Only 14 hours and 14 minutes till this shitty year draws to a close. woo hoo!
First things first: tunage. I dedicate this one to all the single people out there: New Year’s Eve.
I have a billion things to do today, as do you, so I thank you for your readership, your comments, your suggestions for content and your encouragement. I will have a drink in your honor (yes, that means all of you!). So have a drink or 10 for me, OK? *clink* Cheers!
OK, I am only having a teeny tiny lil get-together, but you know me, I prepare like I’m having the queen of England and her posse over for cocktails and food. 🙂
I’m in the midst of making my fabulous apricot brandy punch and I’ll throw together a cheese log sometime before the night is over. I did a few loads of laundry but still have about four more to do. Ergh. And let’s not talk about all the dusting that needs to be done. But then again, the “real” party for me is the cleaning up afterward!!!
Leslie arrives tomorrow. Here’s to hoping I can find her when she arrives in D.C.! We need to get her hooked up with Shan at some point — finally, my two Irish princesses in a room together at long last!!!
And here’s to the end of another shitty year. w00t!!! Happy New Year to all, and to all a good night of drinking champagne and eating good food!!!
Subtitle: In which my flakes are sufficiently frosted and my ass is magically covered
RC made a good point today, that this week at work should have just been furloughed. I sincerely can’t come up with an argument on that one. The few of us who are here are literally sitting with our thumbs up our asses. I mean, I’ve cleaned my office, cleaned my hard drive, ripped/burned dozens of CDs, gone shopping and had intense discussions with Shan about nothing in particular. I should’ve just taken vacation time.
As far as furloughs, my idea is that we should, for a year, just reduce the workweek by two hours instead of killing off days at a time (next days: Jan. 9 and Jan. 16, not to mention having Jan. 19 as a paid day off). Those are three days I will need to be in the office to do the paper. But I have no problem leaving the office a little bit early each day — honestly, I tend to want to slit my wrists sometime around 1 p.m. Eastern time anyway, so shaving off a few minutes each day would make me way happier.
I was just thinking how there is literally one good thing at each of my jobs. It’s like building the perfect mate: you want to take the good qualities of a bunch of people instead of just settling for one with some redeeming qualities. At Easter Seals, I was ridiculously passionate about the cause. At Two Strikes, I loved how progressive it was, particularly in regard to employee wellness (i.e., we shut down every other Thursday at 3 so we could do our doctor’s appointments or get our nails done). Here, I like the freedom — people really do tend to leave me alone to do my thing. I would like to have all of those qualities in one job. I haven’t had passion for a cause since 2000, and ultimately, that’s a major reason I failed at my last job — I had the skills but not the heart, and everybody knew it.
It’s a lotta ass to cover, but I did it
In good news, I got some people in trouble yesterday. Normally, I would rather just fix the mistake and keep on going, but I am going to blow this one wide open. I got a call on Saturday from the publisher, stating that my magazines were literally sitting at the post office, waiting to be mailed. Why? Because my company never sent the postage check. See, we had a knock-down, drag-out fight months ago when I was told I could no longer hand-deliver checks, and I was promised that there would be no interruption in my process. Well, I got the call while I was in Pittsburgh, and I couldn’t resolve it till yesterday.
I was nervous that I hadn’t even requested the money, but not only did I request it, I also made a note that the post office needed to have received the money by Dec. 19. So here it was, Dec. 29, and the check was found sitting on someone’s desk. Of course, she’s going to catch hell from her supervisor. But as far as I can tell, she left it sitting on her desk on Dec. 24 — why wasn’t it mailed on the 17th? Because it wasn’t cut on time, that’s why. So I had to drive the check out to Bumfuck Egypt so that the paper could be mailed. Yes, after I busted my ass to get the fucker out the door before Christmas — all my rushing was for nothing.
I found out that the check for the print shop was also ready but not signed. So one of the gals in finance had to run around like a moron, trying to find two authorized signers. The weirdest positions are allowed to sign checks — I can’t do it, as a manager, but the dipshit who delivers the mail and my boss’s bland secretary can sign. Problem was, we couldn’t find anybody for hours. So the checks arrived late, but they did arrive. And I took the afternoon off to go to the mall, seeing as though I was already inconvenienced. Yes, I always make the best of a bad situation, but I do look forward to telling my boss about this debacle — she has nothing else to do but create trouble, and I’m glad to give her that little something to do. 😉
I’m in a minor cleaning frenzy this evening. The apartment is in an emergency state. I figured I’d let the kitties have at it while I was gone, but playtime’s over. Time to get the skid marks outta the carpet and try to make the place party-time presentable.
Kadi’s in her cage, and both kitties are happily snacking on turkey while I nuke the bathroom. I’ve developed an obsession with changing the shower liner every two or three weeks. Of course, Kadi uses it as a scratching post and rips holes in it daily. She also likes to eat the bathroom rugs, and there are always dark blue pieces of fabric littering the floor.
I’m not catering this soiree like the last one. I have tons of cookies and alcohol. I may toss together a spinach dip or something, but about 70 loads of laundry need to come first. And the car looks like I drove it to to the North Pole, it has so much salt and other crap from the highways on it.
Next Christmas, Bryan and Paul have sworn to rent me a maid for a day. I think they should just rent ME out and let me earn some money cleaning like a maniac for other people!
Damn it, what the HELL did I do with my Swiffer?!?!
Rejected title: Better late than pregnant
1. What was your biggest accomplishment this year?
Securing my promotion and handling it like a champ with next to no staff. It’s always nice when people say, “Gosh, I just don’t know HOW you managed to do that job all by yourself for so long!” I have an amazing portfolio that I can’t wait to share with potential future employers! 😉
2. What was your biggest disappointment?
Depends. My biggest disappointment with myself is that I had about four million ideas for businesses I’d like to start, and I didn’t have the necessary discipline to actually put a single plan in motion. My biggest disappointment with (some) others was because of some of their actions that really, really hurt me. And the lack of apologies really burned my toast. I mean, are people that fucking stupid that they didn’t know that they were trampling on my heart?
3. What do you hope the new year brings?
Inner peace and outer beauty.
4. Will you be making any New Year’s resolutions? If yes, what will they be?
I have always been pretty balls-to-the-wall, say-what-you-feel-whenever-you-feel-it, but I made a resolution last year to introduce tact into that quality. And I’ve succeeded somewhat — I have cultivated this amazing ability to say exactly what I want to say at the exact moment I want to say it, and I can leave people not knowing if they were just insulted or complimented. That, my friends, is a gift that I don’t mind having.
BUT …
I have lost some of my assertiveness, and I WANT IT BACK. There are several fights I could should have picked this year, and I either walked away from or simply downplayed my reaction to the things that irritated me. I kind of justified this as not caring enough to find out what the fuck the other person was thinking when they did/said whatever incensed me. I always hope that people will go away and think about what they did to cause me to want them out of my life, but that’s too passive-aggressive for me — I should take some small amount of joy in telling someone that he or she was a complete fucking asshole and that reparations need to be made. But when I get burned, I shut my heart down where that person is concerned. It takes a lot to make me become numb, but when I reach that point, there is no return. Ever.
In any event, I want to be more assertive in the new year. Damn it. 🙂
5. What are your plans for New Year’s Eve?
I’ll be hosting a get-together for a few other wayward souls. And let me tell you, this is the one time of year that I absolutely DESPISE being single and having no one to kiss at midnight (this year being another shining example), so I choose to surround myself with amazing friends to remind me that I really do have a lot of love in my life.
“Youth is when you’re allowed to stay up late on New Year’s Eve. Middle age is when you’re forced to.”
— Bill Vaughan
Hope everyone had a great holiday! I personally spent more than 16 hours in my car just going to and from my destinations, so to say that my ass hurts is the understatement of the year. 🙂 Also, to say that Mom put 10 pounds on me is the other understament of the year — we don’t do gifts, but four-course meals every night are a given. Damn it — nothing FITS!!!
I left Pittsburgh at 10:55 a.m. yesterday, went to Wheeling to pick up the boys and proceeded to be stuck in traffic on I-70 for hours upon hours. I came home after 7 p.m. to find a happy Maddie and a surly Kadi (who’s about five pounds heavier from parking her ass at the auto feeder for five days). Maddie immediately jumped up into my lap and wanted to be petted; I put her down after awhile to give Kadi some attention, and this little brat immediately scratched me.
I heard from Shawn that Kadi trashed the kitchen on my first day away, and I saw for myself that she trashed my bedroom. I have shelves of Garfield collectibles, and Kadi managed to get even up to the shelves nearest the ceiling and knock shit over. One item is an irreplacable, limited-edition figurine (that retailed around $200) — actually, pieces of it are missing or broken. I will kill that cat. I swear, when I take her to get declawed, I may just ask the vet to put her to sleep instead!
Shawn took good care of the lil rascals, and for that, I’m grateful. I was hoping, though, that the girls would learn to get along in those five days together, but the minute I walked in the door, Kadi walked up to Maddie and smacked her in the head, so Maddie body-slammed her across the room. Heh. That earned Kadi 12 solid hours in her cage, and Maddie was rewarded with Honeybaked Turkey from Grandma.
My tired ass was in bed by 8 ish last night. I just woke up, and I feel pretty good, although I know I am walking into a crisis situation at work today. When it’s important enough to get two calls when you’re out of state, you know shit’s gonna hit the fan when you get back in town. *sigh*
The girls were in dire need of litter when I came home, but because I had taken the last parking spot in the lot, I actually walked up the street to Safeway rather than drive. Seriously, when you are lucky enough to get a spot at my complex, you don’t get rid of it. Had I driven to Safeway, I would have been wise to just leave my car there, because it would’ve been impossible to get a spot any closer to home!
On that note, need coffee. Have a good day, and if you have a blog, I’ll stop by later!
I know you’ve seen it before, but it was worth another view. Happy Winter Solstice, Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Xmas Eve, and Happy Mercury in Retrograde. And if I forgot something, the pic should cover it!!!
I’m taking off for Pittsburgh in a few hours (via Wheeling, to drop off Bryan and Paul). The car is washed, vacuumed and has freshly changed oil. Thanks to Shawn for watching my babies for me while I’m away. (Aside to Shawn: There are some goodies for you on the kitchen counter! And I’m sure the girls will leave you a surprise in the litterbox, too. Oh, and that bag of green herbs is meant for kitties, not humans! Heh.)
See you all on Sunday! Lots of love and luck to you all during this festive season!
‘Tis the season for peace on earth and a piece of ass. Failing that, to give gifts and head. Because I will be giving no head this holiday season (nor getting my stocking stuffed), here is my gift to you. Enjoy! (And if anybody has a copy of Joni Mitchell’s “River,” I would love to have it. Thanks!)
Merry Fucking Christmas (Mr. Garrison)
Chirstmastime in Hell (Satan and Hitler)
Last Christmas (Wham)
Santa Baby (Kylie M.)
Please Come Home for Xmas (Jon Bon Jovi)
River (Indigo Girls)
River (Robert Downey Jr.)
All I Want for Chirstmas (Samantha Mumba)
Santa Got Stuck in My Chimney (Lisa Nicole Carson)
Xmas (Baby Please Come Home (Jon Bon Jovi)
White Christmas (Vonda Shepard, Robert Downey Jr.)
Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen (Sarah McLachlan & BNL)
Apparently “Queer Eye” reached the basements of Iraq. See here for the complete story.
Story found via Tiff.