I finally did it!
I got my Christmas tree up tonight! I had to rearrange my furniture at least six times. I'll take pics soon! I am now in the spirit! Hohoho! I don't want to hear any comments that I might look like Santa after the weight gain.
Time for new clothes
It is winter - so time for my annual diet. I am the only person I know who gains weight in the summer and loses it in the winter. I put on a sweater today that looked terrible. I have gained about 20 lbs since being laid off and moving to Tucson. The people at work are giving me hell about working out. One of my friends today told me that because my clothes didn't fit and it didn't look like I was going to do anything about it I should donate all of my clothes. I told her that hit below the belt. Her response - the belt won't fit soon either so I might as well get rid of it too! Ugh!
BC Clark
Be sure to visit my myspace page to hear the most popular Christmas jingle of all time - well if you are from Oklahoma anyway. Anyone who lives or lived anywhere near OKC can sing this jingle by heart. Anyone not from Oklahoma probably doesn't understand. One thing is for sure when you hear this song you know that Christmas can't be far away!
Shamu
I went to Sea World for the first time a couple of weekends ago in San Diego and saw this show. These animals are amazingly smart. It just goes to show that even though trained you have to remember they are still dangerous.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15964896/
People are sick
This story made me literally want to vomit - and still does everytime I read it. This woman should be punished to the fullest extent of the law and then some. I can't tell you how upset this makes me!
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15936362/
OU
Did anyone watch the games last weekend? I am not usually a football fan - but it was nice for Texas to hand over the Big 12 Championship and Fiesta Bowl to OU. I hope OU remembered to write a thank you note for the early Christmas present!
Cold
We have finally had a cold front come throug Tucson. I think this is about as cold as it gets here and the Arizonans are freezing. The highs are in the upper fifties and the lows about freezing. I have to laugh at their reaction. Though my heater apparently did not work and it was quite nippy the apartment this morning - 51 degrees in fact. That just got fixed today - after I had to leave early from work because they apartment staff did not have a key to get in to my place. Ugh! At least I will be warm tonight!
Overheard in the airport
As I was coming home from my Thanksgiving visit to California last Sunday I overheard two great conversations in the airport. The first happend when I was standing in line at the ticket counter to check my bags on US Air. When it was her turn she asked the guys at the counter if they were handling the desk for a competing airline which was dark. They replied no and that they had already closed their counter for the day. The girl looked at her travel companion and said I guess if you are five minutes late for a flight they won't let you on. I tried hard to keep from laughing out loud. The plane had left five minutes earlier and they hadn't even checked their bags - and somehow it was the airline's fault.
The other incident occured while waiting for my connection. It was getting late - passed the time we should have boarded. Finally the two flight attendants walked up and I swear to you they were 75 years old if they were a day. I thought to myself that we have the flight attendants in the world. After they got on the jetway, the people working the counter were doing their best to get the plane off on time. One of them commented that the reason they were late is that the flight attendants were late and another quickly commented that it was because they were old - I almost died right there!
I'm still alive!!
I am still alive and kicking! I am getting back in the habit and going to be posting regularly because I know you guys have been missing me. I know the disappointment that you must feel when you link to my website and there are no updates. Getting used to travelling with work has taken a while but I think I have it down now so watch out...I may be an updating fool!
Find Your Spot!
So I was told about this website this weekend -
www.findyourspot.com. You answer a short series of questions and they provide a list of places you are suited to live. This was my list:
Las Vegas, Nevada
Portland, Oregon
Little Rock, Arkansas
Las Cruces, New Mexico
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Cincinnati, Ohio
Kansas City, Missouri
Tucson, Arizona
Norfolk, Virginia
St. Louis, Missouri
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Phoenix, Arizona
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Indianapolis, Indiana
Eugene, Oregon
Corvallis, Oregon
Baltimore, Maryland
Long Beach, California
Chicago, Illinois
San Diego, California
Nashville, Tennessee
El Paso, Texas
Toledo, Ohio
I disagree with a lot of them. I think that I short changed myself when I answered the questions about housing and rent prices. That is why I ended up in the Midwest. I do like Vegas, Chicago, and San Diego. At least Tuscon is on the list. Don't know that I will be here long - but at least it seems to be a good fit.
Where's your spot?
Still Alive?
Some of you have questions whether or not I am still alive. I'm still kicking. Let me tell you the basic details of my life as of late. I pack, leave, come home, wash clothes, and repeat. This last month has been crazy! More details to come!
Hope your Turkey Week is off to a good start!
D
The best quote of the week
Arizona passsed a law this week that bans smoking in all public places including bars. As you might imagine, a lot of people are not happy (I am not one of those people but I digress). This was a quote by one of those unhappy people . He said secondhand smoke "will not hurt you none." I will never understand why the media chooses to interview the people they do. Yes I do. It makes for better entertainment.
I finally figured out how to get my new scanner to work. I know you have been waiting for the pic of me and Calypso! Look at that water - that is the ocean - how cool is that?
I am about to wet my pants!
This is the Hillary-Condi Ho-Down! It is too funny! Has a few lines that may not be suitable for public consumption - but is hillarious!
http://i.euniverse.com/funpages/cms_content/13180/HillaryCondi_HoDown.swf
Interesting Election Day
Quite an interesting day yesterday. Just a few minutes ago they announced that the Democrats had won both the House and the Senate. It will be a totally different world for our President his last two years in office.
Arizona passed a measure that barred smoking in public places including bars - that is too cool. I hate going to the bar and smelling like smoke when I leave. I know this will get reaction and I respect your opinions on smoking - I am just saying I am glad this measure passed.
Well - this is not a political blog - just wanted to mention how interesting I found the election.
Make way for Hillary in 2008!
Britney and Faith
Well - it is official - Britney is getting a divorce. Are any of us surprised?
I was surprised at Faith Hill's reaction when Carrie Underwood won the best female vocalist award this week. She lifted up her hands and remarked "WHAT???" very animatedly. I hope it was a joke. I watched the clip - and I don't think it was - but I hope for her sake it was. I really thought Faith Hill was a class act. Time for her to hit the talk show circuit for damage control!
**OK - so I spelled Britney wrong - I corrected it! :)
My former employer
This is a story about how my former employer is bringing 250 jobs to the Florence, SC area. The story neglects to point out that they laid the same number of people off in July (including myself - though I must say it was the best thing to ever happen to me - my life is much better without this company). This company's PR people must have a very busy job trying to keep the company looking good - gotta give them props for the slant they provided to this story. In my opinion, lying by omission is stil lying. The best part is they are begging the people they laid off in July to come back and paying them 25 - 50% more to come back - and even better many of these employees are turning them down. Money is nice - but it isn't everything. It is about time large corporations learn to care about their employees. This company tries to convey to the public they care about their employees (keeping those PR guys in business) but at the end of the day they don't - and it is good to see the former employees showing that they don't have to take the abuse.
http://www.scnow.com/midatlantic/scp/news.apx.-content-articles-FMN-2006-11-06-0007.html
Just an observation...
I think it is funny how many people must blog from work as many of the blogs I read are updated regularly during the week - but have absolutely no updates on the weekend.
I guess the other side to that is that I don't have enough of a life?
Holidays
I can't believe that Thanksgiving is only 2.5 weeks away. I think that part of it stems from the fact that it is still 85 degrees here (not that I am complaining). In fact, I bought some gloves for my upcoming trip to Chicago today and people looked at me like I was crazy. I probably am - but at least get to know me first. ;)
I hadn't been ready for the holidays until today. I am looking forward to them now - because of two things. Again, Best Buy was a bad place to be today. They had one of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra CD's on sale for $10. It is awesome Christmas music. No one ever recognizes the name but I promise you will recognize the music. If you ever get a chance to go to one of their concerts during the Christmas season - do so - you won't be disappointed. It is awesome. The music is a fusion of classical and rock. This combined with a laser light show reminiscent of Pink Floyd - I promise it is an experience you will not forget.
I also went to see The Santa Clause 3 today. It was really cute - and helped me to get ready for the holidays to begin. It is hard to believe that it has been 12 years since the original - where does time go? They did a good job with the movie and I think it was a great way to end the trilogy.
Well - I wasn't as productive as I would have liked to have been and I spent more money than I should of - but overall - it was a great weekend!
Have a great week!
D
New Toy
I just went in to Best Buy to look at printers - not buy one. In my defense it was on sale. I got the HP Photosmart C6180 All-in-One Printer, Fax, Scanner, Copier. It is awesome. It is totally wireless so I can print from my laptop without physically connecting to the printer. I can also print pictures directly from the printer from the card in my camera. The best part was that it was about $200 cheaper than I expected. Although - someone may lose a Christmas gift. Joking of course...
Lasik
I think I am going in to have a Lasik consultation next week and I am going to aim to have the surgery in January. Thoughts? Has anyone had Lasik?
I went to the eye dr last week and it just made me realize how nice it would be not to have contacts anymore. Plus if I can use the FSA (Flexible Spending Account) my company offers to pay for it - I won't have to come up with the funds at one time.
Hope your weekend is going well.
D
Weekends
Why is so hard to get motivated to do the things you need to - i.e. laundry, dishes, clean the bathroom - on the weekends. I think I am going to have to check in to getting a maid...lol!
This week's getting to know you question
What could you do as a child that you can't do now?
Common Sense
Don't get me wrong education is important. - very important! But I have found that common sense is just as important. I hate when people don't use common sense. Yesterday was a trying day for me at work. I can't stand when people refuse to bend when what they are saying makes absolutely no sense. Yes, policies are there for a reason - but when you have a policy that doesn't meet the common sense requirement - then it is time to review that policy as there is always room for improvement. Bottom line if we can work together to improve our processes and ultimately our company - we all profit. Why do people refuse to admit there might be a better way? I'm not saying that I am always right by any means - I make my fair share of mistakes - but I do try to think through all of my decisions and try not to open my mouth unless I have done my research (education) and thought through (common sense) thoroughly. Is it too much that I ask others to do the same?
Sorry for the rant - long day at work yesterday.
Flu Shot
Since I am travelling so much, I went and got a flu shot the other night. I have gotten them the last few years just to be on the safe side. The only real side effect is that your arm is sore for a day or so and I figure that is much better than taking the chance of getting sick!
I just happened to notice the sign at Walgreens for the shots on Thursday from 6-9pm. I was of course not in my element as the average age of the people standing in line was probably 68. The conversations were hilarious. Most were not happy about having to drive in the 5:00 traffic. You know they had to eat dinner at 3:30 instead of 4:30 and were probably just trying to stay awake.
You have to love the older generation. God willing, we all will be there one day!
It's the weekend!
Woo hoo - albeit my last weekend home this month - so I have to spend the day cleaning...fun stuff, huh. Oh well - it will be worth it the rest of the month!
Have a great weekend!
D
I just went in to Best Buy to look at printers - not buy one. In my defense it was on sale. I got the HP Photosmart C6180 All-in-One Printer, Fax, Scanner, Copier. It is awesome. It is totally wireless so I can print from my laptop without physically connecting to the printer. I can also print pictures directly from the printer from the card in my camera. The best part was that it was about $200 cheaper than I expected. Although - someone may lose a Christmas gift. Joking of course...
