Sad, Just Plain Sad

I know I complain a lot about how boring and brain-shrinkingly awful my job is, but I think this is a new level of sadness.

The window nearest to my cube (but not visible from my desk) looks out onto the back driveway of my building.  This is where the dumpster is located.  Here is the sad part: The people in the aisle next to the window get all aflutter when the trash truck arrives to empty the dumpster.  For true.  I hear comments on the contents of the dumpster; how full the dumpster is; if the dumpster is fully emptied...oy.  I suppose I could look at it as those people making the best of a bad situation, and are trying to find entertainment anywhere they can, but mostly I feel sad that the people I work with are so enamored of trash.

image found at http://www.roydoty.com/ via google image search. 

I Am Doing Science To It, And Random Info

A couple of weeks ago, JR sent me a link to an article about the use of apple cider vinegar as a weight-loss tool.  As I am using valuable company time/resources to write this, and not my netbook, I do not have the link to the study.  Nutshell: 175 obese Japanese men drank either no vinegar in 500mL, 15mL in 500mL of water, or 30mL in 500mL of water after breakfast and dinner for 12 weeks.  Clarification: they drank one cup (250mL) of the mixture twice a day.  The selling point for me (and others, I am sure)?  Diet was not changed.  That's right, folks.  The study saw reduction of waist circumference by drinking a vinegar mixture twice a day. 

Since JR is all knocked-up, we thought it wouldn't be a good idea to be doing science to her and the parasite, so I volunteered to drink vinegar for science.  Today was day one.  I'm doing my best to adhere to the study guidelines, but I'm sure there will be slight variations.  If I remember, when I get home tonight, I will find the link to the study and include it.  I measured my waist circumference this AM, and then drank down my 250mL of vinegar/water after having breakfast.  I should say this: I usually don't eat breakfast, so I'm already changing things.  I may end up bring the mix to work and downing it after lunch instead.  And if you were wondering, vinegar in water isn't the tastiest of libations, but it isn't the worst thing ever.  Anyway, 250mL of water is easy enough to chug right down.

Other random info: I am trying yet again for a different position at my work.  One thing I may have on my side is that the person doing the interviewing used my as her bitch for a while, and also hand-selected me (like fruit) to fill in as the DE supervisor back when the Princess was out being all insurance fraudulent or whatever.  I should have an interview set up by the end of the week.  Annoyingly enough, the girl who got the last position I applied for is applying for this one.  I may have to hate her if she does it to me again.  What?  No, I don't think she is just the better person for the job.  Pfft.  What are you thinking?

That sucker up there was lunch yesterday at the Renaissance Faire, in Lancaster PA.  It was delicious.  We also watched a human chess match and some bawdy comedy (because that's all they had in Ye Olde Tymes, right?), had random people accost us in the streets, and got heartburn trying this Mount Hope wine.  It was unbelieveably harsh.  Wooo-eee!  Good thing I only had a taste.  BB tried the Swashbuckler Red Sea Amber.  I tried a taste, but it wasn't really to my liking.  The cinnamon almonds, however, yum.  Oh, and funnel cake.  What?  It's a faire.

Witness The Crazy

I have made mention of my most favoritest boss ever, Stoneface, many times on this blog.  Usually I am commenting on his fascination with sandwiches; his inability to have a conversation with me that doesn't involve food, or how I take my coffee; his delicate feelings; his alcoholism.  This is something a little different.  I now have photographic evidence of the bizarre world that Stoneface lives in.  Let me set the scene:

The is a server room near my desk at work, and outside this server room is a blade rack with no blades in it.  See random server rack image below.

Just a basic metal framework.  Well, Stoneface, in what I can only assume was a fit of drunken inspiration, decided it looked much like a guillotine - or the frame of a guillotine.  That lead to this:

That's right; my crazy, drunk (pretty sure he's a stoner too but that actually makes him slightly more appealing) boss taped cardboard and poster paper to the server rack and used my red Sharpie to add the super realistic-looking blood.  Then he skipped around like a giddy little boy and pointed out his creation to everyone.  Yes people, this is my workplace.

Nothing Exciting

I've been at work for less than an hour, and I already don't feel like doing much of anything work-related.  Good thing I have Preacher.

New Boy (NB) brought over a scan of Preacher for me, and as I suspected, it is not much fun to read on my netbook.  Then, an idea occurred to me: Why not load a volume on a flash drive and bring it to work?  Try not to be blinded by the light bulb shining over my melon.

I finished up the first volume, Gone to Texas, yesterday and I'm quite enjoying it so far.  There is the preacher, Jesse; and his tough-yet-vulnerable ex-gf, Tulip.  Cassidy (a friend with a quirk) was probably my favorite, if only for the glee he takes in mayhem.  Oh, and who can forget about Arseface?  I don't think anyone in TX would use the word arse, but Garth Ennis isn't American.  There are a few things that slip through, but nothing that has taken me out of the story. 

Really, my major problem with Preacher is that everyone smokes.  OK, not everyone, but many of them.  This wouldn't be a big deal if I were reading at home, or on my parents' back porch, but reading while I'm at work I don't have the ability to smoke and read.  Boo.  Stupid addiction, I won't let you rule me!

Anyway, I started volume 2 (see link above) this morning and was just introduced to Gran'ma.  Gran'ma looks like a right awful harpy.  Jesse and Tulip are tied up and feeling confessional.  What will we learn?  How will they escape Gran'ma?

PS - I have a really annoying kid sitting across the wall from me and I think I'm gonna have to kick him a bit.  He fucking whistles on the call floor.  That's not proper call center etiquette, now is it?

Ed- I realized that the person saying "arse" is Irish, so ignore my comment above.

Not The Best Friday Ever

After weeks, nay months, of speculation, my program was moved over to the newer section of the building.  You're probably thinking that this isn't such a big deal, but moving sucks.  Not only did I have to get 3 years worth of accumulated junk into my new, smaller, drawers, I also had to move my coworker's junk.  And she had a LOT of junk.  Plus the moving was sweaty work and I have a date tonight.  Now instead of going home and relaxing for a minute, I have to jump in the shower and wash off the sweat and dust coating my body.

My new desk makes me feel very short.  The desktop is higher than my old one, and if I have the chair at a height that is comfortable for keyboard and mouse manipulation, my feet barely touch the floor.  I do have a much newer and more efficient computer now, so I am happy about that.  However, I don't have Outlook anymore and that means I don't have access to many many email addresses or saved emails.  The IT guy says he can fix that for me.

And it's not like the day started off great either.  As I mentioned above, my coworker was not in today, and my back-up back-up person was taking calls for a different program.  This meant that I had a pile of papers on the fax/copier that needed attention.  Then came the DE, then came the VM retrievals, then came the move.

I'm still damn glad it's Friday, because I would seriously consider calling out if I had to work tomorrow.  I want a beer (maybe two) and a back rub.

Oh No!

This is not good news.  And while I don't work for JnJ, I do deal with calls for a leading generics manufacturer.  You would think that one has nothing to do with the other, but you would be oh-so-wrong.

See, people can't seem to distinguish between a name brand product that has been recalled and a generic product that has not.  This means that oodles of panicky individuals will be bombarding the customer service line for the generics manufacturer and I will have to QC all those inquiries.  It's times like this I wish I had a much larger readership so I could put a message out there, or know that lots of people would follow the link to the FDA and have the proper info.  Alas, my core readership consists of reasonable individuals who will either do their research before succumbing to panic, or they don't use the products in question.

Quick Update on Things

The (potential) job: still haven't heard anything.

The boy: still talking regularly, and are planning to get together this weekend .

The boy cat: home from the vet and feeling much abused and prone to vapors (actually, that's fairly typical...the vapors, not the abuse).

The orchid: flower is in full bloom.

The (current) job: still boring, mind-numbing, pointless, and so on.  Though, that must be obvious as I am posting a stupid little update instead of doing any work.

And In Other News...

I found out today that I am going to be moving into the other building at work. At first, it sounded it was going to be just me and Jodi (my crazy as a loon project coordinator who doesn't really do ANYTHING on my project except occasionally go to FLA for conferences) and two other girls who are (tangentially) related to my project. It's a good thing I'm in a good mood today, or there could have been some kicking.

Then I found out that the people around me, who work on a similar kind of project, will be moving also. This is a good thing. I think I would have been hurling myself in front of the Ivyland-New Hope train if I were trapped with Jodi. As it is, she's not going to be sequestered in an office, so I'm going to have to hear her fucking loud mouth and insanely loud typing. Bah.

Really, I'm hoping that it will be a non-issue for me, but I won't know that until after my interview on Monday.

1 is the Lonelist #

As anyone with a calendar knows, today is MLK, Jr Day. A day for reflecting upon the strides that were made by one great man and the people who believed in him. A day to remember how hatred can cut a life short. A day...ah, who am I kidding? For most people, today is simply another day not to have work or school. Alas, I am not one of those people. The perils of working in the medical field, however tangentially. Or at least, it is to me. My podmates had the option to take the day off because their subcontractors are off today, and without them, not much work can be done. You know, I have no idea if my subcontractors are off today. I was just told I had to be here. The point of that is this: I am all alone in my pod. Seriously, there isn't anyone within a row of me.

OK, I'm making this sound like I'm more isolated than I am. There are several people within (not my) spitting distance, but I still feel like I've been separated from the rest of the class so I can't be disruptive. Not that I would ever be disruptive...

In nothing to do with anything I've already written about news, I'm supposed to get my car back today. I've left a message with the adjuster to confirm this. I really want that good news or I'm gonna be unhappy.

In additional NTDWAIAWA news, I saw Sherlock Holmes yesterday. There was definitely more fisticuffs than people expect from Holmes - well, Holmes had this sort of slap-fighting thing going on. I'm sure there's an official name for it, but you can't tell me that the mental picture of a scruffy, dissipated Robert Downey Jr doesn't entertain you. I've only recently started reading the original stories, so I'm not going to make a big stink about how it wasn't true to the idea of Holmes. I don't know nothing about that. The only thing I noticed was that Watson made far more Holmesian observations than I've noticed in the source material. I don't know what it was in particular; the 'stache, the hat, the sideburns, but I found Jude Law really attractive in this movie. Which squicks me out for some reason. Maybe because he's a known philanderer. Whatevs. The movie was silly and entertaining and that's all I was really expecting for my $10.

Balance?

I didn't get the position I tried for. Some bullshit about not seeming as if I felt like I was the right person for the job. Dudes, I thought I was the only person for the job. It would seem that my cocky is another person's nervous or uncertain. I'm gonna have to go into my next interview with a sign over my head flashing "She's the shit! Hire her!" and a one-man band following behind. Throw some baton twirlers into the mix and I just can't lose. Maybe then I will ooze confidence.

Anyway, you already know this. What I wanted to say is: I think, occasionally there is, not fairness, but balance. For the past couple of days, voicemail retrieval has been way less annoying than usual. The volume is down, the messages are mostly to the point - these are all good things. I don't have the nearly uncontrollable urges to smash my keyboard against my desk and kick trash cans. Perhaps this is the universe's way of making it up to me. Because the universe is super concerned about little ole me. Really.

Boooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

The streak is over. I am sick for the first time in about 3 years. I tried to convince myself I was just a little runny because I forgot my allergy meds. Sadly, my repeated denials cannot change reality. I have a cold. And it's all LaLa's fault for coming over when he was sick and boogering near me.

I've been getting progressively loopier as the day goes on, but I'm trying to tough it out. Not because I don't have sick time (that was already factored into tomorrow's paycheck so it would be unpaid). Not because I have any real sense of responsibility to my program. I stopped caring about coverage when they (mgmt) stopped caring about it. No, I want to stick it out because I am hoping that I will be getting some good news about the position I interviewed for last Friday. Getting that news today would make up, very slightly, for having to cancel plans to see my friend tonight.

I'll see how long I can make it. If I get the news soon, I'm going to leave after. Otherwise I'm going to have to hope that I sweat it out tonight so I can still make it into work tomorrow. Blergh.

It's The Little (and slightly bigger) Things

December is normally a pretty good month for me. I've always been a sucker for Christmas (minus all the crappy Christmas music), it's my birthday, it's finally getting that chill in the air (I like the first frost but that's about it)...all good stuff. This December is shaping up pretty darn good so far.

1) I got that gov't stimulus check that I was supposed to get last year. $600 in my pocket! Presents for everyone! Which leads me to...

2) I came up with (after some help from jr) some pretty good gift ideas this year.

3) Money again. I get my leftover sick time paid out next paycheck. As I have 4 sick days, that's a reasonable
chunk o' change.

4) Sephora send me a $20 gift card so I finally got the vanilla grapefruit perfume I have been salivating over for the last year. Plus I get samples and a birthday gift. I chose their Vanilla Cupcake shower gel - it smell scrumptious. Try it.

5) This is only potentially good; but I applied for a new position at work. If I get it, I will be in a different department and no longer under Stoneface's thumb. There's a (probably) small pay increase, but I'm so desperate to be off the call floor that I'd probably take the job without more money.

6) I have a yummy dinner tonight with my dad and one of my friends. Then after, I get another kind of treat from a different friend.

7) Might not seem like a big deal to most, but I finally made an ob/gyn appointment. It's a good thing.

8) Sent out my holiday card to a random soldier stuck in Afghanistan. Maybe a new penpal!

Anyway, that is the stuff that's making me happy right now. It may not last, but I'm going to enjoy it while I have it.

Mellowing Out

It is true what they (of ubiquity) say - hate is difficult to sustain. It takes an enormous amount of energy to maintain a consistent level of bile and most people, myself included, aren't up for the effort.

The reason I bring this up is because I realized that over the past couple of weeks, I don't get the same instantaneous, acidy, lip-curling reaction I used to get when having to deal with either Stoneface or the Princess. I'm sure it has something to do with the magical powers of my hair. I got the double-take from Stoneface the day I left it flowing free, and the Princess also commented on my unfettered locks. This isn't to say I'm easy. Don't think that all you have to do to win me over is compliment my tresses. It may help, but it won't do it all. Woo me.

It also helps that I don't have to deal directly with either one on a regular basis. Stoneface and I are merely passers-by and the Princess only drops mail off. It is easy to tolerate people with whom you have limited interaction.

*sigh

It can't be a good sign when you get all excited about a program you use adding a "save & exit" option. And by you, I mean me. This seems wrong somehow. It is much more convenient, though.

Workplace Etiquette

We all know that I'm not the most business-like person on the planet. I don't wear suits and heels, my language isn't always on point, but for the most part I comport myself as a reasonable facsimile of a responsible, level-headed adult. Not so for some of my coworkers.

Last night, I was sitting quietly at my desk, reading my Iain M. Banks, when I heard agitated squawking coming from the row behind me. I have no idea what she was angry about, but it made her loud. Yes, it was late in the day and the office was mostly empty, but A) you are not supposed to talk on your cell while on the call floor (a rule I abide by), and B) don't be yelling on your cell when other people are on the phone doing work related things, and C) really? I don't need to know about your personal life. I don't need to know that your friend, boyf, sister, mom, au pair, won't let you finish a sentence. And while I agree that it isn't very nice to call someone an asshole, you certainly were acting like one. Then, just to cap it off, she proceeded to log out of her (work) phone and storm off outside without consulting the supervisor. Which brings me to...

...the Sleazy Supervisor. He's one of the newer supervisors and is a completely unsubtle checker-outer. I've not experienced any sleaze first hand, but have spoken with people who have. I think part of it comes from the fact that he'll wear a polo and has his chest hair sprouting out of the collar. But that has nothing to do with this. I bring him up because he was manning the desk last night and did NOTHING about my irate cowoker. Didn't say "Get off the phone" or "Take it outside" or even "Keep it down". Nada. It is your job! Do something! You're sleazy Mr. Bossman now - you can't overlook shit like this all the time. You don't get to be the friend. At most, you can be the cool supervisor, but I don't think that's going to happen.

Please don't think that I am personally offended by my coworker's behaviour. She's still young and is inclined to be a bit hot-headed. I mostly wanted to shake my head sadly at her and remark that she'll never get respect at work if she continues to act like a child. Not that she may want respect, but still. Something to think about. It's a cliché, but you have to grow up sometime.

The World Is My Laboratory

I wore a skirt to work yesterday. Nothing fancy; just a plain black skirt that hit me an inch or so below the knee. From the reactions of some of my coworkers, you would have thought that I was wearing a shiny leather micro mini with hooker heels. Anyway, in the spirit of my sociological forefathers and mothers, I decided to run a little experiment today. Depending on my observations, I could string this out all week.

Today, I put on mascara. Yep, I put on make-up in the name of science. See, if wearing a shortish skirt is an infrequent occurrence, the application of make-up is practically unheard of. While it's not quite going undercover as a Hell's Angel, it's definitely a deviation from my normal routine, and I'm curious to see if anyone make a comment.

Now, I'm not doing this to see how well people pay attention to me, in particular, it's just easier to do this solo. I'm thinking that if no one notices the mascara today, I may add eyeliner tomorrow. And if no one notices that, lip gloss the following day. I guess that point is to see how far outside my norm I have to go before it's commented upon. As of 1:30ish, no one has said anything. Updates to follow.

It is now after 5 pm and nothing. It would seem that mascara is a bit too subtle. Personally, I think it's a fairly obvious difference, but I did, after all, apply the stinkin' stuff.

Mea Culpa

I'm sorry, company that provides me with employment. I never should have said that you don't care about your employees. You have proved to me that you have a conscience and I am ever so sorry to have doubted you.

Behold, my friends: The company-branded mug, with company mandated lid! (pic to follow) It doesn't slice, it doesn't dice, but it will insure that there will be a line of people waiting impatiently at the kitchen sink to wash out their official mug. With lid.

I have to wonder, in all seriousness, how much this is really going to offset anything. I understand that we go through a fair amount of disposable cups and lids, but is the extra use of hot water going to negate our trash-reduction? I don't know the numbers so I'm not making any claims.

In other my-company-really-cares news, we are now getting company paid basic life insurance and long-term disability. Everyone I tell says "That's good," but I'd much rather have had a raise. I wasn't paying for either of those before, mostly because I don't have any dependents. Well, the cats, but I'd assume that my parents would take (temporary) custody and my investments would provide plenty of kibble.

Brief Work Rant then GI Joe Review

This is another shout out to my cost-cutting place of employment. Thanks to their penny-pinching, I got coffee on my enrollment forms, my notepad, all over my desk, and I possibly left a trail of coffee droplets from the lunch room to my desk.

If knowledge is power, then know this: GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra is not a good movie. I didn't even think it was bad enough to be cheesetastic. To spice things up, I suggest smuggling in your alcoholic beverage of choice and taking a slug everytime they refer to their unit/people as "Joes". You'll be unconscious halfway through the movie.

The CGI during the accelerator suit scenes was Spiderman rubbery. The acting should have been so flexible. Dennis Quid was about as poseable as a GI Joe action figure. In Sienna Miller's defense, I could tell she was having a blast playing the bad guy, and she looked pretty hot in her skin-tight black outfit, but (nothing to do with anything) her calves are way too skinny. I did dig on her cool specs though. Channing Tatum isn't hot enough to get away with lousy acting and seeing Marlon Waynes shirtless wasn't anything I had been waiting breathlessly for. I thought Christopher Eccleston was fine, but I'm also enamored of his jug handle ears, so I'm willing to forgive a lot. Anyone psyched by the fact that Dr. Mindbender is in the movie? Yeah, it's a blink and you'll miss it scene. There's a part with the Baroness at the end that everyone I talked to thought was laaaame.

Some of the best scenes were with young Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes. Those kids whaled on each other. There is the obligatory training montage for Duke and Ripcord with Rip being cocky and Duke being stubborn. The Scarlett/Rip quasi-romantic subplot (barely deserves the word) wasn't squicky or anything, but you weren't really pulling for those crazy kids. If you want my opinion, and you obviously do since you're reading this, wait for the DVD. If you can't wait, see a matinee.

People Really Ask This

All right, I know this post isn't going to do much good, but I have to say something and the people at work are bored with my ranting (go figure).

Acetaminophen, naproxen sodium, and ibuprofen do NOT contain aspirin. Aspirin contains aspirin.

Thank you.

A Thursday That's a Friday Randomness

It is a sad, sad day when the thing that generates the most excitement is a fire drill. The biggest differences between a drill at work and the ones I remember from school are that A) I can smoke while we are outside, and B) it doesn't matter who I stand with once I've checked in with my fire marshal.

There is definitely a pre-holiday vibe happening today. Management generously (ha) allowed us to treat today as a Friday, minus the usual Friday bagels (which is a point of contention). So it's jeans and sneaks. Or, in the case of my one coworker, a tube dress and flip flops.

I'm sure some of you were hoping for a Transformers movie review, but the whole thing smeared together and has all but faded from my mind. There was robot-on-robot action, robot-on-Shia action, robots embodying stupid racial stereotypes, evil human-hating robots, military dudes dropping corny one-liners, John Turturro in a thong (really), crashbangboomLinkinParkloopyShiahotMeganFoxlalalalalalalalalacrashwhacktheend. It made me want to drive home very fast and punch things.

That's really all I've got for now. I should go back to my DE and hope that 5 o'clock comes quickly.