Pizza Monday!

Pizza Monday is here! Woohoo! All but one or two people in the office were very happy with having hot pizza for lunch and dessert from the bakery section of a local grocery store. Go me!

I had two veggie style pizzas for my small click of veggi-only people. I had a pepperoni only and two cheese only pizzas for my boring peeps. And two of two different types of 'everything' pizzas for the rest of the gang. Mini-brownies with cream cheese icing, chocolate chip cookies and mini strawberry shortcakes for dessert. Everyone seems happily fed, settling back into their seats after the meeting and I've gotten lots of good feedback.

"That was nice." "That was different." "Hot food! Yeah!" Etc. The only one to give me grief was the Office Manager and he was mostly teasing, I think. He ate too, so...

So tonight I'll be late leaving so I an set up for tomorrow. What's special about tomorrow? I won't be here! ::happy dance::

That's right, I'm taking a day off to hang out with two of my girlfriends who also have tomorrow off. Girls' Day Out. Shopping, lunch, chatting, maybe a movie. Woohoo!

So... tonight I have to label the coffee pot with a reminder of how to use it, label the dishwasher with a 'please empty me, I'm clean' note, make tea before I leave so they don't run out tomorrow, load all of the printers to the top with paper, and... ask someone to lock the doors at the proper time tomorrow. Oye. I should get started. Teehee!

Gotta thank The Chairman

Gotta thank the Chairman for posting this...

http://www.tv-links.eu

The Friday Briefing

Well, with Witchy laid up with a nasty.. er... flu(?) I've had huge amounts of time to work. And I did. A lot. Oye!

I was juggling three VPs' expense reports. One is leaving the company so he's SO not interested in the dotting of "i's" and the crossing of "t's". So that's fun. Another is my 'big baby' who I have to beat up to get the receipts because he was never properly trained and as his 'work' is different from the other VPs, his handling of the expense reports is different. (I'm staring at a folder stuffed to exploding point full of stuff for him... Joy.) The last VP is the one that I first inherited this duty for and then he stopped having me do it. Joy. Well, he's back. LOL First thing he did was drop four weeks of receipts on my desk and say "sort and report". Joy. Then a week later, he grabs me and drags me to the conference room with even more receipts and says I messed up and here's how to fix it. Er... you TOLD me what to charge to each client, so... I messed up? ::sighs::

I've been fighting to get new cards and stationary ready for our NY office, which is moving to a new location. They took forever to get things approved and then I needed to talk to them about quantity. When I got a hold of my equivalent in the NY office (except with more authority as she is EA to the other owner, the nice one), she acted like I was crazy not to have just randomly ordered. Er... How do I know the quantities they'll need? ::sigh::

The big color printer had issues. I had to call for a repair tech to fix it. Stupid people keep slamming the paper drawers. ::snarl:: Then they grouch at me when it doesn't work. Er... HELLO?

So anyway, Witchy's back, sort of. I've posted. All's reasonably well.

Oh, and did I mention that I had a little Spring cold too? No? Silly me. ACHoo!

Lilac Cutting

One of my co-workers brought in a few beautiful blossoms from the massive lilac bush/tree that she has growing on her property. She's my hippy friend. She's totally organic (ignore the cigarettes - she keeps trying to quit them), a vegetarian, and a radical. I adore her expect on rare occasion.

Well, I cooed over the many bright and colorful blooms. She brought me a cutting from the tree to see if I could get it to grow. Isn't that sweet?

Now I've got it in a glass of water and plant food trying to encourage it, but I may just go find a nice place in my yard and plant it. I'm going to have to do a little research into this. Hmmmm...

Anyway, here's hoping the lovely lilacs get to join my yellow roses and my wild red roses. The small wild white tea rose bush died. It didn't survive the winter. I've got a nice place for a small something where it was... not going to plant the lilac there. I want a huge lilac plant, not something being cut back very few weeks because it's too close to the parking spots. That little white rose bush (mostly a wandering ground growth) was perfect for that strip of grassy space between my spacing.

Update

Well, I haven't posted work/life related stuff sense the middle of last week. SO to catch up...

Thursday evening we had a research group in the office for an interesting discussion that I wish I had stayed to listen to, but alas... after setting up for the group:

- clipboards
- pens
- food
- drink
- breaking down the room into group mode
- preparing the clients' viewing area
- their food
- their drink
- their supplies
- greeting guests as they arrived on site

I was too pooped to stay. So home I went.

This was the first time a co-worker of mine had a group in the office. (He's a noob, but an angel of one.) So I was going out of my way to help and reassure him that we'd do fine. All in all, it was a good set-up and a normal group. He'll get used to the little moments of chaos that never fail to happen. Copier jams, food arrives seconds before the guests do, etc. ::shrug:: Been there, done that. Jaded. Let's move on.

Friday morning was clean up. This was finished within 45 minutes which is a new record. The noob did a huge chunk of it the night before (unusual) and thus I was able to knock it out in no time. Yeah, noob! I was supposed to be transcribing whenever I had a chance since then and have had a glorious two hours to devote to it. Should be more like 5, but I hate transcribing.

::sigh::

More later, the transcription awaits and ain't going anywhere.

Two more weeks!

She's Alive!

Quote:

"::Pokes nose out of covers::

Just so sick that I really don't feel like being too far from my bed. I've received the spring cold from Hell(!) courtesy of one of the boys at work. He's very, very sorry, so there's no need for drastic measures. I've been to work all week, and that has left me with absolutely no energy for anything but sleeping and staying under warm covers... Yep, I got the added bonus of massive fever attacks, they come and go... and is now coming again... Sheesh! Oh, yeah... The Empress is not happy about this, she's acting very miffed these days...

::Shuffles back to bed, kleenex in one hand, cup of tea in the other::"

Aigh! Sick but alive. Empress needs to take advantage of those fever attacks, snuggle. And cats make lovely feet warmers. Teehee.

Feel better!

Closer and Closer to a Robotic Horse

My gaming buddies will totally understand my posting this.



I really want a robotic horse complete with a programmed personality and a few simple special command coded to handle bad situations. Teehee.

ICat

This is cute, but it won't replace my cat. But it does look promising.

Fare Thee Well My Biting Buddy

::chuckles:: There's a gent working as an intern in the office, today's his last day. Unlike many people here, he's made it a humorous experience. Having marathon "civil discourse" sessions with my co-workers (one in particular), joyfully poking people to watch their reactions and entertaining me with his unique 'meat & potatoes' kind of diet. That's right, no veggies... not if he can help it. LOL Oh, and much munching of Ramon noodles... not Oodles of Noodles... Ramon. Get it right.

He's heading home to Nevada, tomorrow. Geez, I guess the lovely East Coast didn't suit him. ::chuckles:: He's got a job lined up and everything. So adult. LOL He's also got a fabulous blog called Cognitive Dissonance. It's an interesting read, very politically charged but not always. Check it out, but take some advice from me. Don't flame him, he enjoys eating people who flame for breakfast.

So fare thee well my biting buddy as you leave here to sink your teeth into a new job and a new challenge.

Chaos. <-Yes, chaos... not ciao.

Newer Iron Man Trailer

My favorite scene is when he's suspended by the machine dressing him in the Iron Man armor. "Let's face it, this is not the worst thing you've caught me doing."

BUWA-HA-HA-HA!

Friday Happy Dances

It's Friday! ::happy dancing around office:: Did I mention that 50% of my office isn't here? Happy day... Happy Friday... The annoying little Bronx boy isn't in until noon-ish. One sweet-usually-hides-in-his-office dude is off getting married and then on his honeymoon. One big-loud-rarely-here dude (who is leaving the company soon - again) is working from home. The Boss never works in the office on Fridays. The VP I do expenses for is out of the office at meetings. The CFO is still on vacation until Monday. Our Media department is here, but they tend to hide out in Media doing media things. We only have two interns now and one is running late today. Two of the Staff Assistants are traveling; one for business, one for pleasure.

Basically, the office is half empty... fewer complainers! Yeah!

Iron Man

I am really looking forward to the release of Iron Man. It's one of the first movies in a long time that I am eagerly going to get out to the theaters to see.



I remember one of the guys in the office (I've mentioned him before - the slacker who just lost his assistant and gained half an assistant) screamed from his office for all of us to get in there. He's all bouncing in his seat and going nuts. We all crowd in wondering who slipped crack into his water when he hits play and we see the Iron Man trailer (see above). Everyone was honestly impressed. So for months I have been waiting for this movie and it's nearly time! Woohoo! ::happy kitty dance::

Worried About Witchy

Yes, her silence since Friday has me worried that her hands and arms are hurting her again. I'm hoping it's not the case, but it very likely is the culprit. Here's a little "get better soon" message.

Small Victories

Well, yesterday a friendly conversation with one of our nicer VPs was overheard by the Office Manger/VP of New Sales (read: my real direct supervisor). We were chatting about the office coffee, which I have noticed has been declining in popularity. I haven't changed brands since I got here except for the occasional flavored coffee day when I was feeling 'crazy'. Well, the nice VP was saying she had shifted to decaf since she's expecting. (YEAH!!!) So I was chatting her up about her preferred coffees so I could get some in the office for her in decaf. Well, Mr. Boss heard and approved my 'upgrading' the coffee and... (drum roll please)... our Monday company lunches.

I nearly fainted. I've been twisting the arm of the CFO to try and improve the quality of our Monday company-bought lunch without success. Mr. Boss has enough authority to 'bully' the CFO to opening the purse-strings. Woo-hoo!

Small victories. Now I just have to FIND something better without being insane.

Ouran High School Host Club #9

Link: sevenload.com

I know, I skipped #8. I'm trying to find them all.

Ouran High School Host Club #7

Link: sevenload.com

Ouran High School Host Club #6

Link: sevenload.com

Ouran High School Host Club #5

Link: sevenload.com

Ouran High School Host Club #4

Link: sevenload.com

Ouran High School Host Club #3

Link: sevenload.com

Ouran High School Host Club #2

Link: sevenload.com

Dinner

Well, dinner was a mixed success. It was spaghetti cooked al dente with butter, garlic, oysters, and the oyster liquor from the two cans I put in. Oh, and Parmesan cheese. It was good, but it got boring part way into the serving. I figure that I'll throw a little tomato sauce on it tonight to change it up.

Oh, and I added a link to the first episode of Ouran High School Host Club with English subtitles in case anyone's interested. I prefer the original vocal artists. They do a great job.

Ouran High School Host Club #1

Link: sevenload.com

Woohoo!

April Fools Day led to Hump Day

Well, last night ended very quietly at the office. It was slow enough that most of the staff felt safe leaving at a human hour rather than staying well past "closing" time. Officially, we open at 9 am and am open until 6 pm. That means someone's here at 8:30 and someone's here until 6:30 pm. I'm the 9:30 to 6:30 group. Mind you, not many people watch the clock that strictly. We're salary, not hourly and that leads to fluctuating hours on a daily basis. I've seen people here before dawn and staying until very late at night. (Have heard of employees having stayed overnight once or twice. Gotta love the few offices with nice couches (2 offices/2 couches). I live close enough that should hopefully never be a problem.

Anyway, at 6:35 pm I rang my Mother wondering where she was as I was ready to go and she was usually early. Traffic and a late start had slowed her down. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't complaining. I was going to offer to go a block over and wait there because the traffic pattern is less hectic, thus less stressful for her. 'No, no problem. Wait in your office for me.'

So I powder my nose and glance out the front window as I'm walking back up front... MOMMIE!!!

So we're heading home and I'm talking about my day (she slept all day - Night worker, remember?) and she goes 'so... what's for dinner?' I'm tired so I'm like... 'er... pasta is easy.' She didn't wash dishes. Ok. I'm not going to wash dishes then cook so... EAT OUT! Yeah! Where? Er... um... er...

We debate, we compromise, we blacklist, and we finally agree on Chili's. They only opened it a few months ago and we hadn't been yet. Nice friendly attentive waiter, Corey. Reasonable, if boring appetizer, my fault... I ordered it without checking into the details of it. :-( Great meal. We both ordered a steak, each a little different.

The food arrives and I fish the roasted peppers OUT of my veggies and fling them onto Mom's plate (she likes them). I nibble at the veggies... poof... gone. I nibble at the mashed potatoes... poof... mostly gone. Er... should try the steak... I ordered rare and got medium. :-P Oh, well. At least, it wasn't dry or show-leather. Four bites and I had to ask for a to-go box. LOL I guess I wasn't in a meat mood.

Wish I could have slept last night. I was awake more than I was asleep. Plus I had this funky re-occurring dream about trying to make drinks in one of those mini Starbuck's that they tuck into stores. I ground some chocolate chip cookies in the coffee bean grinder by mistake. I was having no luck finding anything and kept wondering why no one had showed me how to do this. LOL So annoying.

Anyway... I'm here at work. Got my massive supply order in. Got it all tucked away now. All my morning stuff is done. I'm waiting on three separate tasks to be approved. I have two projects to work on... All in all, a good day. Now, if I can only stay awake. ^.^'

Anime

Yes, it's a not so secret pleasure of mine that I enjoy anime. I love the clean lines and artistry. A few of my favorite titles are below:

- +anima
- Absolute Boyfriend
- Fullmetal Alchemist
- Ouran High School Host Club
- Yugioh
- Yugioh GX
- Yu Yu Hakusho

I've read lots of titles but I only tend to buy these.

I would love suggested titles from people. I do read Shonen Jump and Shojo Beat when I can find them. Yes, I'm a child. I admit it. I refuse to grow up. I have to age, but no one said I had to stop enjoying life. ::raspberries::

And yes, Ouran High School Host Club is a current favorite. What's not to love? A bunch of super rich, super cute guys who are totally clueless about the rest of the world. Every stereo-type, plus a lot of humor.

Huni-sempei is my favorite with the twins running a close second.

Tuesday - April Fool's Day

Well, thankfully no one has made a fool out of me today... not I anyone else.

Today has been running smoothly. Except for my efforts to fall asleep at my desk this morning. ::blushes:: I can't help it, I hit a monotonous streak of activities and I start nodding off despite my best efforts. I stood up, walked around, took a few of the incoming calls... Snac- huh? ::blinks in confusion:: 'Was I just snoring?'

Anyway... still have an expense report to do because he gave me nothing to work with for information. I sent a pdf of his receipts... each receipt numbered... asking which of these was billable to a client... his reply... he thinks that the $29.00 MAY BE billable to X Client Corp. Joy. Lovely. Why'd I bother asking?

Anyway, now I'm ordering food for two different groups of people from two different delivery places and they are both making me be the money holder, which means the waitress when the food gets here. Joy. Where's my f*cking uniform and you'd best not be a cheap tipper!