Thursday, February 28, 2008

I love my job. I'm really glad that I can say that because I know how rare it is for people to feel that way about their work. However, there are times that I simply can't believe what I have to put up with while I'm here.

I've been busting my butt to finish up a large sign order for the COO of the SpRocket. It wasn't that the signs were complicated or anything, it was just that they were big - and there were a lot of them. With a little focus and as little slacking as I could get away with, I was able to get the man what he wanted within 2 1/2 days. Woo-Hoo! Now, I wasn't expecting a reward or even a pat on the back (that doesn't really happen here), but I was expecting to be able to get back to my regularly scheduled task list. Because of who he is, and the fact that he is a former Army General, the COO tends to expect his requests to be a priority. I'm cool with that. So yesterday when I was fielding sign requests from everyone and their great uncle, I get a call from the secretary of the COO. She asked if I was working on any signs. I told her I had finished everything he had requested except for one and she said fine. I go back to my other work and my boss soon walks over to me and asks if I have finished the park direction sign (the one I hadn't finished when the secretary called.) I suppose it wasn't enough for me to tell the secretary of the COO that I had one more to go. They had to call my boss and ask him. I'm guessing it's because they want Sam to know that I still have a sign to finish, you know, in case I had lied to him and told him I was done. The sign they wanted me to do is made of metal and outside. If it's too cold or too hot, the vinyl stickers won't stick to metal, so I have to wait until the temperature is right. It was freaking snowing yesterday! It wasn't just too cold to try and stick the lettering on, it was too cold to be outside! It does me no good to tell anyone who doesn't work in Graphics the whole temperature thing, because I don't think they believe me anyways. Luckily it was in the 50's today, so I was able to make the sign. I hope the man can sleep now knowing it's done. Jeez.

Another thing that is strange about my job is that it seems as if very few people realize that there is an actual person who makes the signs. Any time I'm outside or in the museum, I draw a crowd of curious onlookers, some of which work here. I get people asking reasonable, if annoying questions, "What are you doing?" "Why are you taking that off?" Then of course I get the idiot questions like "Do you work here?"

Me: *blank stare* Um, no, I'm vandalising. Shhhhhhh, don't tell anyone.

Do I work here? Are you kidding me? Would anyone in their right mind walk into a public place with razorblades, paper towels, glue dissolving chemicals and new lettering and just proceed to destroy something and then repair it in full view of everyone? I've even taken to wearing the lab coat that I used as a smock while I was working in the print labs at school (unless it's just too hot) so that no one will ask me stupid questions. My idea was that it looks at least like some kind of official "I work with paint and stuff" indicator. Apparently I give the general public too much credit. The only thing more dumb was when I wore the flight suit as a uniform and got that same question. Do I work here? Gah.

Other than the dumb questions and onlookers, my time outside today was nice. I forget how much I like to be outside when it isn't hot. It's so rarely pleasant outside in Alabama that I guess I've just gotten conditioned to avoid going out there unless I have to. I actually enjoyed myself, but I had to remember not to sing along with the iPod as loud as I wanted to. Sigh.

I also had to pick up a lost retainer this morning. Ick! Ick! Ick! If it weren't for the fact that I know first hand how angry a parent will get if expensive orthodontic appliances are lost or broken, I would would have left it on the ground. I took it to a couple of camp counselors and sat it on their table and they looked at me like I had just barfed in their laps. Hey, it's their choice to work with kids, not mine. They shouldn't be as grossed out as that. Kids wear stuff like that, after-all. Yuck.

Oh, and I know there are a couple of you out there that will appreciate this: While I was working, I noticed that a group of 11-13 year old boys were watching me and giggling. I didn't think anything about it (you know, with the onlookers and all) until I bent down to pick up something I dropped and realized that the neck of my shirt had gotten pulled down past the point of decency and was showing off my bra and "the girls." The sad thing is that those boys will probably remember seeing boobs more clearly than whatever else they've learned at camp so far.

Wednesday, February 27, 2008


You know, I had this whole video/slide show thing planned to tell you about last weekend, but I haven't finished it yet. Plus, I realized when I uploaded my pictures that half of them didn't turn out because of the lighting in the arena. Oh well, sez I, I'll just tell you about it. I'll finish the video and post it eventually! I know you'll just hold your breath in anticipation! : )

Last Saturday Steve and I planned a trip out to North Georgia for an evening at Medieval Times, which was Jon and Amy's gift for my birthday. How awesome is that, by the way? I would have never thought of something that cool. Our goal was to leave super early in the morning, make it out to Waleska to visit for a few minutes, and then head over to Duluth (YOU CAN'T HANDLE DULUTH!) where Medieval Times is located so that we could loiter at the mall until it was time to get in line to get in. Unfortunately, Steve and I overslept so we left a good two hours after we had intended to. We also managed to get behind the slowest. Moving. Vehicles. In. The. Country. The way we travel, a great deal of our trip is on two lane roads, so there is little to no chance of passing anyone unless you don't value your life. So, BOO ON THE TRAFFIC! Our usual 3.5 hour drive became closer to 4.5 hours because of those jokers!

We finally arrived at the McGee house, to which there was much rejoicing. Their daughter had apparently thought we died or something since we were so late! Luckily, that wasn't the case. As we waited for the donning of the shoes and the last minute potty breaks, Amy gave me an adorable fleece scarf that she had made me. It had dogs all over it, so of course I loved it! Neither party had a vehicle large enough to accompany all of us, so Steve and I followed the McGees to our destination. I don't know what was wrong with Steve and I, but we got goofy and laughed practically the whole way there. We also sang show tunes very loud and somewhat out of tune. It was fun. When we finally arrived, I was kind of in awe of the place. Medieval Times was not just a big building where the various activities are held, but it actually looks like a giant castle! It was amazing. I know I must sound like a complete rube for saying that, but for someone who didn't even think the place actually existed until very recently, I believe my awe is justified! Since Steve and I had made us so late, we had to go get in line immediately. We had general admission tickets, so it was first come/first serve as far as the tables we were going to get. We were in the red section, number 5! When we came through the door, we were greeted by the king himself and had a picture made with him. Then we were released into the gigantic lobby/gift shop/bar area. There were owls and falcons (live ones), men in tights, women in serving wench costumes (they actually call them that...) a giant fireplace, and suits of armour! It was so interesting! The king knighted a few of the pre-paid birthday guests and the falconer gave a talk about her bird. We sat around until they called us to come into the arena.

The show was so much fun, with only a tiny bit of cheese involved. I mean, it was grown men pretending to be knights, so there had to be a little cheese, but all in all it was very entertaining. Since we were in the red section - with all of us wearing red crowns and sitting under red lights - we got to cheer on the Red Knight. I don't know how the guy really felt, but with a constant giant smile he looked like he was having a blast. He was very good on the horse and a fine jouster. He also threw flowers to some of the ladies in the crowd and Amy's daughter caught one of them. She was so excited. There were dancing horses, sword fights, a wizard and lots of fog effects. It was so much fun. Amy had even arranged for a pewter flower and a poem be delivered to our table for me! It was so sweet! They also announced the names of the people who were celebrating birthdays and what-not. For some reason the guy mispronounced my first name, but I think he was laughing at something someone had said to him before he got on stage, so I won't hold it against Sir Longhair for that.

The food itself was tasty, but a little complicated simply because we had to eat with our hands. Normally that wouldn't be a problem, but the first course they gave us was soup. Soup. That had to be someone's idea of a rather cruel joke, I think. How the hell does someone eat soup without a spoon, you may ask? Well, they serve the boiling hot soup in a bowl with a handle. Not just any bowl with a handle, but a metal bowl with a handle. I'm guessing that back in medieval times they didn't understand thermodynamics if that is how they served soup. I burned my hands, my lips and my nose trying to eat it, so I gave up. It was soon replaced by half of a chicken and a spare rib. I have eaten this kind of stuff with my hands before, so no problem there. Then they gave us half of a potato and a "pastry of the castle." The potato was kind of difficult, but the pastry was easily held and not hot, so score!

The Red Knight kicked butt and took names in the "fight to the death" and we cheered for him like crazy. The "bad guy" Green Knight was kind of hot, so I cheered for him quietly when our serving wenches were out of ear shot. :) All in all, it was so much fun and certainly something I'm glad Amy and Jon thought of for me. Thanks, you guys! I had a blast!

After some mall browsing, Steve and I left the mall and headed home. We followed the McGees as far as Canton, and with a short conference to make sure we knew where we were going, we were on our way. The heater in Steve's truck is broken, so I think I almost succumbed to hypothermia on the way home. I was trying so hard to stay awake so that Steve wouldn't fall asleep, but I was a total Pez head. I was wrapped up with my coat and new scarf, but I was still freezing. I get sleepy when I get cold, though. With the added distance from Duluth, I think it was close to 5 hours getting home, so I was glad to get inside and get warm again. It was a fun night!

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Purely in the interest of science (*snerk*) I have purchased yet another chocolate creation that some of you might one day come across and decide to try. I would have placed my "Yummy Chocolate of the Day" banner on this entry to alert you to the content of this blog, but I couldn't find it on my computer. At any rate, this is my review.

When visiting Fresh Market yesterday, I found to my delight that Vosges Chocolates - yes, the same company that got a great deal of my money while I was in Las Vegas - now has chocolate bars available for purchase outside of Sin City. For such a fancy brand of chocolate, I was surprised that they didn't have a display case out on the floor, but were placed in a basket at the checkout line. Since Vosges thinks their chocolate is worth such a large amount of money, you'd think they'd at least demand a cardboard display case near the Hershey bars...but I digress. Since my last trial of their chocolate ended in tragedy (i.e. the last four truffles fell out of the box and into an up-to-that-point hidden cache of dog hair under a side table) I grabbed the first bar to catch my attention and purchased it. I won't say I grabbed blindly, because the main reason I picked the one I did was due to it's rather unusual ingredients. I shouldn't have been shocked, since Vosges seems to like to hide things like olive oil and balsamic vinegar inside it's truffles, but even those things could possibly be argued to be a foil to, if not a match to, chocolate. No, I picked out the bar that seemed to include something that only pregnant women would ever think of matching with the sweet stuff: Bacon. That's right, I bought this:
Not only does this candy bar contain something called "Deep Milk Chocolate", which is - to my understanding - milk chocolate with a higher content of cocoa solids in it , but it also contains "Alder Wood smoked salt" and "Applewood Smoked Bacon." I mean seriously, how could I NOT try this?

The package itself gives you directions on how to enjoy the chocolate, which sound a little pornographic in my opinion. However, since this is in the interest of science, I decided to follow along and see what happened. I'll break it all out to better help you understand.

* "Breathe: Engage your 5 senses." OK, since I'm currently alive, I'm already doing this. Not really sure why they feel the need to request this of me.

* "Close your eyes and inhale deeply." This part sounded easy enough. I inhaled deeply and was immediately aware, not of the rich, sweet smell of fine quality chocolate, but the rather funky smell of bacon grease. Yuck. You know what I'm talking about. That smell where you've made breakfast and have to go someplace before you get a chance to clean up, so when you get home your kitchen smells like...funky bacon grease. Is this just me? Quite possibly. Anyways, this wasn't the best of smells, but it wasn't overpowering, so I decided to press on.

* "Notice the color of the chocolate, the glossy shine." Notice that they don't tell you to open your eyes before doing this next step. I had to figure it out all on my own! BOO! In doing this step I noticed the color (brown) and the glossy shine, which could be attributed to the bacon grease. However, since this is a rather high end company, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and say it's because of well tempered chocolate. That's just how I roll.

* "Rub your thumb over the chocolate bar to release the aromas of smoked applewood bacon flirting with deep milk chocolate." OK, that just made me feel dirty. Strangely aroused, but dirty. I didn't actually do this part because the smell of flirting bacon was already apparent to me when I opened the box. Flirting bacon smells like old bacon grease. Just FYI.

* "Snap off a tiny piece and place it in your mouth, let the lust of salt and sweet coat your tongue." Let the lust of salt and sweet coat your tongue? What is this, a candy bar or a Cinemax movie? Jeez.

OK, with all of the chocolate groping completed, I actually ate a couple of squares of this fine chocolate and came to this conclusion: This candy bar was invented by someone who had a severe, and I do mean SEVERE, case of the munchies. Not only was the bacon smell off-putting, but the texture was wrong. I don't mean it was supposed to feel like something else, I mean it was WRONG. Imagine a bowl of fairly good chocolate with a hand full of pork rinds crumbled up in there. Oh, and the pieces of sea salt...don't forget that. If you enjoy eating small, salty rocks embedded in your chocolate then you'll love this. The taste wasn't terrible, surprisingly enough, if you don't mind salty and sweet flavors together that is, but the smell of the thing just ruined it for me. This was the first time that I've had to fight my gag reflex when eating chocolate. I almost didn't win.

My final thoughts? I can sum them up quite easily. Ew.

Damn you, Vosges. Damn you.

Sunday, February 24, 2008

I had the strangest dream last night. I dreamed I was back in high school and that I had to go to the prom. I say "had" to go because I think I was on the prom committee or something. Anyway, I didn't have a date (kind of like my junior prom...ahem. ;) but the class president kept flirting with me and trying to get me to dance. All I could think of was...dude! I'm married and so are you...go away! It was funny because I couldn't remember who I was married to, but I knew I had to be married because I was wearing my wedding band. I also couldn't figure out why I was married while still in high school. The dream was strange because I haven't thought of the guy who was our class president in more than a passing way in a long time, even though we were good friends (at least when we weren't hating each other. Nevermind, it's complicated.) It makes me wonder if I'm going to hear from him soon. Sometimes that happens when I dream about people. *cue X-Files music* At any rate, most importantly I was kind of smokin' in my prom dress, so I enjoyed that part of the dream! :)

I had a wonderful weekend, including the trip to Medieval Times I talked about earlier! I have pictures and video, so I'm going to try and put that together for you guys. There is even an honest-to-God picture of me included. Not a picture of my feet, but a picture of my face. You know I must have been having fun if I allowed that to happen!

Friday, February 22, 2008

You know, I was taught and I've always believed, that the idea behind the sacrament of communion is one of the more beautiful symbolic acts that Christians perform. I can understand how the idea of eating one's god may seem lurid and strange to those who either do not believe or who don't understand, though. However, as a Christian, I believe that the act of taking communion is not only a way to show faithfulness by following the examples of His apostles and by following His commands, but also a way to take within ourselves a symbol of His sacrifice as a way to remember what was done on our behalf.

However, I do not believe that - under any circumstances what so ever - that the idea of the body of Christ should bring to mind gooey, chocolatey, goodness.

This is wrong on SO many levels.
I think I just electrocuted my brain.

I was working on a sign, listening to my iPod (Richard Matheson's 'I Am Legend' this time) when my ear buds shocked me. I don't mean I got a little snap, either. A crackle of electricity just went through both of my ears at the same time. It was enough for me to cry out and jerk my ear buds out. It was like my head was a freaking Jacob's Ladder!

I can only guess that when I was working with the Sentra (plastic board) and vinyl that I built up a pretty wicked static charge, becuase that hurt like a bey-otch. To further my point, I came over to sit down at the computer and completely blanked out what I was doing. Granted, the blanking out isn't so unusual, but still...

Now I'm going to have to go through my memory banks and see what that power surge destroyed. If we meet up and I don't remember who you are, I'm sorry.

Thursday, February 21, 2008

RANDOM ACTS OF BLOGGING

1) Yesterday, whatever germs that had invaded my body on Monday had declared all out war on me. Actually, it started the night before, and I couldn't sleep except in short bursts. I had to get up and go into the guest room and try and sleep so that I wouldn't keep Steve awake all night with my tossings and turnings. I wound up calling in sick, and I drugged myself on NyQuil so I could get some sleep. Normally NyQuil kicks my butt and I'm out for at least 12 hours at a time, but I only slept a little bit both times I took some. At any rate, I did spend a lot of time sleeping. I think it turned the trick, because I felt much better this morning. I'm not completely better, but at least I can breathe and my head doesn't feel like it's going to explode. So, you know, that's good.

2) I am so behind on my work that you wouldn't believe it. Hopefully, as soon as the warehouse guys send up my new materials, I can knock a few of these out. The COO of the SpRocket has decided that a great deal of new signs need to be made and hung up out in the park. Unfortunately, the new signs he wants me to make say the same things that the signs we already have out in the park already say, except that he wants us to hang them to the right and left of the signs already there. Did that make sense? I'm glad I have the job security, but I'm kind of embararssed at how junky the place is going to look when everything gets set up. Oy vey.

3) Guess where I'm going this Saturday? Amy, Jon and their kids are taking me to Medieval Times for my birthday! Until they told me differently, I didn't think that place was real. I thought it was a place made up for the movie "Cable Guy!" It should be fun! No birthday is complete without jousting, right? Hopefully I'll have pictures. :)

4) Have I mentioned lately about how much I love "Lost?" This season has been so much better than usual, so every episode actually makes a little more sense than the last. Well, as much as Lost ever makes sense, anyways. I hope that when the show finally ends, everything falls into place somehow. I don't think my mind could handle something ambiguous after all of the time I've spent watching it and trying to figure things out. Neither could some of the more...ahem...rabid fans out there. Some of those people scare me.
You know, one of these days I'm going to have really great news about my family instead of things like this.

My mom found out yesterday that she might have breast cancer. She will have to wait until her test results come back to be certain, but her words were "They found something bad on my mammogram." That doesn't sound good to me. At any rate, I'd like to ask, again, for your prayers for my mom and the rest of my family. I'd like to say I've got peace about everything right now, but I'm kind of a mess. If it turns out my mom really does have cancer, I'm going to have to step up and be stronger than I think I'm going to be able to be. Everyone keeps telling me not to worry, but I am not built to react like that. Until I know one way or the other, I'm probably going to be freaking out. I'll try to do it quietly, though. Just forgive me if I seem a bit pre-occupied for a while.

So please, pray that my mom's tests will come back with good news. If for some reason they don't, please pray that we all get through it with a little grace.

Thanks.

Tuesday, February 19, 2008


Blargh!

Dangit! Yesterday I had to go to the doctor for a checkup. My appointment was at 11:15 a.m. but they didn't send me back until almost 12:15! That left me in the waiting room with all of the sniffers and coughers for an hour and now I have a cold (or whatever.) My throat is sore and my nose is sniffy. I was fine yesterday morning, so I know it had to have gotten me in the waiting room. The stupid thing is that my visit was only about 1o minutes long, so they left me out there with the sick people for an hour when they could have had me in and out in no time, avoiding the germs almost all together.

Stupid germs. They were not invited.

Monday, February 18, 2008

Another meme: The History of Me!

1. Raised in: Athens, AL
2. Planned baby: Not so much
3. Birth date: Feb. 14th
4. Any siblings: One brother & one sister
5. Do you get along with them? Yes, now.
6. Hair color: Dark chestnut brown
7. Hair length: long
8. First school: Monrovia Elementary
9. Eye color: dark brown
10. Shoe size: 7
11. Mood: mellow at the moment
12. Smell: I'm not sure what this is asking...I guess I smell like perfume, Bvlgari.
13. Height : 5'4"
14. Lefty/righty: Righty

LOVE LIFE:
1. Do you remember your first real relationship? Indeed
2. Do you believe in love? Yes
3. Shortest relationship? Yikes...a month, maybe?
4. Have you ever been heartbroken? Yes
5. Are you liking someone now? Yes
6. Have you ever fallen for a friend? Yes, but most of my boyfriends were friends first.
7. Are you afraid of commitment? Terrified.
8. Do you believe in love at first sight? Sure, why not.

THIS OR THAT:
1. Love or money? Love
2. Coffee or alcohol? Coffee, please.
3. One night stands or relationships? You mean I can choose?!
4. Television or internet? Internet. I can always watch TV shows via the internet anyways.
5. Pepsi or coke? Coke Zero
6. Fun night out or romantic night in? Romantic night in
7. Phone or in Person? In person. It's harder for people to avoid answering questions if they have to look you in the eye. Ahem. You know I'm talking to you, right?

HAVE YOU EVER:
1. Have you ever been caught sneaking out? No
2. Have you ever skinny dipped? Yes.
3. Have you ever done something you regret? You betcha!
4. Have you ever been on a house boat? Yes. Mucho Coolness.
5. Have you ever finished an entire bottle of tequila? Not by myself.
6. Have you ever dropped your cell phone in the toilet? I don't tend to talk on it in the bathroom, so no.
7. Have you ever been streaking? Dear God, no. I don't want anyone blinding themselves because of me!

ARE YOU:
1. Are you missing someone right now? Sort of.
2. Are you talking to anyone right now? Nope
3. Are you German? I don't know!
4. Are you Italian?? I don't know!
5. Are you French? Probably not.
6. Are you Russian? Definately not.
7. Are you Norwegian? Partly
8. Are you Indian? Partly, but the feather kind, not the dot kind.
9. Are you Irish? I don't think so.
10.Are you Mexican? Indeed no
11.Are you Polish? Nope
12. Are your parents still married? No

DO YOU:
1. Do you get depressed about things easily? Sometimes.
2. Do you live life to the fullest? Not as much as I wish I could.
3. Are you comfortable with the way you look? Not really, but I know I've got potential to be cute.
4. How do you dress? It depends on my mood.
5. Are you scared of growing old alone? Not at all.
6. What do you want to be when you grow up? I'm not sure yet.
8. Are you a vegetarian? Yuck, no.
9. Current song you're listening to? I'm not listening to a song, but another audio novel.

Friday, February 15, 2008

Yay! Steve has decided to write a blog. You may find it here.


Best. Birthday. Ever.

You know, I can actually say that without it being an exaggeration!

I had a really wonderful birthday. It wasn't so much that spectacular things happened, but that bad things didn't happen. To me, that is a huge step in the right direction!

My birthday fun actually started at midnight. Steve and I were watching episodes of Ugly Betty and when the clock hit 12:00 a.m. Steve sang Happy Birthday while I did a silly dance around the living room. Of course, since it was so late, and I had just gotten so old, we went to sleep directly afterwards.

I had taken the day off of work to avoid tainting my co-workers with my usual birthday luck, so I didn't have to get up really early. However, my spa appointment was at 9:00, so I laid about for a while before getting ready for that. Terrame is a small day spa that is actually about 5 minutes away from my neighborhood. I had gone there before to get my hair done, but not for any of their other services. When I arrived, they gave me a comfy robe and a pair of slippers and I had to fill out paperwork and order my lunch. Being a spa, they had mostly healthy stuff, but I was able to find something that didn't sound bad. :) My first stop was the facial room, which was very dark and had bird sounds and plinky-plunky music playing. The lady told me to get undressed and under the sheets on the table and she'd be right back. So I did that and was wondering why I needed to be mostly naked to get a facial when she came in and started doing her thing. Everything was going fine and I was totally enjoying the face and shoulder massage when she stopped and covered my eyes with these cotton things. I heard her pull one of those lighted magnifying mirrors over my face and then she took what felt like a cheese grater and began to basically remove the top layer of my skin, all while telling me how bad my skin looked. It hurt alot. I didn't think she would ever get done, but she finally did. Then she went back to massaging my arms and shoulders. I think she accidentally got to second base for a second, but then it was over. I didn't realize how relaxed I'd gotten until I was taken back into the lounge to wait for my massage and I kind of flooped over on the couch. Of course, whatever she did to my face made me look like someone recovering from smallpox, but it was all in the name of beauty, right?

Next was the massage. Oh. My. God. As I've said, I'm particular about people invading my personal space, but the woman who did mine made me comfortable immediately. While she was out of the room, I tried to figure out where the bird sounds were coming from, but I don't think I ever found them. It didn't bother me, per se, but it did make me think of the Hitchcock movie "The Birds." Not exactly the most relaxing of thoughts. The massage itself was wonderful. I can't really tell you what she did, because my mind went kind of blank and I think I drooled a bit, but it was so nice. Of course, I do remember thinking about that scene in "The Wizard of Oz" where the Tin Man is getting polished by that big fuzzy wheel thanks to Greg. I kept singing "Rub, rub here, Rub, rub there, Whether you're tin or brass That's how we keep you in repair In the Merry Old Land of Oz!" in my head. After the massage, they gave me a big glass of water and told me that a massage forces toxins out of your muscles so you have to drink lots of water for the next two days. They gave me so much water that I was afraid they might think I had a cocaine problem with as often as I had to run to the ladies room after that. :)

I had a chicken salad for lunch and a big bowl of berries. No melon, thank God. I don't like tomatoes or cucumbers at all and I don't like the way raw carrots feel, so I ate what seemed like a pound of lettuce and the chicken salad on top of that. After I was done, I made a happy face out of my vegetables. Why let them go to waste when they could become art! Heehee.

I got my nails done, which was fun. I don't really do that kind of girly stuff, so it was a new expirence for me. The girl doing my nails was really sweet and she did a good job. The pedicure was nice, but ticklish. I got everyone in the room laughing because I was laughing so hard when she was scrubbing my feet. However, I didn't kick her or jerk my feet away, so I call that a win! The whle spa thing was so much fun! I'm glad that's what I decided to do!

The rest of the day went as such: I went to Coldstone and got ice cream to take home. I talked to MVF Kenny for a while (he called to wish me Happy Birthday) and that was a pleasure, as always. I was going to take a nap, but Steve came in with some surprises for me. He got me six big, beautiful two-toned peach and yellow roses, I give him props for remembering that I don't care for red ones! He also gave me chocolate and a bulletin board. The chocolate I'm sure you understand, but the bulletin board will have to be explained another time. The dogs even got me a card. They couldn't remember how to spell my name, but Butler's handwriting is getting much better otherwise. They were all very sweet surprises. Then Steve took me to the resturaunt of my choice where we got dinner and then we watched Lost.

So, like I said: Best. Birthday. Ever.

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Baby, it's cold outside. Yikes! I just had to go out long enough to add some new decals to the gift shop entrance and my finger tips almost snapped off! OK, well, maybe not, but it's still cold. I wish the stupid weather would make up its mind, already. Oh well, at least I got to wear my favorite wool sweater and my socks with the individual toes. I love winter.

I have the first half of my birthday all planned out for tomorrow. I'm going to the Terrame spa and getting myself scrubbed, rubbed and polished. I have an appointment that starts at 9:30 tomorrow morning and goes until after 1:00, so let's hope it goes well. I'm still kind of wary about my personal space being invaded by someone I don't know, but I'm going to do it anyways. I've never had a manacure or a pedicure before. I hope they don't tickle my feet. I'll feel bad if I accidentally kick someone in the head. After that, I believe I will get some ice cream and then go home and take a nap. After that, I guess it'll be a surprise.

I can't believe I'll be 30 years old! I don't feel, nor act, 30. That's good, though. I hope I never feel as old as I really am. I used to think being 30 was so OLD, but now that I'm there...not so much. Good for me, I say!

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

MORE RANDOM ACTS OF BLOGGING

1) Did you know that Duck-Billed Platypusses are poisonus? I read an article on them a couple of days ago and it said that they have claws or spines on their back feet that will inject poison into you if they kick you with them. But, they're so cute! It isn't fair that they're dangerous! Not only that, but can you imagine if you got stuck by one and were lying in a hospital dying and someone asked what kind of dangerous animal attacked you and put you in this predicament? You'd have to tell them it was a platypus. How embarrassing. In case this ever happens to you, lie and tell them it was a rabid African Boomslang or something. Otherwise you'll always be remembered as the person murdered by one of these:


2) The other day I went into Victoria's Secret and saw this man and his wife walk in. I always think it's hilarious when men come into that store. Either they look WAY too interested in all of the frillies hanging around, or they turn red and bolt out of the door as quickly as possible. The man I saw did the latter. Poor guy. I almost don't like to go in there myself, though. It's not that I'm embarrassed by the underwear or anything, but it's impossible to find what you're looking for in there without tunneling through an untidy pile of ladies underpants. You'd think that with all of the labled drawers with sizes on them it would be easy, but no. Everything is mixed up, and Lord help you if you aren't paying attention to the lables and you buy the wrong size or whatever. And dont even get me started on what happens to the place when they have a sale. They might as well just toss out their little bins and throw everything in a big pile on the floor.

3) My youngest nephew, Seth, who is 9, shot his first deer last month! That is a huge deal for him because I don't think anyone expected him to hit anything, but he got it in one shot- right through the heart. Part of me is proud that he could do it, and part of me hates the fact that he killed something as pretty as that deer. They gave me and Steve some of the meat, but they showed me the pictures of the deer before I ever ate any of it. It was good, but I don't think I enjoyed it as much as I would have if I had never seen its face. I never would let myself get aquanted with any animal we were going to eat, but I accidentally became friends with a pig my family was raising. I named it and everything. Needless to say, I didn't eat any of the pork we got from it. It's not that I'm against eating animals, hunting, or even raising animals for food, but I like my food to be anonymous, thanks. :)

4) Speaking of that, sort of, PETA members are insane. My cousin Greg works for Tyson (you know, the chicken people) and an undercover member of PETA got a job in his plant and made a video of the slaughtering process. Apparently the man edited the video he made and completely misrepresented the company's activities which caused at least two people to get fired. On PETA's website, there was a section about the video and the people who wrote in comments about it sounded literally crazy. Not one of them seemed to care that two people were fired because of what they did, but they all seemed to be in agreement that Tyson and it's employees should die and go straight to hell. I think that's a bit...uh...excessive. They allege that Tyson is inhumane to the chickens when they slaughter them. Well, besides the fact that there is basically no nice or comfortable way to kill anything, the company has strict guidelines that they have to follow to process the animals in the first place, so the process is as humane as it can be anyways. I suggest that we all go get a big bucket of KFC to protest PETA!

Monday, February 11, 2008

HA! Well, some of you must have guilty secrets! No, I wasn't accusing anyone of lying to me. It was just an observation. Geez, people...

However, in clearing that up, if you are indeed lying to anyone, you do indeed suck. But let that be on your own conscious.
RANDOM ACTS OF BLOGGING

1) I'd love to say I spent my weekend doing something wonderful and useful, like de-worming orphans in Somalia, but I didn't. The bulk of my weekend was spent sleeping. I don't like to sleep practically all day on weekends because I always feel like I'm wasting time I could be using to do something I enjoy (or at least something that needed to be done). The only useful thing I did this weekend is iron a whole lot of Steve's shirts, and I probably wouldn't have done that if it hadn't been my fault that they got wrinkled. I'd been so busy working since last week that I was just exhausted. I had black circles under my eyes that Tim Burton would have envied. After working late Tuesday and Wednesday, on Thursday evening after everyone else was gone I basically just sat at my drafting table and cried. It was quite pathetic. :)

2) People who lie, suck. People who lie to their friends and families suck even more. If you are currently lying to your friends and/or family, you suck. Just FYI.

3) Just a word of advice: If you are prone to brain-songs like I am, it's probably best that you avoid listening to a song like "Closer" by Nine Inch Nails right before you go to church.

I have more, but I need to get to work! Have a great day!

Thursday, February 07, 2008

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Since I don't celebrate Valentine's day, I don't really think about getting a V-Day gift from Steve. I don't complain if he does give me one, but it certainly doesn't bother me if he decides not to. However, I have no idea how Steve feels about the "holiday." As we all know, Steve is the most un-demonstrative man in the universe, so I can't tell by the way he acts if he cares one way or the other if I give him anything or not. I always decide to err on the side of caution and get him a little something just in case.

This year I got him a mug that says: "You Make Me Completely Miserable." The mug is filled with tiny candy bones and skulls. I also got him a can of jelly beans to take the sting off, though, so don't think I'm completely hateful.

Next year, he'll get a shoe. Just one shoe.

That'll teach him not to say one way or the other!
RANDOM ACTS OF BLOGGING

1) Just when I thought it was safe to come back to work, I was requested to meet with a representative of the Aerospace department. I don't want to give you the idea that this department is a cess pool of blood-sucking, priority seeking, budget hogging, heiney smoochers or anything but, well, they kind of are. Maybe I'm just bitter at the moment because yesterday - Tuesday- I was taken on a walking tour of the entire SpRocket museum grounds starting from the very first sign you see as you drive in to the far reaches of the new building. Apparenly, none of these fine people realized ahead of time that a new building would need signs. Not just the signs that point people in the right direction, but signs for the restrooms, theaters, windows, exits and etc. I was literally walking around taking notes for hours yesterday. I spent more time with someone telling me what was needed than I got to spend in my office working. Now, making signs is my job, so it's not that I have a problem with what they want me to do. My problem is that they told me this yesterday and they want almost everything they requested by Thursday evening. They basically want me to completely re-outfit our center with new signs in two days. I am going to do the best I can, of course, because I need to find new ways of being awesome, but jeez. I hope you'll pardon me if I'm not thrilled about the amount of time that was given for the project. If anyone complains, I'm going to bite them.

2) I didn't vote yesterday. I know, I know, I know. One reason was that I was so busy, but the other reason is that I couldn't seem to find any information about the candidates that explained what their platforms are. All I have heard is some extremely biased information that I don't know actually has merit. I want to vote for the best person, but it's hard to do that when most of the information I've run across is either mud-slinging or extrememy partisan (is that the right word?) towards the candidate. Now that the field is narrowed down somewhat, I hope I can make a more informed decision when the time comes to vote for President. I don't like politics. I don't think I'm smart enough to understand it.

More later, I've got to get to work!

Tuesday, February 05, 2008

Behold!

Steve has created his very first YouTube video, and I must say, it is awesome!

Monday, February 04, 2008

Wow...

I didn't watch the super bowl last night, but I did happen to catch the very tail end of the halftime show. Is it just me, or has Tom Petty started to look suspiciously like Willie Nelson?

Yikes. Not a good look for you, Tom. Not a good look.

Saturday, February 02, 2008

This looked like fun!

Yes, I stole it.

Don't judge me.

9 Have-You-Evers:

9. Have you ever liked someone else while you had a girlfriend/boyfriend?
Indeed. I'm notorious for it, actually.

8. Have you ever had your heart broken?
Yes

7. Have you ever been out of the country?
To Mexico and Canada. I've gotten North America covered, now I want to see more places!

6. Have you ever done something outrageously dumb?
Heh, yes. So many somethings in fact that I could write a book.

5. Have you ever been back stabbed by a friend?
Back in high school once or twice. Girls are bitches.

4. Have you ever had the cops called on you?
Once, I think.

3. Have you ever dated someone younger than you?
Yes.

2. Have you ever read an entire book in one day?
Yes! But only if it's a good book or I had a test the next day.

1. Have you ever gotten a speeding ticket?
Many of them.

8 Whos:

8. Who was the last person you saw?

Steve

7. Who was the last person you kissed?
Butler

6. Who was the last person you texted?
Sara, many days ago before my phone committed suicide.

5. Who was the last person to call you?
Either Steve or Brian. Probably Steve.

4. Who is the last person you freaked out on?
Probably a co-worker. I'm getting better at freaking out while completely alone.

3. Whom did you last hug?
Steve

2. Whom did you go with to your first school dance?
Jordan Barkley. I'm still emotionally scarred from the fallout.

1. Who is your best friend?
I don't have just one, so that's not a fair question.

7 Whens:

7. When was your last shower?
7:00 a.m or thereabouts

6. When did you last see your mom or dad?
My dad, September 30th, my mom, last Sunday.

5. When was the last time you danced?
This morning while cleaning the office.

4. When did you get married, or when do you want to?
November 11, 2000. As for next time...I don't know yet.

3. When was the last time you cried?
When I deleted my dad from my e-mail address book.

2. When did you last go to the movies and with whom?
A couple of weeks ago, maybe last week. With Steve. Whenever it was we saw Cloverfield.

1. When did you last take a vacation and where?
Out West, last summer.

6 Wheres:

6. Where do your grandparents live?
I don't have any grandparents. Steve's gramma lives in Texas.

5. Where did you last hang out?
The theater in the Davidson Center.

4. Where is your favorite place to be?
A beach.

3. Where did you sleep last night?
In the bedroom.

2. Where would you like to move?
Someplace where I can walk out of my back door and be on a beach. A sand beach, though, not a rocky beach.

1. Where were you when Princess Diana died?
Six Flags over Georgia. What a weird ass question.

5 Do/Does:

5. Do you like someone right now?
Oh, indeed.

4. Do you like your vehicle?
Lois and I have an understanding that we tolerate each other.

3. Do you ever wish you were someone else?
Every. Damn. Day.

2. Do you have nightmares?
Not as much as I used to.

1. Does the future scare you?
Occasionally.

4 Whys:

4. Why are you best friends with your best friend?
Because we are like peas and carrots. We just match.

3. Why did you get a MySpace?
So that I could read the blog of Jenna Fischer, who plays Pam on The Office. I only keep it now to keep up with high school friends.

2. Why did your parents give you the name you have?
It was just a name they liked. I can thisclose to being named Waynetta, so thank God for small favors.

1. Why are you doing this survey?
Because I don't want to do the dishes.

3 Ifs:

3. If you could have one superpower, what would it be?
Control the dreams of others.

2. If you could go back in time and change one thing, would you?
Probably, but I don't know what. You know, what with the Chaos Theory and all of that.

1. If you were stranded on a deserted island and could bring one thing, what would it be?
"Worst Case Scenarios: Survival" book

2 Would You Evers:

2. Would you ever get back together with your ex?
It would depend on which one, I guess. Not my last ex, though. It would be hard to do with him being all gay and stuff.

1. Would you ever shave your head to save someone you love?
Certainly

1 Last Question:

1. Are you happy with your life right now?
Meh. I'm dead inside.

Friday, February 01, 2008

Well, it's over. The Davidson Center for Space Exploration Gala Opening was a success!

I still hate wearing a flight suit. :)

I spent yesterday morning finishing up last minute signage and helping set up the tables. If nothing else, I know what side the forks and spoons go on now, as well as knowing the dessert fork goes above the plate and sideways. It's amazing the skills that one can learn when they are considered a lackey. I did get to go home for a brief nap before having to be back for the party, thank goodness.

I got there a bit earlier than I really had to because I didn't want to be late. If I had tried to be there on time, I probably wouldn't have ever made it. Employees had to park in the Marriott overflow lot, which is a big grassy area, and a bus was supposed to pick us up. There was no bus, so I started walking. I finally spotted the busses, which were parked in the SpRocket parking lot, and just as I got to the door, the stinking bus driver pulls away and just leaves me there! So I had to walk across the rest of the parking lot and the wind was blowing so hard that it almost knocked me over. Also, it blew the heck out of my hair, so I looked like Helena Bonnam-Carter by the time I got inside. I finally just had to walk the rest of the way to the Davidson Center and it started to rain before I got there. Needless to say, I was SO attractive by the time I got inside. : ) The job I was given to do at the party was no different than the job I used to do when I was a tour guide. Smile, say hello, and tell people where the bathrooms are. Very exciting. I did have one very strange conversation with an older lady who had gotten there early, though. Edited for your enjoyment:

Lady: Did you say there was a coat check?
Me: Yes, ma'am, it's in the lobby.
Lady: Well, nevermind I might get cold. I just feel so stupid wearing a mink.
Me: Well, you aren't the only one, I've seen several.
Lady: I guess, but all of theirs are dark. Mine stands out too much.
Me: Nah, it's not at all ostintatious.
Lady: What does ostintatious mean?
Me: Uh, well, it means not too flashy.
Lady: Oh, good. What about my earrings, they're too flashy, right?
Me: Well, they are very sparkly but perfectly appropriate. You look very nice.
Lady: You're good at what you do, you know?
Me: Well, I try.

That was the first time ever that I've had to give fashion advice to a guest of a black tie function. Weirdness. I also think I pissed off one of our local news reporters. She's well known around here, but I couldn't think of her name. She was having trouble finding her seat, and because I had a seating chart, I was sent to help her. I asked if she needed help finding her table and she just said "AT&T" (the sponsor table where she had a seat.) Our seating list was in alphabetical order by last name, so I said "Your last name?" She looked at me like I had just spoken Esperanto and said louder "AT&T!" I'll admit, that tweaked me off a little. I might not be important in the scheme of things, but I am not going to be spoken to like that! So I looked confused and said "That's your last name?" Then she sort of looked funny and told me what it was and I helped her find her seat. She didn't even say thank you. The heifer.

So the highlights of my evening were 1) the mink lady. 2) I had to help an elderly lady get to the bathroom in her wheelchair (thank God she could handle the actual activities on her own) and get back to her table. I ran over some evening gown hems, though. :) 3) Pissing off the reporter and 4) I got to hang out with Brian, who was doing the streaming video for al.com. At one point, we had the actual event going on in the next room, we were watching the live video feed in the theater, and watching the streaming video on his fancy Microsoft phone. It indeed blew my mind as promised. I had fun hanging out and we got to snark at the speakers without offending any bystanders. :)

Brian was going to give me a ride back to my car, but I was so tired when everything was over that I bolted as soon as I had the go ahead. I had to clock out in the main museum and caught a ride to my car with a lady from Marshall SFC who was acting as taxi for the evening. When I got back to my car, I found that I was parked in the middle of a big mud puddle. When I finally got to my car and could get out of the lot, my car had mud splattered all over it like I'd been boggin. My redneck cousins and their big bubba trucks would have been so proud of me!

By the time I got home I was so tired that all I could do was get some milk and go to bed. I'm glad things went as well as they did, but I'm even more glad that it's all over.