence? Yep! But don't let our lush lawn in the front yard fool you - it's just astroturf. A short walk up the hill from our house gives us a grand view of SF which we enjoyed for the first time last weekend when JP was in town for a visit. But, I can't keep talking about the house without giving props to Mini, because without her, we could have never unpacked.

The Start of Unpacking

Helping Mom Put Things On the High Cabinet Shelves

Tired After a Long Day's Work

Thanks to Mini we were able to take a walk and enjoy JP's visit

Mr. Mingle and JP

Have a Peaceful Halloween

Beware of the Scary Monster who sometimes goes by "Janis (aka Mom)":

P.S. Sorry I've been off the blogging charts lately - hope to be back soon!!

Happy Halloween!!!

Nothing Like Having Egg on My Face

Especially at the Company Picnic. Egg on my face, egg in my hair, egg on my shoulder, … oh, I’m sorry – did you think I was speaking figuratively?

No! no no no.. Last Saturday I attended my company picnic and participated in the proverbial egg toss. We all had a partner and then faced each other in 2 lines. After each toss we would then back up. When we were about 20 feet away from each other my partner and her line tossed their eggs to us. Unfortunately, the team next to me didn’t toss well and while I was leaning to my right trying to catch my own egg, the guy to my left was trying to take a leaping grab to his right to catch his egg. Alas, he missed and instead it hit me full force in the neck and shoulder – getting quite a lot of egg in my hair. Gross. I immediately flashed back to my woodworking class only a week before where the instructor had been touting the glue-like properties of egg.

I missed my egg which went skidding away unbroken – so we were still in the game. What could I do? I didn’t want to be a spoil sport and stomp off so I took off my outer egg-doused shirt and continued the game in my tank top. No one could criticize me for giving up. My partner and I ended up getting second place shortly after, and then I ran to a water fountain to rinse my hair out. Others brought me napkins for my face, neck and arm and then I was able to put my hair up in a tie, so no one was the wiser. However, I did make an impression – I was the only employee mentioned by name in the CEO’s re-cap email: “And, Mingle, I hear that egg white is actually good for hair sheen!”

At least now he knows who I am. The girl with egg on her face….

Diary of a New Employee

Day 1: I had my first day of work today and so far so good. I guess. I was introduced around and everyone seemed pretty nice, although I don’t understand a lot of what they are talking about.

Day 2: I started training on the software that I will be implementing at clients' sites. I can tell that it’s full of good functionality, but it is also confusing and not very user friendly. I think it will take me a long time to truly understand the ins and outs. Especially since it also seems like the other Project Managers also know everything about networking and server set-up as well.

Day 3: I spent more time with JANIE WITH THE LOUD VOICE, who I believe is to be my mentor. She is all-knowing when it comes to the application, even down to minute tech questions that the engineers should be answering. She’s also a very strong Project Manager.

Day 6: My boss – the director of the department - left for a 10 day vacation. I didn’t get to see her much in the first week, but I guess I’ll just keep training on the app with Ms. Random (who I find a little strange) and shadow JWTLV the rest of the time. Still waiting for a cubicle, but at least today I’m in the same suite as the rest of my department.

Day 9: There are only two other Project Managers besides myself and JWTLV: the Russian woman (Russia) and Joy who works in Idaho. When I was hired they told me they would look to me to become manager of this little group, which now confuses me because I see that JWTLV is currently the manager. Makes me a little suspicious.

Day 10: Joy needed to take a sudden leave of absence due to a sick family member. While she’s out the next two weeks I’ll help JWTLV communicate with Joy’s clients. I don’t understand their questions, but I send them nice emails saying I’ll get back to them quickly with the answer – which I do – when someone else gives me the answer. By the way JWTLV made a comment today that I would be her boss one day and she seemed okay with that. I find it weird.

Day 15: Russia left for vacation today so now it’s just JWTLV and I. My boss – the director – returned from vacation. (Oh! I finally got my cube and laptop!)

Day 17: A department-wide meeting was called which JWTLV fore-warned me may be “dramatic”. In this meeting, my boss announced that she is leaving the company to pursue a new opportunity – she is purchasing a wine distribution company. (I’m not sure if this has anything to do with the fact that she just returned from Italy.)

Day 17-19: I continue to do whatever work I can but am a little concerned since my boss was the one who made all the promises of quick promotion at interview time – and now she’s leaving. Fortunately she’s still going to work part time through the end of the year and has agreed to meet with me daily for training. I’m also pacified by the fact that I still have JWTLV to work with. I’m confident in her abilities, and aside from the fact that she sometimes makes my ears bleed, I enjoy her company.

Day 20: JWTLV announced her resignation! What the hell?! Apparently she’s tired and needs a change – she even quit without another job lined up. What am I going to do?? JWTLV will be here for 3 weeks and in that time I guess I’m supposed to suck her brain dry. Am going to Chicago with her too for a couple of days. I sure hope the other Project Managers come back soon.

No Joke

I wasn't kidding when I wrote The Cast Off and to prove it, here is the email that Ms. Random sent out to everyone today:

"Yep, this is the day you have all been waiting for. I've put out markers just inside my cube and my old cast is waiting for YOUR signature. It presently comes in two pieces so two people may sign it at one time! No words of wisdom are necessary, just YOUR signature. Once this work of art is completed, it will reside in my cube as a flower vase. Come one, come all. If I missed anyone that interacts with [Our Group], please let me know. If you were out of town when I sent this, come on over when you return. The more signatures and color on the CAST of characters, the more beautiful it will be. Don't make me come to you - because I will!"

Right now, I am very, very frightened....a flower vase??!!

Geeks that Make Me Proud

I thought I'd try posting something new to my blog site - a video! This is an SNL skit which some of you may have seen, but if not - enjoy.

My Life In Boxes

The contents of a large entertainment center

Plus
Linen Closet Stuff
Plus
2 Nightstands worth of junk
Plus
Hanging Things
Plus
Sleeping Bags, Pads, and other similar objects
Plus
An office full of crap
Equals
27 boxes full of Heavy-Ass Shit

And we still have to pack our kitchen, clothes, and bathroom items…

But the good news is – we are moving!

Signed a lease for a house in San Francisco last Friday, started packing Saturday and move in less then two weeks.

Can’t Wait!!!

And now… back to packing up the rubbish.

The Cast Off

One of my coworkers, Ms. Random, had a cast on her leg, from just below her knee down over her foot when I first started working here. Then last week it was removed and replaced with a soft cast. She wanted to keep the cast, so that now, people can sign it. She said that they cut out all of the innards– and now it’s mainly just the hard outside. As I walked by her desk just now I saw that it is sitting on the desk. Personally I find this gross – is it just me? She was walking around in the cast for 6 weeks, and now it’s sitting on her desk. I don’t care if the stinky insides are gone – it’s dirty. I would never even throw dirty socks that I wore for an hour on my desk, even if “my foot only touches the inside”. Tell me, does this seem strange to anyone else?

Good Things Come in FouRRRRs

Yesterday I got my laptop, my cubicle and my phone. But the fun didn’t stop there! Today I received a new wireless mouse with the coolest extra button I’ve ever seen. It brings up a box on the screen that magnifies everything that falls within it and you can move it all around the screen. Where was this nifty feature during the days of FT spreadsheets????

For extra amusement, the power cord that came with my new laptop already had a label affixed to it with my name. It reads, “Meghan Meghan”.

But to pay homage to that which came before… thank you dear R key for the good times….

The Little Rockstar That Could

As I mentioned at the beginning of the summer, Rockstar Supernova was on the Mingle House TV Line-up. It was the only show that both Mr. Mingle and I sat down and watched religiously from the first episode to last night's finale. About a week before the first episode we saw the movie Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with Johnny Depp and from the first time we saw Lukas Rossi, he reminded us of an Oompa Loompa. Who wants to see an Oompa Loompa hopping around onstage for two hours? Not this kid.

From the beginning we were big fans of Dilana and Mr. Mingle and I would often discuss what a great addition she'd make to the band. It seemed she was unstoppable, until of course, 'the breakdown', when she self-combusted at a press junket. Even so though, she got back on track, and performance-wise she was unbeatable in my book. I would have paid to see her in concert just to see what came next.

It came down to Lukas and Dilana in the final two, and I agree that they were the best two choices for the band, as long as Dilana won. But alas no matter how much discussion between Mr. Mingle and I, or how much Lukas looks like an Oompa Loompa, the band chose Lukas.

What were they thinking???!

Blame Canada

Dreaming of Work

I have officially made it through the first week of work - make that exactly 6 days of work. Despite the whole cubicle and laptop situation, I have been trying to absorb as much information as I can. I’ve been attending meetings, getting trained, shadowing. Up until Thursday however, the big problem with all of this is it was putting me to sleep. Literally. It’s not that it was boring, it’s just…I guess a combination of too much new information, but no real stimulation. I began standing up in meetings to avoid falling asleep. Even talking one–on–one to people in their cubes I would have to stand, eat chocolate, hold my eyes real wide, and have the constant intravenous coffee drip going. I felt like I was in college all over again, - because I fell asleep in almost every single class I took at Davis. Regardless of if I was tired walking in – there always came a point when no matter how much caffeine I had, how many crosswords I brought with me, or snacks, I would drop off to sleep, literally while taking notes. If you were to look at my college notebooks it would look something like this – AND I QUOTE – “In 1945 the political theory of.. flowers…(fell asleep here).” Because not only did I fall asleep in class – and keep record of it in my notes - on occasion I actually wrote something from a dream rather then what the professor said. Oh, but I digress…

My total tiredness came to a head on Wednesday when I had to sit in on a two hour conference call with the Russian Woman*. The Russian Woman was talking into a polycom and walking the customer on the other end through a configuration document. I really needed to pay attention to this because it is what I will do very soon. I was avidly listening and taking notes for the first hour, when the doze potential started kicking in. I stood up, I sat down, I stood up, I paced around, I sat down. I got cold – left the room to get my jacket and shook my head to try to clear the cobwebs as I left the room. I came back, sat down. Stood up, paced around… you can see where this is going. Fortunately the Russian Woman seemed non-plussed by my movement, and also did not notice when finally 10 minutes before the meeting ended I could not control it any longer and… closed..my…eyes.. Huh? What?

It was after this, that I sent an email to my friend JP and said that I needed to ask my boss some burning questions before she left on vacation:
1) When will I get my laptop?
2) When will I get my cubicle?
3) When will they start putting me to work?
4) Can I have a cot?

JP suggested that I switch the approach and say, “Listen, either you give me a cot, or you put me to work, I’ll leave it up to you.”

I thought that was excellent advice, but fortunately it didn’t come to that. On Thursday before I left for the day my boss and the project manager guru whom I’ve been shadowing met to discuss what to do with me for the next few weeks. They decided that I’m picking up stuff quickly and that it might be good to give me my own client. Which they did! They came to tell me that my first client will be in Oregon. Hooray!!! At that point, I don’t know if I was happier about the fact that I get to go to work, or that I get to go to Oregon. I did keep my wits about me enough not to exclaim to the boss, “that’s great news, because I have friends up there!” Instead, I thanked her, and eagerly came to work on Friday refreshed. And not once, did I doze.

*In regards to the Russian Woman… when I first met her I knew that she was either from Russia or somewhere else in Eastern Europe but I wasn’t exactly sure. However I figured it out yesterday when I saw her cube. She had 3 still-life photos hanging on her cube walls, which had one prominent thing in common: Vodka. It was right then when I knew – she’s Russian.

The Cubicle Saga

Thursday:
My boss tells me that I am supposed to be sitting in a cubicle in the corner where another guy (the English Guy) is currently located. He is supposed to be moving to the other suite (where I am temporarily located). The woman I am supposed to sit next to, shadow, and train with says that the English Guy will probably be very excited to move.

Friday:
A random employee tells me that "No" I will not be getting the English Guy's cube because he doesn't want to move. According to her, she is moving to a different cube, and I will get her old cube.
Later I mention to my boss that I am getting conflicting information about where I am to sit. She tells me that the random employee is wrong and that she will be sorting this out with the CFO who is supposed to tell the English Guy he's moving. Later in the day the boss tells me that the English guy will be told on Tuesday that he needs to vacate his cube by Wednesday.

Monday:
Holiday

Tuesday:
The CFO stops by to apologize for the delay and explains that he's "sorry that I don't have my permanent space yet. A couple of people didn't show up for work so they didn't feel they could be evicted from their cubes until they saw them face to face." He thinks I should be in my space by Thursday.

Wednesday:
No word.

Thursday:
Random employee shows up to tell me that I should be sure to take the chair I'm currently sitting in. She explains that I should quietly remove it from the suite I am in to the other suite where the cube is. I explain to her that I have already placed an order for a proper office chair because I don't really want to continue sitting in the 80s style kitchen chair with the wooden arms and no wheels. But thanks anyway. Random then says that "they" are on the case, and are trying to get me my cube (aka her old cube). My boss comes out and says that Random is incorrect and well.. go away.

Friday:
Considering it's only Thursday, I can't comment yet. But my boss is now officially out of the office until September 20.

No mention of whether the English guy has actually been told to move yet, and frankly I haven't even met the poor guy. I'm afraid to since I feel like he's going to hate me. Anyone want to take bets on when I'll actually get my permanent home away from home?

The Raptop

On my first day at work, I was in a meeting with my boss and some others when the subject of my laptop first came up. "When will Mingle get her computer?" "What kind of computer did you order?" "What?" "Did you fill out the form?" "The new employee form? yes?" "No, there's another form now - to request her computer - did you fill that out?" "No, no one told me about a new form." "Oh, there's a new form." "Oh." As the computer discussion continued around me, I think that I heard I would be getting an HP because it has a nice wide screen. But since it has a nice wide screen, then I would not be getting a new flat panel monitor to go with it. Beggars can't be choosers.

On the second day a tech guy came by - and let me stress one of the two tech guys came- which is something I'll need to get used to in this small company - with an old IBM laptop. This is the conversation that followed:

9am -
Tech Guy: Here's your laptop. Unfortunately as I was setting it up for you the R key came off but I was able to pop it back on. However, it may fall off again.

Mingle: oh. thanks.

The R key falls off as he's typing in the password. He then spends a good amount of time trying to put the R back to no avail.

Mingle: Is this a loaner laptop?

Tech Guy: No - this is your laptop.

Mingle: Oh... hmm... I might need the R key.

Tech Guy: Do you want me to put a little glue on it? It might be uneven but it could work.

Mingle: Well.. the R could come in handy... ha ha..you know if I'm travelling... I'd hate to lose the R when I'm taking my laptop somewhere... (what the f...?!)

Tech Guy: Okay - I'll take the R back to my desk and find some glue.

4pm -

Mingle: Hey Tech Guy - before you go on vacation next week - can I have my R key back?

Tech Guy: What? Oh that's right - I was supposed to attach that for you. By the way I found out you are getting another laptop.

TG then hands me one of the most ancient keyboards and mouse I've seen in awhile.

Tech Guy: This mouse won't actually work with the laptop because it doesn't have a USB connection. But it will work with the docking station. Did I give you one of those?

I have yet to get the other laptop, or hear about it. I don't know what's going on. I also don't know what's going on with my cube - but that's a different story...

A New Beginning

Last Thursday I started my new job at BS and so far so good. I guess. It's been kind of a slow start, but so far everyone I have met is really nice, and they work hard, so that's something new. They are kind of slow to give me a cube, a computer, direction... but I still have hope. My first day of work really felt like the first day at a brand new school. I was waiting at the bus stop with my banana, granola bar and water, wondering if the "kids" would be nice to me once I started. Mr. Mingle even sent me a text message asking if I remembered my Trapper Keepers and I had a moment of panic when I realized I didn't. Where would I keep all of my stuff??

Little did I know that this would become more of an issue as it became clear that I didn't yet have a cubicle and therefore nowhere to keep my stuff. I started to panic, but then thought...now... be patient, afterall - I didn't get moved into my last cube at FT until at least a month after working for the new department (hence the reason this blog ever started in the first place!). Speaking of blogging, I also don't have a permanent laptop assigned to me so I don't yet feel confident blogging from work (although I was pleased to discover that the loaner laptop does have Spider Solitaire). So, to make up for it, I've been taking notes as I ride to and from work - just so I don't miss anything that I find amusing during the day.

And now, as I sit at home about to type my first blog since starting at BS - I realize I have left my trusty notebook at work, in the temporary cube next to the loaner laptop and can only think: - dear god - i hope no one reads it.

How to Make an Exit

When I wrote my story a month ago, I thought that was the end of it. When I left work for the last time on Friday, I really thought that was the end of it. Oh, but how wrong I was...

After work on Friday I had set up a Happy Hour with friends that I'd made through the years at FT. I was having a jolly good time having some drinks and mingling with those who had come. It was a nice turn out that represented the various groups that I've worked with over the years. Sandy and her husband came to say goodbye and aside from the fact that I had to referree between Sandy and our boss Meanie for 4 months, I like her and was pleased that they were there. One thing that always bothered me however was the fact that during the whole 4-month woe of whining about getting a job with my department she never once told me that her dad was friends with the Executive VP. The Big Spin and Meanie had told me Sandy's dad was friends with the VIP about 8 months ago, but Sandy never breathed a word. Instead she complained and worried that she wouldn't be hired and I was always on the verge of exploding, "will you give me a break! We all know that you will get a job here since your dad is friends with the VIP, never mind the fact that you've worked here for 2 years now and are a smart woman, so please, shut up!". But I never did... instead I was quite impressed (and frankly surprised) that she never once brought that little piece of information up.

Then comes Friday night... a couple of beers down, I decided to ask Sandy about this tidbit of info, and here's how it went:

Mingle (all happy): Sandy, now that I'm leaving, you can finally tell me... is your dad friends with [VIP - The Big Spin's boss]?

Sandy: What?

Mingle: Is your dad friends with VIP?

Sandy: What?

M: Is your dad friends with VIP?

S: No!

M: oh

S: Why would you ask me that?

M: well... the Big Spin and Meanie told me he was.

S: WHAT?! Why would they think that? Why would they tell you that????

M: um... (oh dear god what have i started) ... because they believe it?

S: Do you mean to tell me that my whole job here is predicated on the fact that people think my dad is friends with the VIP?? (tears start)

M: What? NO, noonononono, (oh dear, oh dear, shit, shit - why won't someone come rescue me?) ha , ha, no, of course not - you are a smart, talented girl, and you finally have the job that you wanted , so I really wouldn't worry about it. Just make your mark now. (Apparently after a few beers, "Make Your Mark" becomes my mantra)

...

S: (Cry, cry, tears) Can I clear this up with the Big Spin?
M: Of course you can!! Good idea! Yes, yes, clear this up and Make YOUR MARK.
Someone else: Um..Mingle…would you guys like to play pool?....
M: Yes, YES! Great idea! Come on Sandy, let’s go play pool with your husband…

At this point, Sandy pretty much disappeared, her husband came to say goodbye and thank me (curse me) for dropping that bombshell of information prior to their weekend and off they went.

I, in the meantime, had dropped my own bombshell. It was as if I wound her up, set her in front of the door to my old department, patted her on the butt and said – “Off you go now… say bye to the Big Spin for me!!!”

And, exit – stage left.

Geeks on Parade, Installment 2

When I first met Scooby, one of the other marching instructors, last year - I quickly came to learn that one of his favorite words is "Clusterf_ck". He has used this word so many times since I started teaching with him that I'm convinced the dictionary definition would be something like this:

Clusterfuck: n. 1. A group of kids marching aound on a field. In a sentence: What a tremendous game we have seen so far; while the football team regroups in the locker room during half-time, let's all enjoy the clusterfuck that is occurring on the field.

Needless to say, I do cringe everytime I hear him use that. Fortunately, it's never within ear-shot of the kids.