Miscellaneousness

I attended a bridal shower yesterday for Kelly, the fiancee, of one of Mike's brothers. To be honest, I hate showers (unless they're for me, of course). But, I really had fun at this one. I went with the sis-in-laws (Kelly will be #7) and all the nieces (6), most of whom are playing some part in the wedding. It was the first time for us meeting her family and friends and we seemed to hit it off well. No stuffy people, just a lot of laughs. Someone made this dessert called White Trash (love the name).

My cellphone rang earlier and the female who was calling asked "is this Kathy R***** (my maiden name)?" It was a girl I went through elementary and high school with. We actually were close friends in grammer school. She said, one of her best childhood memories was coming over my house and reading all my Nancy Drew books. One Christmas, my parents bought me the complete Nancy Drew library. God, why didn't I save any of this stuff???
Anyway, she was calling to see if I was planning on going to our high school reunion in November. I'm leaning toward yes, although the place where it's being held, wants a guarantee of 200 people. That seems rather high to me. We did have, believe it or not, over 500 kids in my graduating class. But, 200 still seems optimistic.

I don't even want to admit how many years ago I graduated. As I've gotten older, I'm surprised how sensitive I am about my age. I have to admit, if someone gets me at a weak time and I do tell, they seem surprised. Of course, I realize the standard, politically correct thing to say when someone tells you their age is "Gee, you sure don't look it." My problem is I want to believe they really mean it. Maybe it's because, for years, I really didn't look my age; I was carded at bars until I was 30.
When I was young and time was on my side, I used to scoff when I heard of someone having a facelift. I would say "Why can't they just accept themselves and grow old gracefully? I would NEVER have a facelift." Ah, youth. The focus of my beauty regimen then was to stave off crow's feet around my eyes, so I made sure I kept my eye area moisturized. And, overall, it did seem to work. No crow's feet yet. But, no one ever warned me about the dreaded "parenthesis". I look in the mirror and stretch my skin back and instantly lose 10 years on my face. I tell you right now, if I had the cash, those puppies would be long gone.

As a huge Mets' fan (yes, still), I read a lot of Mets' blogs and follow a lot of Mets' beat reporters and I usually find I agree with them. But I cannot believe what I've been hearing lately. The Mets are out of contention. When that fact became obvious, some fans said that the Mets should shut down Johann Santana, our ace, for the remainder of the season (this was BEFORE he actually went on the DL). Save his arm for next year. They've been saying the same thing about David Wright, our third baseman, since he went on the DL a couple of weeks ago after being hit in the head by a 95 mile an hour fastball. First, I believe no one should be rushed off the DL and back on the field until they're 100%. But, if David is cleared, he should play. It's funny, but these two are probably the least likely, of all the Mets, to agree to be "shut down." What message are we sending our kids? That there's no sense playing if you can't win the big one? What about playing for pride? For the love of the game?

About all these Mets' injuries, (I believe there have been 17 players on the DL and many still are), I have a theory. I believe the Phillies, over the winter, hired an old Haitian mambo (that's a Voudou priestess. See, you just learned something; who says reading my blog is a waste of time?) create voodoo dolls in the images of all the Mets players. They're paying her big money and, so far, she's been worth every penny. I was going to say that, at least we still have Mr.Met but...................

Random Tuesday

The name of the drugstore where Michael Jackson got his drugs is the Mickey Fine Pharmacy AND GRILL. Only in LA.

Bob Dylan is in negotiations with some company to be the voice of their GPS system. How many other celebs do you think they contacted before calling Dylan? No way could he have been the first choice.

How many times have you watched the news and thought "Gee, I really like that tie Brian Williams is wearing" or "I wish I could wear what Katie Couric is wearing"? Well, folks, fret no more. You too can dress like your favorite newscaster. Check out TV News Closet. I wanted to see what the dresses looked like, but there weren't any. That proves what I've always thought. Most of these people are naked from the waist down.

Attention, fashionistas! Kate Spade is having an online sample sale. I picked up a lovely little purse. Sale ends 8/28.

Three weeks ago, my cellphone crashed. Because of that, I couldn't automatically transfer my phone book into my new phone. I have yet to start entering my numbers into my new phone. I got a Blackberry (my first). The only thing I know how to do is make a call (and barely that). I think I may have bit off more than I can chew.

Maybelline has introduced a vibrating mascara. From what I understand, they're not the first. Dior has a rotating lip gloss.
It "rolls the gloss on uniformly." Oh, that IS a big problem. How many times have you missed whole parts of your lips when applying lipstick? Happens tome all the time.

Did you know President John Adams had a dog named Satan?

Have you ever looked at someone and thought "I can't imagine that person having sex?" C'mon. I know I'm not the only one who has those thoughts. It came to mind today when I passed a co-worker in the hallway. The woman is so shy and reticent, It's just hard to imagine her doing the nasty. But, she's given birth to two kids.

I'll leave you now so you can start doing your own imagining. You can thank me later.

You Just Never Know Who's Reading Your Blog

This is a shout-out to all my readers at Verizon. A little bird (Barbara) told me I had somehow gotten a following in her office. The mom of the young DW fan (I'm sorry I forget your name) should enjoy my previous post.

Alright now, finish up here AND GET BACK TO WORK!!!

Welcome To My World

For those of us who have full-time jobs, the workplace is a second home, complete with a second family. And, like families, there are different personalities. Fun people, serious people, lazy people, strange people, shy people, bossy people, stuck-up people. There are people dressed to the nines everyday and people who look like they slept in their clothes. People you like and people you don't. People you look forward to seeing and people you avoid like the plague. People you enjoy working with and people that make you bite your tongue when they're around.
My scheduled work hours are 8-5PM with an hour for lunch, Monday-Friday. I NEVER get out of the office before 5:30PM and rarely take a full hour for lunch. Often I eat at my desk or don't have lunch at all. I'm fortunate that my commute is easy, living 8.5 miles from the office, I never have to travel on any major highways.
Most people don't even have offices anymore; it's a world of cubicles, which offer absolutely NO privacy. In my company, only the very top executives have an office that actually has a door that can be closed.
I've tried to personalize my space a bit and I wonder what impression it gives to people who don't really know me. So here are a few pix of my second home:



My "office." I try to keep it neat, so I appear somewhat organized. I'm not always successful. Things to note:

My ever-present water bottle. I drink a ton of water, which I know is a good thing. However, it leads to an inordinate amount of bathroom time. If I'm not at my desk, the odds are I'm in the ladies' room.
My fan. Like every modern-day office building, the heat and a/c systems are horrible. Freezing in the summer, hot as hell in the winter. Or the temperature changes every few feet, literally. I just never know how to dress. I wish there was some way I could get a weather report for work every morning before dressing.
My new phone. Since the lay-offs, I've been given the additional responsibility of overseeing the phone team for our division. You know, the customer service reps we all love to speak with when we call with a question or problem with whatever. This new phone is supposed to allow me to see various phone stats, like how many calls are waiting, how long they've been waiting, who's on the phone and who isn't. The only problem is there was only one guy who knew how to set this up and he was one of the people laid off. For now, I'm just happy I can get and make calls on it.
My Mets teddy bear - a gift from the LSH.

On top of the file cabinet behind me, I have various mementos and photos of people and things important to me.



That handsome fellow in the picture is David Wright, 3rd baseman for my beloved Mets. Everyone that knows me well at work knows about my devotion to the Amazins' and my maternal thing for Mr. Wright. However, a woman from another department who I rarely have any interaction with, stopped by my cube to discuss something. I was on the phone, so I motioned to her to just take a seat. Now, that photo was taken in a prestigious men's store in Manhattan. As you can see, we're standing in front of a display of shirts and ties. After I hung up, she asked me who the young man was. Without any forethought, I said "That's my son, David." She said "My, he's very handsome." I thanked her and then added "He's in retail. We're so proud." The woman looked at a loss for words and then just said "Oh, that's nice." In the meantime, I could hear someone who had overheard me, laughing loudly and I lost it. The woman looked at me like I was crazy (you may be right, I may be crazy), and I admitted the truth to her. I don't think she appreciated my sense of humor. She told me whatever it was that made her stop by and quickly departed. BTW, she no longer works for the company.
A postscript - unbeknown to me, but the NY sports station, SNY, was there and filmed me speaking with David before the photo. A few weeks later, David & I showed up on the show "Mets Weekly."
The other photo is me and "the Girls" on my wedding day. The Girls and I have been friends since kindergarten or 1st grade (except for Candy, who we adopted junior year in high school when she transferred in. Actually, GF Kathy taught me how to tie my shoes.



Next there's a pic of me and the LSH, posing with one of the exotic birds at one of the ports on our cruise last December. Then we have my Billy Wagner bobblehead doll and my commemorative replica of Shea Stadium, both giveaways from games we attended last year. In the background is my boy, Bailey, the shaggy dog.



That's a photo of my previous sheepdog, Patrick, the LSH being captured by some pirates at some port while I stayed on board, hanging at the pool, being waited on by pool boys, sipping exotic drinks with tiny umbrellas, and me and the LSH on our wedding day.



That hand is actually what is known as a former, used to make gloves. (The company I work for makes surgical and exam gloves, among other things). And, yes, those are Mardi Gras beads and no, I'm not going to tell you how I got them! A girl needs to maintain SOME mysteries about herself.

One of the Great Mysteries of Life

Help me solve what, I consider, one of the great mysteries of life::




Some say it's a sign that drugs can be bought in the area, some say it's a gang thing. When I was growing up, you would see this
in my neighborhood and, believe me, there were no gangs or drug dealers in Central Jersey suburbia way back when.
And this isn't strictly an American thing; I've seen sneakers hanging from wires in London and Rome.
To be honest, I like when I come upon someone's old Nikes, swaying in the breeze. For some reason, it always makes me smile. And, I would think that it takes some talent.
While doing the little research I did (very little) for this post, I found I'm not alone in my fascination with sneaker tossing. Someone has actually made a movie about it.



And finally, I've heard of a shoe tree, but this might be taking it a bit too far:

Calling Fellow Bloggers

I've been getting a bit tired of blogging and think maybe re-designing my blog site. But I'm really clueless about all this. Donna has given me some tips to start with. If anyone else would like to share anything with me, I'd appreciate it. Was anyone previously on Blogspot, but gone to another blog site? I see so many sites that I admire and wonder how they did it. If you'd like to share your secrets, you don't have to worry; I promise not to tell anyone else :) AND I will definitely give you a shout-out for your advice.

Thursday Thirteen

If you've been following my recent posts, you've read about the crappy things that have been going on at my workplace. I survived the cuts, but now have a ton more work & responsibility, which hasn't necessarily brought out the best in me. I tend to get a bit sarcastic (cough..cough), so here are 13 things you might hear pass from my lips if you happened to have the pleasure of working near me (with a special shout-out to Annie, my COAir buddy):

1. You say I'm a bitch like it's a bad thing.
2. Well, this day was a total waste of make-up.
3. Well, aren't we a damn ray of sunshine?
4. Do I look like a people person?
5. This isn't an office. It's hell with fluorescent lighting.
6. I started out with nothing and I still have most of it left.
7. Sarcasm is just one more service I offer.
8. Stress is when you wake up screaming and you realize you haven't gone to sleep yet!
9. Don't worry. I forgot your name too.
10. I work 45 hours a week to be this poor.
11. Wait...I'm trying to imagine you with a personality.
12. Ambivalent? Well, yes and no.
13. You look like shit. Is that the style now?

God, I'm Hip

Let's just say the old girl (me) is still rocking it. And I wasn't even trying.
Recently, a younger colleague of mine at work asked me about something she had seen me wearing on and off over the past few weeks. She had thought about buying it, but wasn't sure if it would work for her. She mentioned she had read about it in Glamour and In-Style and had even seen a segment about them on one of the AM talk shows. I had no idea. It was just something I happened to see in Tar-gey and thought might be useful, especially with the hot, humid weather we've been having. And what could it be, you're asking??? Well, here it is, folks, the hottest thing in hair-styling today..................




And, you men out there. Don't think this product is just for the girls. One of Hollywood's manliest (well, used to be) actors has been spotted wearing his own E-Z Comb:



Who would have thought me & Joaquin had similar tastes?
So, take it from me and Joaquin, go out and get your own EZ-Comb. You won't regret it (and neither will your hair)!

Random Tuesday

I doubt if I will achieve the superb randomness of the Wizard, but I'm feeling random enough to give it a try.

How come you never hear anyone say "Gee, the winter went by SO fast!"?......Cops in NY shot & killed a man who was pointing a gun at them. The tv news report I heard said that "police handcuffed the body before taking it away," WTF???.....How come everything I like to eat and drink is bad for me?... How come, since I started Weight Watchers, the only part of my body that has gotten smaller is my feet. I'm not kidding. I've gone down 1/2 a size.......Who decided in our culture that it's okay for men to have hairy legs, but not women? Was it to punish women because women don't have to shave their faces?...Why isn't the price of clothes based on size? Everything else you buy, the more you get, the more it costs. Maybe, if smaller clothes were less expensive, it might be an incentive to lose weight........How come Paris Hilton is famous? (I asked this in an earlier post, but I still haven't gotten an answer........Speaking of "celebrities", why doesn't Joan Rivers pack it in?.....I wish Budweiser would bring back Spuds McKenzie? He was the original party animal.

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Check out the UNMOM for more Random Tuesday thoughts!

Technology - A Wonderful Thing??

I had a few ideas for a post today, but all my plans went out the window because my less than 6 month old Palm Treo CRASHED! I didn't even know cellphones could crash. I lost EVERYTHING I had on that phone. So, now, I have to spend the rest of the day learning about my new Blackberry Curve and entering all my phone numbers. Of course, the only place I had a lot of these #s was in my phone, so I'll also be emailing a lot of folks, asking for their info again. Once everything is done, I WILL back it up in my laptop, so I will never be in this situation again. Why do I always have to learn the hard way!!!

Garfield Is The Man (uhh, I mean, CAT)

When I first saw this comic on Sunday, I took it as a compliment. Now, looking at it again, I'm not so sure. maybe I'm just sensitive because I had to get weighed in today at my Weight Watcher's meeting.

" GARFIELD"

Lazy Sunday

Sometime it's true that our bodies know what we need, even if we don't. I originally woke up around 7AM because Bailey was barking. Once I reassured him that we didn't miss our alarm and could sleep in a bit, I put my head back on the pillow "just for a few more minutes." Next thing I know is the LSH is waking me from a deep sleep (and I'm having a dream about Springsteen, no less). He said he was just checking that I was alright. It turned out to be 1PM! The sound of the rain on the skylights probably contributed to my unconsciousness.
I just baked some blueberry muffins (from scratch, no less)! Can't wait for them to cool down to taste. If they taste half as good as they look, I'll be in good shape.
Hope everyone is enjoying their Sunday, lazy or not.

The Week That Was

First, I want to thank everyone who left comments, sent emails, e-cards and Twitter nudges to let me know that I was in your thoughts and prayers. It really means so much to me that people that I've never met personally would take the time to send their thoughts and wishes to me. You really are a great bunch of people!
Your prayers were heard because I did survive. Having said that, it still was the worst week I've ever experienced in my entire working life. The entire management level directly above mine, in my dept., was let go, including the person who hired me and the person who promoted me. It all happened late Tuesday afternoon. I saw the woman I reported to (and loved) get summoned to HR, along with the other managers. My first thought was that they were being called in to be told who on their staff they would have to let go. But, when they got back, each of them was escorted back to their cubes with an HR person, to pick up their purses/car keys, to be led out of the building. I felt so helpless. I started to cry (actually sob) out of sadness and definitely anger. I said to the HR person who was with my manager "You can bet that those people who are left, aren't going to forget how this was handled." She looked at me and said "I think you need to take a walk!" Which I did, to another dept to see some friends and share the news. About 15 minutes later, 2 HR people found me and said I needed to get back because there was going to be a meeting with the remaining staff. They said how difficult this was and blah, blah, blah and wanted to let us know that the cuts were over in my department, FOR NOW. They asked if there were any questions. I had to ask what was the reason for dragging this out for the entire week. I don't think I told you that, last Friday morning, the CEO sent an email worldwide, to let everyone know that the lay-offs were starting on Monday and will be done each day until the end of the week. Oh, and by the way, have a great weekend. What the hell were people supposed to do with that information? Start updating our resumes? HR's responses were idiotic and made no sense.
At least, I got the suspense over early in the week. Not so, my friends in other departments. Finally, around 2PM Friday afternoon, the CEO set out an email saying that it was over. So, everyone took a sigh of relief. Except, whoops, the email was sent a bit prematurely because there was one person left who hadn't been told yet she was out of a job, one of our Lunch Bunch. She read the email and, like everyone else, thought she had survived. But about 10 minutes later, she got the call. Word travelled fast, and I went over to her dept to give her a hug and tell her I'd be in touch. There were a few people there and, as I waited my turn, one of the HR people, who I have now renamed Catbert (the "Evil Director of HR" in Dilbert) calls me aside and tells me that, since I'm not in that dept., I need to leave. I told her, not very politely that, no, I wasn't going to leave until I said good-bye. After I did, Catbert called me over and asked me "Are you okay?" I said, "No, I'm not. Are you?" and I walked away.
Don't get me wrong. I totally understand the impact the economy has had and that some hard choices had to be made. But, I don't think the company did enough to cut back costs before resorting to lay-offs. I know everyone I've spoken with said that they were willing to take a cut in salary, if it would save some jobs. Also, I have yet to see or hear how the company's downturn has affected the top execs, except, maybe, in their stock portfolios. I know that they all have contracts detailing what they're entitled to, but, just because it's in your contract, doesn't mean you have to take it. When I leave ther building each day, i walk past their assigned parking spots (of course, the spots closest to the building) and I see their Escalades, BMWs, Jags, etc. Even as a token gesture, it would have been nice to see the CEO and his gang give up their cars and all the expenses that go along with them, ie. insurance, gas, etc. Our 2009 annual report should come out sometime this month which, among other things, publishes the salaries, bonuses and stock options the top execs received. We worker bees are very interested to see what the report has to say.
On top of all this drama, one of my cousins passed away on Wednesday from the long-term effects of chemotherapy. We were the same age. He was just a wonderful guy with a wonderful family. Aunt Rose, SallyAnn, Rosemary, Denise and family, you are all in my thoughts and prayers.