Dear Muse - we need to talk

Dear Muse,

It was so nice to see you this weekend. Really. It's been such a long time. And while I normally would welcome an unexpected visit from you, we really need to discuss timing, as it's becoming a serious issue for us.

See, while it's good to know that you will make an appearance when I'm in deadline hell, it's important that you keep in mind what that deadline is. When I'm stressing over my term paper deadline, it's really not the best of times for you to pop in and talk incessantly about the next great american novel. Seriously.

Oh, and while we're on the topic of "not the best of times to pop in" we should go ahead and get a few other times out of the way. For instance, when I'm flying down the freeway at the speed limit (whatever that might be at the time), is not a good time. You see, I don't have any voice activated devices available to me and I'm pretty sure typing on my laptop while driving would be discouraged by any rational person.

Another time is when I'm in the bathtub because, while I don't instantly recall reading it, I'm pretty sure taking a laptop into the bathtub would not be a good idea. While it may not electrocute me, I don't believe water in its innards would do it much good.

While I'm at work is another "not good time". You see, my employer thinks I should do company work when I'm there. You may think it's unreasonable but, well, it pays the bills.

On the other hand, good times - and you'll always be welcome - to stop by are, when I'm sitting down to write. Despite what you think, it is NOT amusing to scramble the words in my head when I finally sit down. Wiping my brain free of the great scene, character trait, idea is also not amusing.

Now, dear Muse, I don't want to offend you. I just want to come to an understanding. I have the utmost respect for your special skills and love when you stop by. In fact, I would happily stop cleaning house to share some quality time with you. All I ask is that you be mindful of the timing.

Your faithful servant -

L

Winding down

I worked more on my midterm (which is due tonight) last night. I had done a draft of it over the weekend and decided to take one last look at it before I turned it in. I had hoped I would read it and think it read better than it had over the weekend. Instead my reaction was "I was going to turn THAT CRAP in??? And I redid everything. But I feel better about what I've done now. There's more of an analysis (as is requested) than a retelling of the story. At least I think there is. I may take one last look at it today at lunch but it's a good bet that what I have now is what will be turned in. So keep your fingers crossed that it's what the instructor is looking for - and that it's good.

I also worked a bit more on my term paper. I think I have a good opening hook, so to speak, on it and I think I have a good close for it. (The first part is written but the close is just in my head - so far.) I also (hand) wrote up the analysis for everyone that responded to my survey. Interestingly the pro-lifers are much more sympathetic to the pro-choicers, most saying they don't judge those who have abortions or who are pro-choice. The pro-choicers, on the other hand, came across as angry about anyone who didn't share their points of view. Is that all typical? I don't know but that's the snapshot I got. Only one response caused me to have a negative reaction, and that was someone who said it was cruel to force someone to have a child that was deformed or handicapped. I'm sorry but not having a "perfect" baby isn't a justification for having an abortion in my book. Aborting a child for those reasons, to me, is what is cruel. Of course I didn't respond to the person saying that because the point wasn't to get into a debate with anyone and I appreciate her honest feedback. But that comment didn't sit well with me.

I'm having a test next week in the government class (same day the paper is due) and will have three acts of another Shakespearean play to read next week so I'm still feeling a bit overwhelmed but I think we're in the home stretch.....

Interesting development

Today I went back to the old grind. Had class during lunch and something interesting happened. The young gentleman (and I do mean young) that sits in front of me stood up at the end of class, blocking me from leaving the room and proceeded to tell me he's writing a book. When we finally left the classroom, as we walked out, he told me all about it and how he came to have the idea and how it all played out.

Now I should tell you that 1) he's never initiated a conversation between us before. He will respond if I say something to him but he's never initiated a conversation - he seems quiet and shy. and 2) I've never told him that I write.

I just thought it was kind of interesting.

Last call

Today is officially my last day of vacation. I'm not ready to go back to work tomorrow. I didn't get much of what I wanted to get done, done. Plus, I just don't want to be working now. I was telling someone at work that I wanted to be a stay-at-home wife, only I didn't want to have to be married to do it. And that's really how I feel about it. I want going to an office and working to be an option. But, since that's not the case, I'll go back tomorrow. *sigh*

I did my taxes today and have already received confirmation that the return as submitted has been accepted. I just have to send in a signature page (I didn't have the information from last year's tax returns because of the computer crash last summer and my not printing out the return) to complete it. Just got to buy a stamp and put it in the mail. :-)

I have a draft of my midterm complete. I heard back from my instructor and she was pretty broad and vague in her response so I'm still not certain if I'm going to be giving her what she's looking for. I tend to think that it would be good enough if we were doing this in class but given that we have two weeks to work on it I would think the bar would (and should) be raised and I'm not certain I've risen to the challenge. I still have a few more days to refine it though, and then - once it's turned in - I plan to discuss the exam, and my answers, with a good friend.

My term paper is pretty well written - in my head, that is, it still lacks the "on paper" thing that most instructors prefer. I'm still doing research though. If I didn't mention it here, I'm writing on abortion. I sent out a small little questionnaire for an optional analysis portion of the paper and got a great response to it. Several people have thrown out some interesting tidbits on the topic and that has helped with the required research aspect of the paper. One person though, sent me some information and I thought it was great information but I can't find anything to support her claim. I emailed her and she can't find it either so I can't really use it but it would have been great to include. Basically I chose this topic because I have a strong opinion about it and thought the paper would be easier for me to write for that reason but it turns out it's been a learning experience for me - due in no small part to the input from others - which, when you think about it, was the whole purpose for this exercise.

Anyway, I hope everyone had a great Easter. :-)

Nearing the end

Yesterday was another blown day. I had pretty well made up my mind that I'd do everything this weekend. I finally heard back from my instructor last night and, as with everything else, her response was pretty broad and vague but I do know what sort of page space she's looking for for each response.

Anyway, I was feeling tired pretty early and decided to listen to my body and went to bed. I'd been asleep for less than an hour and woke up with a start and a realization that my term paper is due more quickly than I'd been thinking. I've still been looking at it as weeks out that it's due but it's actually due the week after next. Gulp! I tried to go back to sleep so that I'd wake up today rested and refreshed but that wasn't working for me so I got up and started reading my research materials for the paper. I was tired enough that it wasn't really sinking in but I still couldn't sleep. So I settled on having a major anxiety attack and a fitful night of sleep, including a dream where I went to a comedy club (but didn't laugh) and had my purse stolen, which was hard to shake off when I woke up for some reason.

So the plan for today is to finish up my midterm and then give serious consideration to the term paper - all while doing laundry. Tomorrow will be spent on finishing up rough drafts and reading Acts 4 and 5 of King Lear. Any extra time will be spent on the spring cleaning which was the whole purpose of me taking the last week off.

What are your plans for the holiday weekend?

Blah, blah, blah

That's how I've been feeling the last couple of days. Not sick, more like in a funk. I'm not getting everything done on the house that I want and I'm not fully understanding my midterm assignment (I did, however, email the instructor a few minutes ago for a clarification because my grade is very important to me). But I was thinking it was more than that and I realized, I'm really not happy in my job. A week or so ago they let me work from home one day and I was soooooooo productive and in a good mood. I think if I could convince them to let me do that more frequently it would help. Guess the worse thing they can do is tell me no.

Anyway, I wanted to get out of this funk today so I went out and did some shopping and got my hair and eyebrows done. Now, some of you remember a recent trip I made to get my hair and eyebrows done. I'm pretty sure I've been since then without incident but I went to the same place today. I would say I had gotten the same person as before except what happened when she went to do my eyebrows.

Are you ready for this? She brought a "kit" over with her that had these things that she fits over your eyebrows so that she can color them to know what does not get waxed. I really should have gotten up and left then. Seriously. But I didn't because my eyebrows have really gotten out of hand (they're naturally very bushy). I also dragged a customer over whose eyebrows looked good and told the lady that I wanted my eyebrows done about the same thickness as hers (the lady suggested she give me an arch in my eyebrows - but that's another story). She didn't seem to get it though because I think she thought I wanted them shaped like this other lady's eyebrows.

So she puts the think over my eyebrow, colors it and starts waxing...the top of my eyebrow. Again, I don't think you're really supposed to do that but at this point I'm kind of stuck...again. She spends a great deal of time on the left eyebrow. She tweezes and trims the brow before giving me a mirror to be sure the first one is okay before she moves on to the other eyebrow. I can't tell the difference between the two eyebrows - it's still very thick. I tell her I want more removed. More time is spent on the left eyebrow.

I think I looked at it another time before she did a little more work and then didn't give me the opportunity to look at it before she moved on to the right eyebrow. She spent considerably less time on the right eyebrow, even though she went through all the same steps.

Finally she gives me the mirror to look at the two eyebrows. They look okay and I decide to make it be okay. I paid and left. When I got to my car I looked in the car mirror. They didn't match! By that point I was tired and just wanted to go home so I did some tweezing on the right eyebrow (followed by the left eyebrow, since I'd over tweezed the right one). Then I noticed...the left one is higher than the right one again! So it looks like I'm raising my eyebrow again! Not to mention they're jet black in color. LOL Guess I'm just one of those people that it takes longer to learn from their mistakes than others.

In any event, I bought two pairs of pants, two pairs of really cute shoes and a bra. Blahs be gone! I'm on vacation! lol

Little Break

Okay, so I didn't do anything more on the room last night. I decided to read instead. It is my vacation after all. ;-)

But I took a break to watch Dancing with the Stars last night. Are you watching that? The men danced on Monday night. My personal (sentimental) favorite is Steve Guttenberg. He wasn't the best dancer but he certainly had the most appreciation for being there and definitely put his all into it.

I thought Mario did well, as did Jason. I think Cristian did okay too. I wasn't impressed with Penn or Adam. In fact, I think Adam should be the first male to go. I love his partner, Julianne Hough, but Adam doesn't seem to want to even try. So as much as I hate to say it, I think they need to be the first to leave the party.

As for the women, I talked to a co-worker Monday night and said I thought Priscilla should be the first female to go. Of course, this was before I saw her dance. Shannon and Marissa were so cute when they were talked to so they would both get to stay, right? Marlee is the sentimental favorite and well, Kristi just had to do great because she's such a great skater. That left Monica and Priscilla. I really like Monica's partner, Jonathan Roberts. Which meant it had to be Priscilla leaving.

Then I saw them dance. First I have to say that the women really outdid the men, all the way around. They were great. And I have to admit that I was very impressed with Priscilla's dancing. She gave it her all and she was darned good! Kristi just blew me away. I expected her to be good but if I hadn't known better, I could easily have mistaken her for being the professional - and it's just week one! Marlee was great. I was so impressed with what she did. I was pulling for her from the time I heard she was going to compete and now I am even more so. She was good! Marissa was so adorable. How could you not like her? She has so much energy and, like Steve Guttenberg, she's just so happy to be there. I also liked Shannon. Which leaves Monica. She looked stiff and awkward and totally out of her element. So, while I love Jonathan, I think she needs to be the first female to go.

I tell you, this season is going to be hard to judge because I like them all...well mostly. ;-)

Did you watch? What do you think? Predictions? Expectations? Inquiring minds want to know.

Progress

It's 3:35 here and it just now finally started raining. I woke up early today and the news said the weather would get ugly "within a couple of hours". I raced out of bed to go get gas for the lawn mower and did I something that annoys me when other people do it...I mowed my lawn at an unreasonable hour. I followed it up with spreading the fertilizer (in the backyard only).

Then, when at lunchtime there was still no storms in sight, I did the weed-eating (no edging though).

I had done a little work on the office before lunch and have done a little more so there is some progress but not exactly where I wanted to be at this time. I'm not going to take a picture of it yet because I do expect to get more progress done before the end of the day.

But hey, if nothing else, I did get the backyard done! Right?!? ;-)

Today I think I'll...

Do you ever go to bed at night and plan the next day's activities? Something like, "I'll get up and then I'll (insert whatever it is you would do)". Then you get up the next day (which given the alternative is a good start, anyway) but then nothing else goes as planned. Yeah, that's kind of how today went for me.

Well, since I posted the blog with a picture of my office (if you can call it that), the plan was to get up and work on the room until it was done or when Dancing With The Stars came on, whichever came first. That was the plan anyway.

I slept in a little later than usual but decided to walk the dogs before I started working on the office. I figured it would get me up and going and energized for the planned activities.

Here's where I should tell you that I walk the dogs separately because, well, I'm only allowed to have two dogs, according to the deed restrictions, and I have three. And, not only do I walk them separately, I walk them on different routes. But the thing is, it's getting harder and harder to get one dog out at a time because the other two are always wanting to go - even if they just got back. This morning was no different.

I went out with Brewsky first. When we left, I could hear Harley barking. I hear him every time I leave with another dog but this was a little unusual because he didn't bark as long as he usually does. I didn't think much of it though.

When I got back with Brewsky, I planned to take Harley next. At the last minute I decided to take Max at the same time. I wasn't as energized as I thought I'd be and I figured I could just get it over with that much faster if I took the two of them together. As we walked away from the house, I heard Brewsky crying out as if his feelings were hurt. As with Harley, he does this every time I leave with another dog so it wasn't unusual.

Now, remember the plan was to come back and start working on the office room. Only, I came back to see this when I got walked into the house.

That's my dining room mini-blinds. Now, I have no idea which dog did it, although I'm leaning towards Brewsky but it could just be that I didn't notice after my walk with him but that's a front window and required immediate attention. The plan was officially changed.

I went to Home Depot (followed by Lowe's since Home Depot didn't want to seem to provide any kind of service to its customers) and bought mini-blinds and lawn fertilizer. It's supposed to storm tomorrow so I thought I'd rake the yard and then fertilize the lawn. Then I remembered I'd probably need to mow before I did the fertilizing thing. No problem, right? Until I remembered I didn't have any gas for the lawn mower. And I didn't want to go to the store all grungy (I worked in the yard most of the day...I had LOTS of raking to do) and who wants to take a shower to get out and mow shortly thereafter? So I just did the raking and put up the new blinds. Meanwhile the office still looks like this:
So, that was my day. I've been meaning to change out the mini-blinds in the dining room but I hadn't planned on doing it today - yet that's what happened. I'm hoping to work on the room tomorrow, particularly since it's supposed to be too ugly outside to do anything else. But, as they say, life is what happens when you're busy making plans so, we'll just see what happens tomorrow. ;-)

Spring Break

This next week is our spring break here. And since I'm taking classes this semester, I wanted to take the week off.

And I have big plans. Ambitious plans. I plan to organize my house (and my life) - and for those of you who have been reading my blog, you know that's no small order.

On the agenda is to clean and organize my office and guest room, specifically, and the rest of my house, more generally. I thought about what Jennifer Cruisie did a few months back where she posted pictures of her room and wondered if I should do it. Posting before and after pictures, like for her, would make (read shame) me into doing it.

Anyway, a little backstory - last fall I won a desk and bookcase in an online, company-sponsored, auction. I cleaned out the room I planned to use as an office so that the furniture (which was way bigger than I'd anticipated) would go right in it - and so the friend who helped me move it would only see a clean room. Well, since we had to bring the furniture in through the garage, it was the garage that my friend commented on. She wasn't ugly about it or anything but just mentioned that I might want to clean out my garage. I didn't take offense, since she was right. So, a few weeks later when I was so irritated at my boss at work, I took a day off and really got to work on my garage. By the end of the day it was all nice and clean, and I was proud of the accomplishment. It felt good.

It wasn't until the next time I went into the office (I don't do that much because I don't have a phone line in there yet) and couldn't get to the desk or my carousel of books that I realized why the job of cleaning the garage had gone so well. Turns out, I'd just moved everything into my office. And it was a few weeks after that that I did the ransacking of my office and guest room looking for the paper I'd written on my veteran friend so that now neither my office or guest room are "pedestrian friendly". Yeah, that's a good way to put it. LOL

Anyway, the plan for the week is to get them organized and ready for actual use, as opposed to being "junk" rooms. Also during the week, I need to work on my term paper for government (I'm doing my paper on the non-controversial topic of abortion), my Shakespeare mid-term and questions for my Shakespeare portfolio, due at the end of the semester.

I won't mention that I also would like to rip down the paneling in the living room and prep and paint every wall in (and outside of) my house because I don't want anyone thinking I'm wanting to accomplish too much. But then again, I did start off by mentioning that the plan was a bit ambitious, didn't I?

So, what you do have planned for the upcoming week?

P.S. Here are pictures of the office from two different angles.

How bad do you want a day off?

I was surfing the net and came across this article about a man who wanted a day off. We've all probably called in sick when we just didn't want to go in to the office but this is a bit...extreme, if you ask me. I don't know about you but if you have (and are willing) to go to these lengths to get the day off, something's wrong. And if I ever approach any of you to be the "friend" in this scenario, please, just help me with my resignation letter instead. K?

Where else would it be?

The other day I had a doctor's appointment. It was the third in a series of appointments I'd scheduled. Thing was, I got to work that day and the appointment wasn't on my calendar. I knew I was supposed to be there around lunch time but I didn't know the exact time. So I went digging in my purse.

I started in the middle zippered thing because that's normally where I'd put something like the business card size appointment reminder. I pulled everything out of there (except for the feminine products) and laid it all on my desk, going through each thing, item by item. It wasn't there.

I repeated this process with the two main pockets of the purse, followed by the minor pockets and even my coin purse/wallet. Before it was all over with, the entire contents (with noted exceptions) of my purse had been splayed out on my desktop. And no appointment reminder was found.

I started thinking maybe I'd imagined that I'd had an appointment. So, knowing the office was still closed but that I'd get voicemail, I called the doctor's office. I said that I thought I'd had an appointment and could someone please let me know if I did, and if I did, what time I was supposed to be there. And I waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Yet no one called me. So somewhere between 11:00 and 11:30 I called the doctor's office again. Someone would surely be there by then and answer the phone. Again, I got voicemail. Frustrated, I left the message that I had thought I'd had an appointment but I didn't know what time it was supposed to have been so if I DID have an appointment, I was cancelling it because I didn't know when it was and I didn't want to waste my time by going on the wrong date/time. *sigh* (I later received three phone calls telling me it was scheduled for 12:30 but by then it was too late for me to go.)

I should tell you that I've gotten into a bit of a routine where my schooling is concerned (this really is related to the blog topic...honest). See, if I get to my government class before it starts, I work on Shakespeare homework. And if I get to Shakespeare class early (which I almost always do) I...read for pleasure (bet you thought I was going to say "work on government homework" ;-) ). So, two days after my missed doctor's appointment, I get to my Shakespeare class and whip out the book I've been working on since early January (it's a good story by a good author...I just don't have much time to read for pleasure these days) and out falls...you guessed it, my doctor's appointment reminder. *mental forehead smack!*

I'd been reading while waiting to see the doctor at my last appointment and had the book with me when she gave me the appointment card. And I obviously put it in my book (which I'd had with me the day of this last appointment...just didn't think to look in it).

So, I continue to put (and find) things in the oddest of places. Not that I'm disorganized or anything..... ;-)

Men are from Mars

Today is Thursday and as I drove into work I was listening to Roula and Ryan's Roses on the radio. I've blogged about that before but how it works is that if a relationship is in trouble (or one of the parties think it's in trouble) they contact the radio station and, if selected, Roula will contact the other party of the relationship and pretend to be starting up a floral business and offer them a dozen free red roses to see who they will be sent to, while the person who contacted the radio station listens in. Once they say who they're sending the flowers to and make out a card, they're let in on what is going on and the two parties air their dirty laundry on the radio. It's kind of sad but it's one of those things I just have to listen to on Thursdays.

Anyway, this morning the guy they called was familiar with the program and knew exactly who was putting them up to calling. And he was furious. He broke up with the girl on the radio and accused her of trying to push marriage on him. She said she didn't want to get married that she was only 25 and she seemed fine with the breakup. Usually they take calls from listeners to get their take on the situation...was the other party lying, etc.

Well today was different. Instead of their usual calls from listeners the topic went to talk of guys assuming girls have an agenda when they don't. Why do men assume all women are marriage minded? I found it quite interesting because that does seem to be the case. It seems if we smile at a man, he assumes we're coming on to them when really we're just being polite. We accept a date and they assume we're planning the wedding.

I dated someone a couple of years ago who was making - or trying to make - plans for us months in advance. It was freaking me out because he was assuming we'd still be together that far out and I wanted to take things one day/date at a time. And then he mentioned that he was concerned that I was wanting more from the relationship than he did...that maybe I was getting too serious. About the third time he said that to me I asked him what the heck he was talking about because I needed to know from what he was getting that vibe from because I was NOT looking at the long term. And just in case he didn't believe me, I broke up with him at the end of that date.

So what's up with that? Anyone have any thoughts on why men think the slightest gesture means we're in love and marriage bound? If you do, please share them because I'd really like to know.

To Be Opened by Addressee Only

The other day I received ten boxes - ten LARGE boxes at work. Now, I have a rather small office so they take up quite a bit of room and make it difficult to get around. So today I decided to open them up, see what was in them and handle the contents so that I could get these boxes out of my way.

No problem, really. I open the first box and it contained a bunch of full binders. And an 8-1/2 x 11 sheet that said - in big, bold letters - TO BE OPENED BY ADDRESSEE ONLY.

I did mention that this sheet was INSIDE the box, right?

Did I also mention that every single box had a sheet in it like that. INSIDE the box?

Maybe I'm just easily amused but that cracked me up. And made me wonder about who it was that fixed those boxes up that way. ;-)

So what cracked you up today?

Best Kiss

I stayed home from work today because, well, I kind of wanted to. I mean, there were legitimate reasons for me TO stay home - like I came home to a busted window last night that needed repairing and I needed more poison - er medication - for Harley. And a storm is coming tomorrow, which makes it harder to get some things done (like grocery shopping). So today was a good day to get things done - so I took a personal day.

Anyway, after I got things done (actually it was all done before lunch, if you can believe that...and that was with me heading out to the vet - which is 25 miles away - TWICE - poor Harley), I decided to watch some things on my DVR.

I just finished watching Derailed with Clive Owen and Jennifer Aniston. I won't spoil (much) if you haven't seen it. It's a thriller. But there is one scene in it that I loved. Owen and Aniston's characters are sitting in the bar and he says "I'll bet you $20 I can kiss you without ever touching your lips." She takes the bet and then he kisses her and says "It was worth every penny." I really liked that scene.

I also really liked the movie. It was different and not what I expected.

But I really liked that scene. I think it's my new favorite kiss scene. And I wonder, would that line would work in real life? ;-)

What about you? Do you have a favorite kiss scene from a movie? If so, please share. :-)

Understanding Men

Okay, I don't mean to imply that I understand because honestly, I have no clue about them. There are characteristics that I like about them but I really don't get them. It's like their from...Mars or something. (Yes, I know there is a book about that and although I haven't read it, I'm a believer.)



Anyway, here's the latest thing that has me a bit puzzled about them and maybe you can help me out here. The man from work (aka secret crush guy, aka SCG) and I have been talking about tattoos. I don't really recall how the conversation came up but basically we were "supposing" that I would get one in San Francisco. And while we may have carried the whole conversation a bit far (considering he is married) that's not really the point of this post.



You see, he actually wants a tattoo but is a little, shall we say, chicken to have it done. Plus, he thinks he needs to get one where it's visible because after all, what's the point of having a tattoo if no one ever sees it (I, on the other hand, would have one that no one but my warm, close, personal friends - and medical professionals - would ever see...but that's just me). But he also thinks it's not terribly professional to have a visible tattoo in the work environment.



I suggested he get one on his chest, over his heart - of a heart with a little banner that had his wife's name on it. He didn't like that idea because apparently it's not "butch" (my word...not his) enough for him. Not to mention, what would the guys at the gym think? Because, after all, the people he works with go to the gym, and apparently stare at his chest (yeah, don't think I haven't given him grief about that! LOL).



After I let up on the ribbing about the guys staring at his chest at the gym, he said something else...he'd want it to be a decidedly female name. Not one that could be used for either gender (like Stacy, or Terry, to name two).



Uh, did anyone else catch that I'd suggested his wife's name to him? And yes, it's decidedly female. So I don't get the problem. Although I could, if he were having someone else's name tattoo'd on his chest. Can't see his wife being happy about that.



Anyway, that's just part of the question for me. I don't see why a man, who thinks tattoos in general say "bad ass" to those who see them, would think the tattoo suggested would be a problem. I don't get it.



But the bigger question for me is, why is it that men - who are mostly homophobic to begin with - stripping down, comfortably mind you, at the gym? Most women can and will change discreetly in the dressing area and find a private shower, if possible (although I will say that the women's locker at the work gym has a community shower - only one is private) and they typically make it a point not to look at other women dressing. It would be by accident if someone saw a tattoo on another woman's chest (you know, like you turned around and it was just "there"). So why do men do that (strip down) if they think someone is going to look at them and assume they're gay? Anyone have any idea? Because I just don't get it.

More Miscellany

Well, Slime Boy (the probably married man that asked me out) got let go. He was supposed to work until the end of the month but his agency informed us they were pulling him because he wasn't showing up. Someone from our group (not me) said they we were okay with him still coming back because we had things for him to do but supposedly the agency said no - that this wasn't his first time to pull this kind of thing. Oh well, guess we're not going to make it to lunch after all.

As for school, I went to my first "big girl college" class on Thursday. If I haven't shared it here, I'm taking a class on Shakespeare's works. I missed the first class because I hadn't been cleared to register until this past Tuesday. They had been assigned to read the first three acts of A Midsummer's Night Dream. We (and by "we" I mean "they" - since I hadn't read it yet) discussed it Thursday night. I was surprised by the enthusiastic participation in the class. That's not typical of what I remember about classes and certainly not what I'm seeing in my Government class. However, it did occur to me that Government is required so that people are not there because they want to be, whereas there may be some in Shakespeare that don't want to be but, for the most part, people are in it because they want to be. Therefore the people in the Shakespeare class would be more enthusiastic. In any event, I'm enjoying both classes so far. Although...I do have to turn in an assignment for the Shakespeare class on Thursday and I have three more acts to read...

This past week at work was very hectic. A co-worker of mine was out sick with the flu so I had to step in and fill in for her. Which normally isn't a big deal except that she has several people in her group traveling to Saudi Arabia this next week - and that requires a business visa. And that requires a lot of work and coordination to pull it off. There was a last minute addition to the team going and there is so much you have to do to pull it together. I sent off the request for the required Letter of Invitation the traveler needed Wednesday morning. Thing is, that's Wednesday evening for them and their weekend is Thursday and Friday, which meant they wouldn't get my request until their Saturday morning. Since we were told that if the consulate didn't have this traveler's package by 10:00 am on Monday, he wouldn't be going, I went in to the office yesterday so I could work the issue if it wasn't in my inbox. I had nothing in my email so I started shooting off emails because I knew they were no longer in the office. I provided them with my home phone number and email so that they could send it here so that I wouldn't have to go into the office today. I worked for a couple of hours (since I was there anyway) and then came home. I woke up this morning and didn't have an email from them. Shit! I went into the office, hoping I had email there. I'd forgotten to set my alarm so I didn't have time to do anything (like shower!) before I went in, if I needed to contact them when they were in the office. Again, there was no email. I wasn't certain of the time difference but I started making international calls like crazy and freaking out when all I got was voicemail. I left messages, leaving my work and home numbers begging them to call me and let me know the status of the request. About ten minutes later I got a call. Come to find out the letter of invitation had gone out their Saturday afternoon, only they hadn't copied me on the email. Fortunately they forwarded it to me so I was able to put together what I could...now the traveler just has to provide the rest of the documents. Meanwhile, someone else traveling to the Netherlands had a letter of invitation and it wasn't even needed! LOL Just a busy week.

Oh, and in other work news, I posted for a job that I really really want and they called to schedule an interview!!! I really suck at interviews so I asked a friend for some tips and she sent me to monster.com, which has some good tips. However, it suggests you ask the interviewer questions about themselves (because everyone likes to talk about themselves). I don't think I can do that. It says it's good to ask that when they ask you if you have any questions because interviewers hate it when you say you don't have any questions - that they've covered it all (which could explain why I suck at interviews, considering that's usually what I say to that). Anyway, if you have any interviewing tips or possible interview questions, please tell me. The interview is Tuesday and I really want to nail it!

Well, Eight Below just came on and I think I need to turn the TV off, since I bawled like a baby when I saw the TRAILER! Yeah, that wasn't at all embarrassing or anything.

So, what's new with you?

Weird / Random Facts

I think I did this tag recently but since Maria tagged me again, I'll see if I can come up with 7 more weird or random facts about myself.

Here's the rules:

Link to the person who tagged you; Leave a comment on their blog so that their readers can visit yours; Post the rules on your blog; Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself on your blog; Tag 7 random people at the end of your post; Include links to their blogs; Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

1. I worked as a professional temporary for ~10 years, by choice. I really enjoyed it and if I knew for a fact I could still meet my financial needs, I'd go back to it again in a heartbeat.

2. The only concerts I've ever been to are Christian concerts or concerts performed at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. I once bought tickets to see the BeeGees but decided not to go at the last minute. It's not that I haven't wanted to go to other concerts, that's just how it's worked out.

3. I was so upset that Erica got over the death of Mike Roy (he later turned up alive, despite dying ON SCREEN for the world to see) so quickly, I didn't watch the soap opera All My Children for years.

4. Way back when, I thought when people said it was a quarter after the hour, I thought they meant it was twenty-five minutes after the hour. (Hey, a quarter is twenty-five cents and I knew money!)

5. My first official college class was Ceramics and my initial degree plan was Visual Arts. I enjoyed it so much that I went on to teach it in the Continuing Education program. I haven't done it in years and I miss it.

6. The only car I've ever owned that wasn't in a car accident while I owned it was my very first car. It was a yellow VW bug. I owned it for about six months and it was working about six days of that (hence the reason it was never in an accident).

7. I bought my first car (the VW bug) for $400 and sold it (six months later) for $2000 (it happened to be running that day). It was during an energy crisis and those cars were selling like hotcakes. Despite the issues with the car, the dealership made a nice little profit on the car when they sold it.

I'll skip the tagging others since I think I already did that. But if anyone feels inclined to play along, let me know so I can stop by. :-)

Not ready for prime time

Do you remember that television show, Magnum P.I. (with Tom Selleck)? It was on during the '80s...when I was married (kinda dating myself there but, oh well).

Well, my then-husband and I never watched it when it was on. And then it went into syndication, while it was still on the air in prime time. You know, like most successful shows do. Anyway, my ex-husband used to stay up really late at night to watch the syndicated version of the show, but he never watched the prime time version. And he'd be dragging by the end of the week because he wasn't getting enough sleep because he was staying up so late.

One day I asked him why he didn't watch the show when it came on during prime time and you know what he said? "It's not as good then."

After I stopped laughing at him (I was supportive like that and all), I pointed out that it was exactly the same show. That the only possible difference would be if they cut parts out of it to allow for more advertising to make more money. He looked at me kind of sheepishly and said he knew but he never watched the show during prime time television because he really thought it was better in the middle of the night (it's amazing what seems like a better idea when you're sleep deprived).

I never got that. Until recently.

A few months ago they started airing Two and a Half Men with Charlie Sheen (it's Charlie, right?) at 10:30 at night. Now normally I'm asleep by then but I guess there were a couple of nights that I couldn't sleep and I caught the show. (I'd never seen it before.) And now I'm hooked. For the last month or so, I've been staying up until 11:00 every night to watch the show. Then dragging my rear into the office the next day because it's been a late night. By Friday I do good to be productive at all after a week of this. But I can't help myself - the shows too funny.

It's also on during prime time (writer's strike and reruns notwithstanding) but I don't watch it then because, well, for some reason...I just don't think it would be as good then. ;-)

Schooling

Well, there have been a couple of changes that have taken place since my last post. The next day I went to work and called a friend and told her I'd registered for the classes. She was excited for me but then asked if I had my two-year degree. I do, so she told me I shouldn't be taking any more classes at the junior college because they won't transfer.

So, I called the "real" college (as my boss calls it, and which makes me want to bitch slap him) and turns out, she's right. I spent THAT morning at UofH (the "real college) trying to register. Long story short, I wasn't able to register that day (or yet even) because it takes a couple of business days to get in the system. Okay. But I did learn that, as I said, I shouldn't be taking any more classes at the junior college (JC). Except for government (it's considered a sophomore class but it's required for UofH). So, I went back to the JC and cancelled all my classes and signed up for government. I signed up for a Monday / Wednesday class during lunch, since the UofH classes would all be at night. Plus, the instructor I wanted only teaches during the day.

Monday was the first class. We spent the entire class going over the syllabus. Being the kind of girl I am, I read ahead. I got to this one point and it was like I had these little people on my shoulders. Not so much an angel and a devil (although one was probably a devil's advocate) as just thinking the situation through. I'll call them RS (right shoulder) and LS (left shoulder). The conversation went something like this.

LS: Crap! We have to write a term paper. I don't want to write a term paper!

RS: Uh, hon, you're an English major. You do realize that there are LOTS of papers in your future, don't you?

LS: Ugh! You're right. (thinking) I wonder how much of my money I can get back if I walk out now and forget the whole thing?

Anyway, for now, I'm waiting to hear back from the UofH to see if (something about being out of school for more than seven years may be a problem) and when I can register for classes. I figure, if nothing else, I'm getting the government requirement out of the way.

I'm also debating what the paper will be on. It has to be on a public policy or law. He gave us list of acceptable topics (others have to be approved by him to be accepted). The list includes:

Capital punishment
Electoral College
Affirmative action
Abortion / Assisted Suicide
Teen Court
No child left behind
Prayer in public schools
Space Exploration

Right now I'm leaning towards the electoral college (since it's an election year), teen court (because I'd never heard of it before), abortion (because I have strong opinions on that), and (although I'd forgotten it until I whipped out the list just now) prayer in public schools (because, again, I have strong opinions about that). Someone at work suggested stem cell research funding, which I think would be a good topic but I'd have to get approval first so I don't know about that one.

What do you think? Thoughts or suggestions on the topics? Please feel free to throw out more topic ideas too! I'm all ears!