Flower Petals

Last night I got home from work to see a beautiful sight. The trees in the backyard were beginning to shed their white petals. It was almost like it was snowing, the big fluffy snowflakes that make you feel like you're in a snow globe. It left the yard sprinkled with a layer of white. It was so very beautiful. Made me think of a time coming soon when I may be able to walk a flower petal covered path.

Don't read too much into this. Just got me thinking. :)

Smells like Spring Spirit

I don't know about other places, but here its gotten warm. The trees are in full bloom. It seemed to happen almost overnight. This past winter was the coldest I remember since I was a kid in Chi town. Now its so beautiful. I hardly believe it. I can leave the house without a jacket and not freeze my tail off. It smells delightful outside. Its weather like this that makes me happy. I love to drive with my windows down and the radio turned up to loud.

Speaking of the radio. Has anyone heard this song called "This is Why I'm Hot"? Its so dumb. Here are the details of its lyrics. I think I should get into the music business. It doesn't matter if you're talented, think Paris Hilton; it doesn't matter if you have bad dental hygiene, think Nelly and his grill; it doesn't even matter if you are attractive, think Red Hot Chili Peppers; you don't have to even write good songs, think Who let the Dogs Out. So I officially make "Pop Musician" my career choice this week.

Office Wars - Toasty Toast

We have the entire 3rd floor to ourselves. A quick inventory of supplies yields the following results:
2 break room / coffee areas
1 dish washer
2 refrigerators
4 microwaves
2 pop vending machines (1 Coke product cans and 1 Pepsi product bottles)
1 cold food vending machine
1 snack machine
1 toaster
Logically, you would think the toaster should be in the big kitchen. The kitchen with chairs and tables so you can eat your food. The kitchen with many windows and a view of the "mountain". The kitchen that contains 3 out of the 4 vending machines, including the one with pop tarts. Of course, some people are not logical.
Life was good. I had toasty brown sugar cinnamon pop tarts for lunch or breakfast. Then one day the unthinkable happens. The toaster disappeared! It was a mystery, I searched high and low, but no luck. I asked for Nancy Drew's help, but she was busy solving other mysteries, that she deemed more important than a missing toaster.
A few weeks later I happened to visit the baby kitchen (the one with only 1 vending machine, fridge, no chairs, and no view of the "mountain"). I see the toaster! They stole it! They are toaster thieves! It should be in the big kitchen with the pop tarts and bagels. I'm waiting till late one Friday, when this place rivals a ghost town in the old west. I'm going to steal it back. Wish me luck!

PS Update on Coffee Edition
I started labeling the two bagger's pot "Rocket Fuel". Unfortunately the cool name makes it more desirable. I can't let the two baggers have an advantage, I need to invent some cool name for "regular pot of coffee". Any ideas?

Office Wars - The Radio

Maybe I have seen Jim play too many pranks on Dwight. Its possible. We were told that could listen to our radios at a moderate level. So its allowed, but its annoying. All day long I hear whispers of Beyonce's Irreplaceable (Is it just me or is that song played way too much, especially for a dumb song?), and others songs that I can't quite make out. It drives me crazy. There is no wall of separation that keeps Ms. Whisper-yeller's musics away from my ears. The worst part of it is the fact that she has headphones, she just chooses not to use them. Its sound pollution to make me listen to that stuff.

Did I mention I've got a hankering for some screamo or some hardcore? I have an FM transmitter. Ms. Whisper-yeller listens to a FM station. Would that be mean? Maybe a little, but here's a better question. Would that be funny? Heck yes it would!

Happy Birthday

Think it would be easy? Not so much. I think you need to visit my favorite message board. There's a link on this page. Find me there, and you will get your next clue.

Office Wars - Coffee edition

The coffee pot. That wonderful place you meet each morning before you get any real work done. Its where Cube Jockeys get to bond. Important matters such as last nights episode of "The Office" and "Survivor" are discussed. It was great until someone comes here and throws off the groove.

Know what they do? They take bad coffee and make it worse. They put two bags in one pot of coffee. Ewww... Now, I am not against strong coffee, sometimes you need that extra jolt. But this coffee (if it can even be called coffee at this point), is barely drinkable in a regular pot. Aramark is not sold in stores for a reason. These are the beans Juan Valdez and his cute little burro rejected. I don't know whats wrong with these ladies.

After an indepth survey (of about three co-workes) I have discovered that no one likes this "Strong Coffee". This is also evidenced by the pot that I labeled "Strong Coffee" yesterday, whose quantity did not diminish much during the day. Unfortunately, that label was the first and only time that pot has been marked. There is nothing worse than taking a sip of gross first thing in the morning. Is it not bad enough that our office building is across the street from a trash dump, must they try to put that taste in our mouths as well?

I hereby declare war on the two baggers! Its just wrong, very very wrong.

Traffic

This morning on my way to work I got stuck in traffic. It took me 4 minutes to get to the highway, which is good. It took me 30 minutes to go the next 2-ish miles on the highway. I could have walked faster. I have walked that distance faster. Still, who wants to be in a big hurry to get into work? So instead of getting a bad case of road rage, I looked around. I saw a guy reading the newspaper, there was a girl in a mini-van rocking out to some rap music, and lots of people were on their cell phones. If nothing else being stuck in traffic gives you a good opportunity to think. The Amish make a good point when they say that us "englishers" take life too quickly.

The past few days Levi and I have been discussing a lot of things for our future. Its scary, but a "first day of school" scary, not like a "monster's chasing me" scary. I am so optimistic about us. Its strange to me that I am not having more doubts, usually I am more insecure about making the right decision when its something big. I have confidence in this. I keep praying that if this isn't what God wants that he will take away my desire for him, but so far it has just been intensified. I am so genuinely happy and content right now.

Warm-ish

I've become a relativist. I got a new shirt, its kinda bluish. When do you want dinner? 5ish. Hows the weather? Warmish. Ish. Its my new word. I wonder if anyone has Urban Dictionaried it yet?

Some kinda coolish news. I have three degrees of separation to Y! Josh mentioned me in his blog, which was mentioned in Popcandy, which is on the Yahoo. there's a mouthful for you.

Question of the moment. Should I add links to my favorite blogs? Maybe I'll do it tommrowish.

Comment if you want to be included. :)

Teaching

Teachers only have to work about 185 days a year. They get spring break. They get Martin Luther King Junior day off. They don't even work full 8 hour days. They don't get asked by Lunsburger to come in on Saturday. They don't even have to work summers, unless they want to.

Why did I not stick with education? Why did I think I wanted to work in the cube world? Why did I not apply for CEO instead of settling for "Tanya - the temp" then accept a promotion to "Tanya the Research Specialist"? Why did I not win the lottery so I could invest and live off if interest? Why did I not pracitice my guitar more, so I could start a band and travel the world? Why did I not have a rich uncle to who died and left me a great inheritance? Why did I settle? Why did I not move to Seattle? Why did I not raise cattle? Why did I not fight in a battle? Why did I not write I book? Why did I not end this paragraph, while it was still intersting?

Help! I need a vacation.

Work this week has just been frustrating. Sunday early morning, I told someone waitressing was my "fun job". Ha. We only had two cooks, which ment they were super stressed and messing up. Food took forever and we were short on big glasses. Everytime a customer ordered a coke, you would have to hunt for a big glass. When you finally found one you would have to try and cool it off, becuase it was just out of the dish washer. Cold drink + hot glass = shattering glass. I didn't break any luckly, but a lot of people did, which just made the problem of not having enough that much worse.

The office job hasn't been much better. I try to resolve as many issues on my own as I can, but sometimes I need others to credit accounts and such. Unfortunately, people aren't very helpful. A simple request turns into a 9 e-mail battle, that still is not resolved a week and a half later. If I can't help someone I try to refer them to someone who can and when I get an e-mail I respond asap. Others just don't care as much. Its frustrating. I, personally. try hard to do good work and to be a help to others in my company. I just wish I could pass that attitude along.