Category: Work

It’s pseudo Friday

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We were allowed to leave a little early from work today which was a blessing since my stomach had been bothering me. Plus it was a boring day – two coworkers had the day off and the other one took a half day, and like it always seems to happen on the day when you least feel like working, I had a higher than usual volume of requests while I was also trying to prepare for my big billing cycle that starts on Monday.

On my way home I got stuck behind two garbage trucks for a good two miles on a one-lane road and it literally smelled like shit but even that could not ruin my good mood. How can you not be happy with three days off?

Although I am finding it difficult to mentally prepare myself to get up at 3:45 am tomorrow so we can see, and photograph, the hot air balloons at the Eyes to the Skies Festival in Lisle, Illinois. We haven’t gone since 2005 thanks to our love affair with sleep. I wouldn’t mind attending the balloon glow in the evening but that requires festival admission and at $15 per person that is just ridiculous. I can’t even understand why you’d have to pay for the opportunity to spend even more money on rides, games, and food. That’s just dumb!

I’m getting all the camera equipment ready tonight and in the car so in the morning all I have to do is shower, do my hair and makeup, and go. Last time I didn’t shower and it wasn’t such a big deal because my hair was longer and didn’t look like a disaster when I woke up. Plus we didn’t spend the whole day out. This time it’s different – in addition to the balloons, we have a parade to attend because Joe’s son is in a marching band, and after that we might hit a fest as well, so it’s going to be a busy, but fun, Friday.

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I need to buy more compact flash cards for my digital SLR because I’ve decided to start shooting in RAW only. I’ve been shooting in JPEG+small RAW but the small RAW files are pretty much useless (I think they are only 2 MB compared to the 10 MB the camera is capable of) but I love how you can change the white balance and other things that cannot truly be fixed in a JPEG file. RAW files are huge so one 2 GB card is just not cutting it for me. I tend to take 200+ photos at one location. Many of those are later deleted, but I’d rather take 5 shots of the same scene and get one good one than try to conserve space and end up with all crappy photos. I’m leaning toward Sandisk 2GB cards but if anyone has a better suggestion, I’m all ears.

Gifts, moolah, etc.

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This is my first chance in days to sit down at the computer for more than fifteen minutes. Let me tell you about the week I’ve had.

Monday I was in a seven hour meeting which basically kept me from doing my regular work until Tuesday. I’ve been busting my ass for the last three days to get caught up and get as much done as possible since I’m off tomorrow and won’t be returning to work until after Christmas. This time of the year is pure hell where I work with all the last minute end of the year requests.

Monday evening we headed to the girl’s school for her chorus’ winter concert. It wasn’t as boring as I was expecting; the kids sang well. Plus it was only an hour. It was a little uncomfortable, however, because Joe’s ex’s parents saved us seats so I was sitting directly in front of his ex the whole time. She wouldn’t even look my way though. Heehee.

Tuesday I spent my evening making Christmas cupcakes (no photos, sorry) and helping Joe wrap presents for my coworkers because Wednesday was our gift exchange. Check out my loot! Isn’t that stuffed bear adorable? I love it.

Tuesday night before going to bed, after a little deliberation (but not much since it was a steal), I ordered a brand spankin’ new computer from Dell which is due to arrive on New Year’s. I am so excited because I haven’t had an all-new computer in forever. Just to have functioning USB 2.0 will be a dream come true (mine won’t work). Plus I’ll have a nice fast processor and Windows Vista, which is nice as long as you have enough RAM. :)

Woo hoo! Last night we got a bunch of Christmas cards, including the one I look forward to all year – my uncle’s. I love that he sends me five scratch-off lotto tickets every year because they are so much fun but I never buy them for myself. Two years ago I won $25 but last year I don’t think I even won a free ticket. This year made up for that because I won a free ticket, $2, and $100! I totally had a blonde moment with the $100 winner (the last ticket I scratched off, no less). You have to match three like numbers to win that amount and as I was scratching off the last space I was like, “come on $100!” but it was a free ticket, so I was bummed… until I noticed I already had three $100’s scratched off. Sometimes I am such a tard!

We also got our cards from Joe’s parents and for some reason they sent us checks for five times what they usually give each of us for Christmas. Cha-ching!

Oh and we had phone service installed last night as well. Joe was like, “aw, it’s our first phone together”. We’ve always had cell phones but never a home phone. The service is through the cable line which is pretty cool. We get a monster discount so it’s like $15 a month for unlimited calls in the US and Canada. I like the ring tone for the cordless phone we picked out. Not that we’ll hear it much since we don’t plan on sharing the number with anyone. Of course that didn’t stop Joe from picking up the phone (mind you, this was before it was connected) at random times during the week and going, “hello? hold on”, turning toward me and handing me the phone saying, “it’s your mom… again”. LOL!

Anyway, tonight after work we were back at the girl’s school to watch the boy’s beginning band put on a concert. This time we sat far away from Joe’s ex. This concert was even shorter than the girl’s, and quite frankly, not as good. But it’s middle school so really not that bad when you put it in perspective. I didn’t take band until high school (I played clarinet) so I give those kids a lot of credit.

On the way home we stopped at Fry’s and I got a cute iPod case that looks like a wallet. I had bought another case made of silicone earlier in the week but I don’t like it because the plastic that came with it to cover the screen and click wheel suck. Mine wouldn’t stay put and the plastic itself actually put a long scratch on the click wheel. I was so pissed!

Alright, I think we’re all caught up now. I’ll probably be going to bed soon because we plan on doing some shopping tomorrow for some new clothes and stuff. I like getting to the mall early before it gets crowded.

FIL #6

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There used to be a Showtime original series called Dead Like Me which I loved. Unfortunately, it got cut down in it’s prime. I found out there’s going to be a movie and most of the original cast is in it! I’m really looking forward to it because even George’s sister, Reggie, is coming back. Check out the trailer here.

Friends of the Five Day Weekend believe workers waste much of their day, and if motivated by more time off, could get more accomplished in half the time. I can see that to a certain degree but I don’t think it applies to everyone. For instance, I’m a fast and efficient employee, yet I can never get caught up because my workload is ridiculous! I love the idea of this movement, however. Hell, I’d be happy with a four day weekend. Working for the weekends suck.

This post was brought to you by my faster computer thanks to the 1 GB of memory my husband bought me today. I might not smash it into pieces now.

It’s Thursday

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And you know what that means, right?

a) Joe is bringing home something good for dinner.
b) It’s must-see-tv night.
c) Only one more day before the weekend.
d) All of the above.

It’s D people! I’m waiting patiently for my Long John Silvers chicken while I get pissed off at how frickin’ slow Firefox is lately. I will be watching tv shortly because I am losing my patience with this computer of mine.

Oh and how cool is it that two days ago my boss’ boss gave me two $5 Panera gift cards as a little thank-you for always helping the Collections department with their questions? It’s nice to be appreciated. Plus I love Panera so I doubt those cards will last through December.

I am McLovin

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Too tired and ready to head upstairs to post a real entry ….

A Qdoba ground sirloin burrito has 1080 calories! Holy shit, guess I won’t be eating there again for awhile. But that three cheese queso is muy bueno!

I actually lost at Pictionary this weekend. Well, only the second game when I was forced to team up with my brother who draws better than the rest of us yet lacks the mind-reading capabilities my husband and I share. Oh and Trivial Pursuit 80’s Edition still sucks balls.

I finally got my new computer at work! Tomorrow will be my first day using it. I’m way too excited about this than a person should be.

Super Bad was super vulgar, and super free since The Simpsons two weeks ago started late and we got free passes for the inconvenience. “I am McLovin.”

I deleted a load of feeds from my Bloglines. I’m sick of reading boring blog entry after another (much like this one). It’s a total waste of time. I need to stop spending so much time online and rediscover my old hobbies like jewelry-making. And tv-watching. LOL! Oh and exercising would be nice. I have the 1st season of The L Word that’s gathering dust upstairs by the elliptical machine (also full of dust).

Drool-worthy discovery today – Canon has announced the 40D. Oh baby, I am so getting this camera!!! Joe has wanted to inherit my 20D for awhile now but there wasn’t anything out there worthy of relinquishing it to him. Now there is. I also need a hot-shoe and Joe is going to build me a light box.

I want to have a garage sale but I don’t know if I should push myself to get one organized before October or just wait until next Spring so I can slowly declutter the closets and garage. I’m tired of all the stuff. I don’t want it. I don’t need it.