After reading my last entry Tami spoke to me with passion and intensity (she doesn't yell) and reminded me about the sticker related to our trip to Astoria. HOW could I have forgotten?? It really was funny.
When we got to the street fair in Astoria, we naturally had to find a place to park. As with most street fairs, there were a lot of people there and because it's in the middle of the downtown area parking is at a premium. We happened upon a fairly empty parking lot about 3 blocks from the fair. We didn't see any sign prohibiting parking so Tami pulled in and parked next to a building. There was a sign on the building that said no parking, but we assumed (you know what they say when you assume) it was for during the work week and this was a Sunday. So on our merry way we went with Tami's comment "if I get a ticket, you're all paying a share" ringing in our ears.
On our return we see a *huge* neon orange sticker pasted to the driver's side window. It says, for all the world to see: PARKING VIOLATION and mentions that the license plate has been recorded. Which means, of course, neener neener -- even if you remove this sticker, we got you!
In order to see out the window, Tami had to remove the sticker. Nope. That sucker is NOT coming off! It had super adhesive. I need some of that stuff for my scrapbooking! You know the type of adhesive ... when you buy something new and try to remove the label and it comes off in tiny strips and pieces because it's clinging for all it's worth to the surface it's adhered to. THAT adhesive! She managed to get a small corner removed so she could at least see if a car might be heading directly for her door but every time she turned to look out that window she was reminded that she made a very poor choice in parking. Not our fault, of course. We were merely passengers. She didn't have to listen to us shouting, park here! park here!
Now we'll all have to wait and see if she gets a ticket in the mail!
I stayed up too late last night and you're partly to blame. It takes some time to write these things. By the time I got Ellie's blanket all cut out it was almost midnight. My poor hand is so sore. Right at the base of the thumb. I was using shears that have never cut a piece of fabric in their pathetic existence. Those of you who've done any sewing know exactly what I mean. Once you use a pair of scissors for paper, it can never be used for material. Never. At least I got the blanket all cut out and tonight I just had to tie it. I finished tieing it and then promptly fell asleep. I just woke up a little bit ago (11:00 pm) and now I have to pack.
Packing for a trip home will be interesting because all I have is my small suitcase and these two blankets will take up that entire space. I may have to use these as my underseat storage. Will I have room for my purse? Doesn't matter ... I know I can still get on the plane. Besides, Heather printed out my boarding pass. Something about not trusting me to do it on my own ... just kidding.
It's a good thing she volunteered to do that because I don't have a printer set up yet. My personal printer is at work and we're still trying to get a cable for it. I keep saying I'll just run to Best Buy and get one and Carlos insists he has one, he just hasn't found it yet. It's in one of his boxes, he's sure of it. In the meantime, no printer.
So now I must leave you because I have packing to do and I really should sweep the kitchen floor and give it a quick onceover with the mop. Carol will be here Saturday and I don't get back until Sunday afternoon. Oh shoot. I still have some stuff in her room I need to move into this one. Okay, then. Later!
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Still going, like the Ever Ready bunny
Shoot, I haven't posted since the 15th and only one person has berated me for not keeping you updated. That makes me think the rest of you have already stopped reading. Well, fine. I'll keep on anyway because it's becoming my personal journal. Well, not 'becoming' because that's really what it was all along. I've just let you nosy folks read it.
Tami yelled at me (yes, yelled!) for not reading my comments on the blogs, so I just did that. Omigosh! they are great! I laughed and smiled and miss all of you so much. The comments make me want to keep going, so you're stuck with me. Woe is you. And Tami? I don't remember the sticker associated with the trip to Astoria ...
It has been nearly two weeks since my last posting and I don't remember everything I've been doing. Heather can vouch for me that I've lost at least one day each week. I keep thinking it's Wednesday and she'll say NO, it's Thursday. Which can be a good thing!
Two weeks ago I got sick. I mean, hanging my head over the bowl sick. It was so bad I was lying on the bathroom floor. After about an hour I dragged myself to bed and was fine the next day. I'm sure it's something I ate. If only I knew what it was!! It made me think of Lynda LaMagra. I still remember when she got sick on chicken enchiladas and wouldn't eat them again. At the time I thought that was so weird. Turns out she's not the only one with that affliction. That's never been an issue for me. Ok, this is waaay too much talk about this subject!
Work has been slow .. for me. I did spend last week creating a floor plan (most of you know how much I love my Visio floor plans!) with all the phone numbers that are out on the floor. The other half of the building was being 'built' last week .. putting up all the work stations. This week Avaya is putting out the phones on that side. I'm supposed to be getting a seating chart from the Tigard office so I can match people with their new phone numbers. We were supposed to have it last Friday. Still waiting.
Carlos is very busy and he's very good about showing me what he's doing and explaining everything in detail so I'll have an understanding of the process. I'm still trying to get the terminology, because what I think of as pilot number they call a VDN, and what I called a routing table they call a vector. We both use the term hunt group but it doesn't have the same meaning. I'll get it ... eventually.
My niece, Amber, came by on Saturday. She and her fiance, Steve, are my first official visitors! It was supposed to rain all weekend but we had beautiful weather that day. Blue skies, sun shining and a nice balmy 74 degrees. They did a quick tour of the apartment ... quick because it's not that big! and I pointed out the 30 steps. My sister, Joan, commented that she's been doing 3rd floor for years .. but keep in mind that she's not 70 lbs overweight!!
Steve noticed the restaurant that's on the corner across from us ... Buffalo Wild Wings ... mentioned he loves buffalo wings. I told him that I ate there last week with Heather, Tami, Dave and Heaven and Heaven LOVES hot sauce. In fact, the hotter the better. She ordered her wings with their hottest sauce (called Blazin') and she actually broke out in a sweat. Well, he got excited about that so we went there for lunch. He had 6 wings with Blazin' sauce and 6 with Asian BBQ. He claims the Blazin' was somewhat diluted and he wished he'd asked for some on the side. So we now know he's a little tetched in the head. Heck, I can hardly handle the mild!
They didn't stay long because they are on a 2 week vacation and have sights to see and people to visit and fun to be had. After they left I realized I'd not taken any pictures (Stacey where are you when I need you??) and still had a ton of stuff to ask them and get caught up on. Amber said they come this way pretty often so I hope she'll stop in again.
I spent Sunday mostly in bed listening to a book on CD, crocheting, and napping. Pure heaven! I love being a couch potato!
On Monday, Heaven met me at JoAnn's fabrics and I bought some polar fleece to make blankets for Colin and Ellie. They're easy to make but they do require some time and effort. I got Colin's done, thanks in large part to Heaven's assistance, and tonight I'm pinning and marking Ellie's. I hope to get all the ends cut so tomorrow all I have to do is tie it and I'll be done. I don'tknow how I'm going to fit them in my suitcase because they're pretty big but OH SO WARM. Yes, I realize it's summer...but it won't be summer forever. And these will be like having hugs from Nana.
I did take some time last week to check out a few stores in the area. There are stores EVERYWHERE. I went to Michaels, where I happened to come across some yarn ... be quiet Brendan. I also bought some baskets for my bathroom to store all my stuff under the sink. Then I drove to a store called Craft Mart and they have some pretty cool things there, but I didn't buy anything. I am really impressed with the JoAnn's here because the one in Dublin is kind of trashy. This one is HUGE and they have a lot of selection in so many different crafts. All I bought is the blanket fleece though. yay me
I haven't quite emptied out Carol's room and I'm running out of time. I'll probably have to just dump the stuff in my room or I'll never get Ellie's blanket done. There really isn't that much, it's just hard trying to decide where to put it because there is NO STORAGE here.
Oh! Before I forget I want to tell you guys about a cool web site that Heaven shared with me. This is for all you book readers. It's www.paperbackswap.com and that's what it's about. Swapping books! Right now it's free although they tell you they may have to charge $10 to $20 yr sometime in the future. You post the books that you're able to swap ... they must be in very good condition ... and when you've posted 10 books you get two credits, which means you can 'order' two books. When someone requests one of the books you've posted, you have so many days to ship it to them (you pay shipping) and when they receive it, you get another credit. When you order a book from someone, they pay to ship it to you. And so it goes. They even have printable book wrap (prints on 2 pages) that apparently includes the requestor's mailing address. Average shipping costs are a little over $2 for a paperback that's under 13 oz. If you sign up, be sure to say you were referred by crochetin@yahoo.com. :0 )
It's getting late and I need to go work on Miss Ellie's blanket some more. My hand was getting sore from the scissors but I think it's okay now. You all behave yourselves and I'll be seeing a good lot of you this Friday.
Until next time ....
Tami yelled at me (yes, yelled!) for not reading my comments on the blogs, so I just did that. Omigosh! they are great! I laughed and smiled and miss all of you so much. The comments make me want to keep going, so you're stuck with me. Woe is you. And Tami? I don't remember the sticker associated with the trip to Astoria ...
It has been nearly two weeks since my last posting and I don't remember everything I've been doing. Heather can vouch for me that I've lost at least one day each week. I keep thinking it's Wednesday and she'll say NO, it's Thursday. Which can be a good thing!
Two weeks ago I got sick. I mean, hanging my head over the bowl sick. It was so bad I was lying on the bathroom floor. After about an hour I dragged myself to bed and was fine the next day. I'm sure it's something I ate. If only I knew what it was!! It made me think of Lynda LaMagra. I still remember when she got sick on chicken enchiladas and wouldn't eat them again. At the time I thought that was so weird. Turns out she's not the only one with that affliction. That's never been an issue for me. Ok, this is waaay too much talk about this subject!
Work has been slow .. for me. I did spend last week creating a floor plan (most of you know how much I love my Visio floor plans!) with all the phone numbers that are out on the floor. The other half of the building was being 'built' last week .. putting up all the work stations. This week Avaya is putting out the phones on that side. I'm supposed to be getting a seating chart from the Tigard office so I can match people with their new phone numbers. We were supposed to have it last Friday. Still waiting.
Carlos is very busy and he's very good about showing me what he's doing and explaining everything in detail so I'll have an understanding of the process. I'm still trying to get the terminology, because what I think of as pilot number they call a VDN, and what I called a routing table they call a vector. We both use the term hunt group but it doesn't have the same meaning. I'll get it ... eventually.
My niece, Amber, came by on Saturday. She and her fiance, Steve, are my first official visitors! It was supposed to rain all weekend but we had beautiful weather that day. Blue skies, sun shining and a nice balmy 74 degrees. They did a quick tour of the apartment ... quick because it's not that big! and I pointed out the 30 steps. My sister, Joan, commented that she's been doing 3rd floor for years .. but keep in mind that she's not 70 lbs overweight!!
Steve noticed the restaurant that's on the corner across from us ... Buffalo Wild Wings ... mentioned he loves buffalo wings. I told him that I ate there last week with Heather, Tami, Dave and Heaven and Heaven LOVES hot sauce. In fact, the hotter the better. She ordered her wings with their hottest sauce (called Blazin') and she actually broke out in a sweat. Well, he got excited about that so we went there for lunch. He had 6 wings with Blazin' sauce and 6 with Asian BBQ. He claims the Blazin' was somewhat diluted and he wished he'd asked for some on the side. So we now know he's a little tetched in the head. Heck, I can hardly handle the mild!
They didn't stay long because they are on a 2 week vacation and have sights to see and people to visit and fun to be had. After they left I realized I'd not taken any pictures (Stacey where are you when I need you??) and still had a ton of stuff to ask them and get caught up on. Amber said they come this way pretty often so I hope she'll stop in again.
I spent Sunday mostly in bed listening to a book on CD, crocheting, and napping. Pure heaven! I love being a couch potato!
On Monday, Heaven met me at JoAnn's fabrics and I bought some polar fleece to make blankets for Colin and Ellie. They're easy to make but they do require some time and effort. I got Colin's done, thanks in large part to Heaven's assistance, and tonight I'm pinning and marking Ellie's. I hope to get all the ends cut so tomorrow all I have to do is tie it and I'll be done. I don'tknow how I'm going to fit them in my suitcase because they're pretty big but OH SO WARM. Yes, I realize it's summer...but it won't be summer forever. And these will be like having hugs from Nana.
I did take some time last week to check out a few stores in the area. There are stores EVERYWHERE. I went to Michaels, where I happened to come across some yarn ... be quiet Brendan. I also bought some baskets for my bathroom to store all my stuff under the sink. Then I drove to a store called Craft Mart and they have some pretty cool things there, but I didn't buy anything. I am really impressed with the JoAnn's here because the one in Dublin is kind of trashy. This one is HUGE and they have a lot of selection in so many different crafts. All I bought is the blanket fleece though. yay me
I haven't quite emptied out Carol's room and I'm running out of time. I'll probably have to just dump the stuff in my room or I'll never get Ellie's blanket done. There really isn't that much, it's just hard trying to decide where to put it because there is NO STORAGE here.
Oh! Before I forget I want to tell you guys about a cool web site that Heaven shared with me. This is for all you book readers. It's www.paperbackswap.com and that's what it's about. Swapping books! Right now it's free although they tell you they may have to charge $10 to $20 yr sometime in the future. You post the books that you're able to swap ... they must be in very good condition ... and when you've posted 10 books you get two credits, which means you can 'order' two books. When someone requests one of the books you've posted, you have so many days to ship it to them (you pay shipping) and when they receive it, you get another credit. When you order a book from someone, they pay to ship it to you. And so it goes. They even have printable book wrap (prints on 2 pages) that apparently includes the requestor's mailing address. Average shipping costs are a little over $2 for a paperback that's under 13 oz. If you sign up, be sure to say you were referred by crochetin@yahoo.com. :0 )
It's getting late and I need to go work on Miss Ellie's blanket some more. My hand was getting sore from the scissors but I think it's okay now. You all behave yourselves and I'll be seeing a good lot of you this Friday.
Until next time ....
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Settling in
So -- have you missed me? I've been busy over the past several days. Mostly running errands. Which I hate, by the way.
I FINALLY got a toaster! I used a gift card (thanks Christine) to buy it and since there will be 3 of us, I really splurged and bought a 4 slot toaster. Woo hoo! Toasters are handy things to have, you know. As are kitchen utensils like spatulas, stirring spoons, whisks, etc. I find a small ceramic vase with about 10 utensils for $7 or $8. Granted, the utensils are almost doll-sized but I can still use them (and have!)
I also bought a step stool so I could plug in the other light on my armoire. Every time I put something in my cart I think "how hard/easy will this be to get up the stairs?" That's a very important criteria, let me tell you. (30 steps to the top floor)
I used my egift card for Target (thanks Eric and Stacey) to buy a 3 drawer chest. Now that will be a real challenge. It's being delivered between the 20th and the 22nd and you know the darned thing will be heavy. Since I won't be home, they'll leave it at the leasing office. Not only do I have to figure out how to get it up the stairs, but how the heck will I get it from the leasing office to my apartment? I'm sure we'll figure something out.
I've already pretty much decided that for the chest, I'll open the box downstairs and haul the pieces up and put it together up there. When I leave, I'll have movers move it.
Tonight I want to go to Target and buy the matching nightstand. They had it in the store and the clerk said they'll load it on a flatbed for me. It shouldn't be as heavy as the chest so I think I can manage it on my own. My poor cardboard box nightstand is starting to sag in the middle. Time for an upgrade.
Yesterday was Carlos' birthday so I made some lemon squares. He'd never had them before. He really liked them and I had to burst the bubble and confess it was a box mix. Just add water and eggs. Whatever. With limited resources one does what one can.
I've been bringing my lunch the past few days even though we're not supposed to have food in the building (don't tell on me) -- the construction guys are eating in here all the time. I keep everything in my drawer just in case someone should come in.
I decided to run to the library at lunch today and was pleasantly surprised to find that it's very close to work! How cool is that! I had put in a request for a book online and they let me know that it was ready. I picked it up and have already started reading it. I know what you're thinking. With all the books I brought, why would I get a book from the library? Well, this particular author has written a series of books and I didn't have #3 in the series. I don't want to read #4 until I've read #3 .. see?
Thank goodness it's payday. Now I can pay my Comcast bill and get my nightstand. I may not be able to eat next week, but hey! that can't hurt!! (just kidding-I bought a large pack of chicken so I'll be fine)
Tomorrow Carlos and I have to go to Tigard for a conference call and then we're having a meet 'n greet because Adrian wants us to meet the department heads that we'll be working with. Gotta shine my shoes and spruce up my hair. I'm glad it wasn't today because I'm definitely having a BHD (bad hair day)
It's really warm today and I miss the clouds. There's no air conditioning in the building so we're really feeling it. What a whiney baby, huh.
I have more errands to run after work and the days are just dragging because there's not a lot for us to do just yet. It will all pick up next week, or so they tell me. In the meantime I'm falling asleep here.
I need to find the post office. I found one that is really close to our place but the darned thing is just a distribution center and they don't take mail over the counter or sell supplies. Shoot! So the hunt is on. Oh, I know you think all I have to do is look it up. Everything I look up just gives me phone numbers or they're businesses that do postal services. Whatever.
Wish me luck and hang in there until next time.
I FINALLY got a toaster! I used a gift card (thanks Christine) to buy it and since there will be 3 of us, I really splurged and bought a 4 slot toaster. Woo hoo! Toasters are handy things to have, you know. As are kitchen utensils like spatulas, stirring spoons, whisks, etc. I find a small ceramic vase with about 10 utensils for $7 or $8. Granted, the utensils are almost doll-sized but I can still use them (and have!)
I also bought a step stool so I could plug in the other light on my armoire. Every time I put something in my cart I think "how hard/easy will this be to get up the stairs?" That's a very important criteria, let me tell you. (30 steps to the top floor)
I used my egift card for Target (thanks Eric and Stacey) to buy a 3 drawer chest. Now that will be a real challenge. It's being delivered between the 20th and the 22nd and you know the darned thing will be heavy. Since I won't be home, they'll leave it at the leasing office. Not only do I have to figure out how to get it up the stairs, but how the heck will I get it from the leasing office to my apartment? I'm sure we'll figure something out.
I've already pretty much decided that for the chest, I'll open the box downstairs and haul the pieces up and put it together up there. When I leave, I'll have movers move it.
Tonight I want to go to Target and buy the matching nightstand. They had it in the store and the clerk said they'll load it on a flatbed for me. It shouldn't be as heavy as the chest so I think I can manage it on my own. My poor cardboard box nightstand is starting to sag in the middle. Time for an upgrade.
Yesterday was Carlos' birthday so I made some lemon squares. He'd never had them before. He really liked them and I had to burst the bubble and confess it was a box mix. Just add water and eggs. Whatever. With limited resources one does what one can.
I've been bringing my lunch the past few days even though we're not supposed to have food in the building (don't tell on me) -- the construction guys are eating in here all the time. I keep everything in my drawer just in case someone should come in.
I decided to run to the library at lunch today and was pleasantly surprised to find that it's very close to work! How cool is that! I had put in a request for a book online and they let me know that it was ready. I picked it up and have already started reading it. I know what you're thinking. With all the books I brought, why would I get a book from the library? Well, this particular author has written a series of books and I didn't have #3 in the series. I don't want to read #4 until I've read #3 .. see?
Thank goodness it's payday. Now I can pay my Comcast bill and get my nightstand. I may not be able to eat next week, but hey! that can't hurt!! (just kidding-I bought a large pack of chicken so I'll be fine)
Tomorrow Carlos and I have to go to Tigard for a conference call and then we're having a meet 'n greet because Adrian wants us to meet the department heads that we'll be working with. Gotta shine my shoes and spruce up my hair. I'm glad it wasn't today because I'm definitely having a BHD (bad hair day)
It's really warm today and I miss the clouds. There's no air conditioning in the building so we're really feeling it. What a whiney baby, huh.
I have more errands to run after work and the days are just dragging because there's not a lot for us to do just yet. It will all pick up next week, or so they tell me. In the meantime I'm falling asleep here.
I need to find the post office. I found one that is really close to our place but the darned thing is just a distribution center and they don't take mail over the counter or sell supplies. Shoot! So the hunt is on. Oh, I know you think all I have to do is look it up. Everything I look up just gives me phone numbers or they're businesses that do postal services. Whatever.
Wish me luck and hang in there until next time.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Happy Mother's Day!
So many things to tell you and so little time.
1) I think I mentioned that I have a weather blip on my desktop for Dublin, CA and one for Hillsboro, OR. It's kind of fun because it updates the forecast throughout the day and when it's nighttime, it shows a dark gray background with a moon. At 8:30pm Dublin was already mooning (LOL) and Hillsboro was still showing a sun! It stays light longer up here.
2) You know how when you travel or move anything the locals do that's different from the way it's done at "home" is wierd? Let me tell you about a few of my "only in Oregon" experiences. First of all, in the Portland airport restroom: this is just plain WIERD. There are instructions for flushing the toilet. Pull the handle up for liquids, down for solids.
Yesterday I took the entire day off as a day of rest. Sure, I had errands to run, but the couch potato in me was crying to get out!! It has been at least a month since I've been able to lapse into my vegetative state so I was well overdue. I turned on an audio book in the kitchen (using my Bose iPod speaker ... thanks E & S!) and tidied up, did dishes and organized. Sounds like work but when you're listening to a book, it doesn't feel like work.
I went upstairs and downloaded an audio book from the public library (new author and I really like the book) and listened to it while I unpacked another box and tried to get my room a little more organized. Again, with a book, it doesn't seem like work.
Then I went downstairs, revised my list for the 5 different stores I need to visit and turned on TV to watch marathon movies on Lifetime. A GREAT day.
Tami called and asked if I wanted to go to the farmers market with them tomorrow (which was today). Since I'd already blown Saturday I really needed to do some shopping Sunday so I asked if we'd be long ... I really can't go much longer without a blow dryer. She said I should know that Heather is not a Looky Lou so it will be a look quickly and go situation. No problem!
Fair warning. Should they ever invite you on an excursion, get complete and thorough details before you commit.
I got to their house about 9:30 and we headed out. I want it known we were still in Hillsboro when I mentioned that Hillsboro is a lot bigger than Dublin. Besides, the miles here are much longer, as I've already stated. We had been driving for about 45 minutes (maybe less) when I asked just where this farmers market is located. I thought it was in Hillsboro (wore a light jacket) but oh no! It's in ASTORIA, for cryin' out loud.
On the way there, we saw a sign that said "drinking water - rt 1/4 mi" That's wierd says I. Tami got all excited and said, oh let's stop! Sure enough there at the side of the road is what looks like a drinking fountain. It's actually a natural spring and people stop there and fill up bottles of varying sizes and types. Tami even dumped out her bottle of spring water (only in Oregon) and filled it up with -- spring water! Granted, this water is ice cold, but it didn't taste any different to me, although Tami insists it's the BEST water in the world. Maybe it's the thrill of filling it up yourself.
Entering the town of Seaside (we're near the OR coast) there's another sign that says "entering tsunami hazard zone" Now that's something you don't see every day! I'll tell you, I sure breathed a sigh of relief when about 2 miles later we came across the sign that said "leaving tsunami hazard zone". Again, only in Oregon.
There was another roadside sign that I found amusing. It said something to the effect that the hills block the view. We're driving in mountainous terrain. Of course, the hills block your view. I'm guessing the sign is for the Oregonians who might not realize the reason they can't see beyond the hills is because the hills are blocking their view! Alright, I know there must be a valid reason for the sign, but I was so busy laughing about it I couldn't see what it might be.
On the way I got a phone call from Eric wishing me a happy mother's day. Did a quick hello with the grandkids. Colin, sounding all grown up, wished me a happy mother's day and said he was giving his mom a good day too. Then Ellie got on and said "hi, Nana! Whatcha' doin?" I told her we were going to the farmers market to buy some vegetables. "OH! ok, bye". A minute later she wanted to talk to me again, and repeated the same script word for word. We did this 3 or 4 times. I think she'd fit right in up here. LOL
When we go to the "farmers market" it wasn't really a farmers market at all. It was a street fair. Only one or two booths out of the 50 or so had vegetables. We cruised all the booths and called ahead to the Camp 18 restaurant (I think that's the right name) and made reservations for 4:00.
We had some time to kill so we went to the aquarium. Tami fed fish to the sea lions and Dave (her son) figured out how to make one of them roll over. Cute! There were 35 (or so the sign said) fish tanks but really ... this was nothing like the aquarium in Maui. And they charge $7 per person! We got the family rate so it was more like $4.25 each. We still had some time to spare so we stopped at an outlet mall (they had a bookstore --- but I didn't buy any books!) for a bit.
It did rain today. So strange. It rained only while we were in the car. Every time we got out to do something, it stopped raining. Very cooperative! I was wishing I'd thought to bring the rain hat Barb gave me, but I didn't need it. I am going to pack it in my purse though.
Lunch at the restaurant was good. Our waiter was a cute kid and very friendly. We asked what he was doing for his mom (she lives in AK) and he wished us all a happy mother's day. The restaurant is very rustic. All mismatched tables and chairs. Supposedly like a logging camp. I didn't read the history of the site but it may have been a logging camp at one time.
A long day but we still got back in time for me to run to Target and pick up a few more essentials. I needed a lidded skillet to fix dinner and I bought a step stool and a bathroom scale. It's too easy to get off track if I don't have something to remind me where I am and where I'm going.
I got a really cute ecard from Justin that had my picture all over it! Thanks Justin! I think I told you yesterday about the cards from Eric and Stacey and the kids. Yep, Brendan, now is the time for you to feel guilty.
My apologies to Brendan! He sent an email to my Comcast email saying Happy Mother's Day to the best mom he ever had. Lucky thing my sister Joan left a comment on one of my postings here to check my email. Just so you guys know, I hardly ever check my Comcast email addy. I'm on Yahoo all the time. So if you write me and I haven't answered, you may be using that email address. I'm not really ignoring you (or maybe I am!) Joan, I'll get that check out right away, thank you.
Well, it's 9:42 and I need to throw a load of clothes in the washer and start getting ready for bed. Enough rambling for today. You take care and start thinking about when you're going to come up for a visit. I'll need advance notice so I can arrange a day or two off work. My niece, Amber, is coming through on the 24th and I'm looking forward to seeing her.
Okay, that's it! No more rambling. I've got a book to listen to and chores to do. I'll talk to you later. Take care ...
1) I think I mentioned that I have a weather blip on my desktop for Dublin, CA and one for Hillsboro, OR. It's kind of fun because it updates the forecast throughout the day and when it's nighttime, it shows a dark gray background with a moon. At 8:30pm Dublin was already mooning (LOL) and Hillsboro was still showing a sun! It stays light longer up here.
2) You know how when you travel or move anything the locals do that's different from the way it's done at "home" is wierd? Let me tell you about a few of my "only in Oregon" experiences. First of all, in the Portland airport restroom: this is just plain WIERD. There are instructions for flushing the toilet. Pull the handle up for liquids, down for solids.
Yesterday I took the entire day off as a day of rest. Sure, I had errands to run, but the couch potato in me was crying to get out!! It has been at least a month since I've been able to lapse into my vegetative state so I was well overdue. I turned on an audio book in the kitchen (using my Bose iPod speaker ... thanks E & S!) and tidied up, did dishes and organized. Sounds like work but when you're listening to a book, it doesn't feel like work.
I went upstairs and downloaded an audio book from the public library (new author and I really like the book) and listened to it while I unpacked another box and tried to get my room a little more organized. Again, with a book, it doesn't seem like work.
Then I went downstairs, revised my list for the 5 different stores I need to visit and turned on TV to watch marathon movies on Lifetime. A GREAT day.
Tami called and asked if I wanted to go to the farmers market with them tomorrow (which was today). Since I'd already blown Saturday I really needed to do some shopping Sunday so I asked if we'd be long ... I really can't go much longer without a blow dryer. She said I should know that Heather is not a Looky Lou so it will be a look quickly and go situation. No problem!
Fair warning. Should they ever invite you on an excursion, get complete and thorough details before you commit.
I got to their house about 9:30 and we headed out. I want it known we were still in Hillsboro when I mentioned that Hillsboro is a lot bigger than Dublin. Besides, the miles here are much longer, as I've already stated. We had been driving for about 45 minutes (maybe less) when I asked just where this farmers market is located. I thought it was in Hillsboro (wore a light jacket) but oh no! It's in ASTORIA, for cryin' out loud.
On the way there, we saw a sign that said "drinking water - rt 1/4 mi" That's wierd says I. Tami got all excited and said, oh let's stop! Sure enough there at the side of the road is what looks like a drinking fountain. It's actually a natural spring and people stop there and fill up bottles of varying sizes and types. Tami even dumped out her bottle of spring water (only in Oregon) and filled it up with -- spring water! Granted, this water is ice cold, but it didn't taste any different to me, although Tami insists it's the BEST water in the world. Maybe it's the thrill of filling it up yourself.
Entering the town of Seaside (we're near the OR coast) there's another sign that says "entering tsunami hazard zone" Now that's something you don't see every day! I'll tell you, I sure breathed a sigh of relief when about 2 miles later we came across the sign that said "leaving tsunami hazard zone". Again, only in Oregon.
There was another roadside sign that I found amusing. It said something to the effect that the hills block the view. We're driving in mountainous terrain. Of course, the hills block your view. I'm guessing the sign is for the Oregonians who might not realize the reason they can't see beyond the hills is because the hills are blocking their view! Alright, I know there must be a valid reason for the sign, but I was so busy laughing about it I couldn't see what it might be.
On the way I got a phone call from Eric wishing me a happy mother's day. Did a quick hello with the grandkids. Colin, sounding all grown up, wished me a happy mother's day and said he was giving his mom a good day too. Then Ellie got on and said "hi, Nana! Whatcha' doin?" I told her we were going to the farmers market to buy some vegetables. "OH! ok, bye". A minute later she wanted to talk to me again, and repeated the same script word for word. We did this 3 or 4 times. I think she'd fit right in up here. LOL
When we go to the "farmers market" it wasn't really a farmers market at all. It was a street fair. Only one or two booths out of the 50 or so had vegetables. We cruised all the booths and called ahead to the Camp 18 restaurant (I think that's the right name) and made reservations for 4:00.
We had some time to kill so we went to the aquarium. Tami fed fish to the sea lions and Dave (her son) figured out how to make one of them roll over. Cute! There were 35 (or so the sign said) fish tanks but really ... this was nothing like the aquarium in Maui. And they charge $7 per person! We got the family rate so it was more like $4.25 each. We still had some time to spare so we stopped at an outlet mall (they had a bookstore --- but I didn't buy any books!) for a bit.
It did rain today. So strange. It rained only while we were in the car. Every time we got out to do something, it stopped raining. Very cooperative! I was wishing I'd thought to bring the rain hat Barb gave me, but I didn't need it. I am going to pack it in my purse though.
Lunch at the restaurant was good. Our waiter was a cute kid and very friendly. We asked what he was doing for his mom (she lives in AK) and he wished us all a happy mother's day. The restaurant is very rustic. All mismatched tables and chairs. Supposedly like a logging camp. I didn't read the history of the site but it may have been a logging camp at one time.
A long day but we still got back in time for me to run to Target and pick up a few more essentials. I needed a lidded skillet to fix dinner and I bought a step stool and a bathroom scale. It's too easy to get off track if I don't have something to remind me where I am and where I'm going.
I got a really cute ecard from Justin that had my picture all over it! Thanks Justin! I think I told you yesterday about the cards from Eric and Stacey and the kids. Yep, Brendan, now is the time for you to feel guilty.
My apologies to Brendan! He sent an email to my Comcast email saying Happy Mother's Day to the best mom he ever had. Lucky thing my sister Joan left a comment on one of my postings here to check my email. Just so you guys know, I hardly ever check my Comcast email addy. I'm on Yahoo all the time. So if you write me and I haven't answered, you may be using that email address. I'm not really ignoring you (or maybe I am!) Joan, I'll get that check out right away, thank you.
Well, it's 9:42 and I need to throw a load of clothes in the washer and start getting ready for bed. Enough rambling for today. You take care and start thinking about when you're going to come up for a visit. I'll need advance notice so I can arrange a day or two off work. My niece, Amber, is coming through on the 24th and I'm looking forward to seeing her.
Okay, that's it! No more rambling. I've got a book to listen to and chores to do. I'll talk to you later. Take care ...
Saturday, May 10, 2008
A Day of Rest
A day of rest, and it's not even Sunday! This is the first day in weeks I've had a chance to just do nothing and I'm loving every minute of it.
I did empty 4 boxes this morning. I had cleaned the kitchen yesterday before Carlos came over for lunch but I still need to organize some things. I also need to run some errands which requires shopping and I'm not a shopaholic even though it may sound like it. I really don't like going to the store. One store a week and I'm good. I've done more shopping this week than I've done in the past 3 months. I think that's why I like shopping online so much. No need to venture out and wear out the feet. : )
I noticed this morning that we both started out with 54 degree temps ... I have both Dublin and Hillsboro weather on my desktop. Now at 1:30 Dublin is a sunny 73 degrees and Hillsboro is an overcast 59 degrees. BUT I've been here 7 days and it hasn't rained yet. Several days were bright and sunny and even on the overcast days there are periods of blue sky. It did start to sprinkle yesterday for about 10 seconds but that was it. If it has been raining it has been at night when I don't see or hear it.
I'm going to see if I can post some pictures. Tami took photos with her camera on Sunday, when I arrived. Let's see how this goes.
This is a picture of Heaven, Tami's daughter, and Heather outside my front door while they were waiting for me to arrive.
I was running about an hour behind when I'd told them I would arrive so they had to fill in their time. Part of that fill-in time was going to P.F. Chang's for dinner! without me!
I really wanted to show you a shot of my welcome banner. The story I got is they didn't have enough time to print it out or they forgot to print it out -- whatever. The end result is they wrote it out on Heaven's hand! She displayed it just as I was getting out of the car. Pretty clever, don't you think? Every time I post it the picture disappears. It shows up on my preview, but not the published post. I'll try to put it in tomorrow.
A shot of me crossing the threshold from the garage into the entrance hall. Yes, the picture is small but I'm not giving you anything closer. I have no hair, no makeup and I'm looking extremely worn out and exhausted. This gives you a general idea and that's all you need.
We're eating at Rosies cafe. I'm enjoying a French dip sandwich (one of my favorites) and the others are having dessert. Why? Oh, yes ... because they'd already eaten dinner. I told the girls that I'm feeling very proud of myself having lost 26 pounds .. when I get dressed my clothes are more loose and I can feel the difference in other ways. But when I see pictures like this! YIKES I still have a long way to go. A real balloon popper.
A shot of Heather and me. Why, yes, she does look rested! Huh.
Okay, that's it for this posting. I'm still unpacking and looking for connection cords. I do have some photos on my camera to share with you. I found my external hard drive and have that hooked up so I can upload all my photos to that. YAY Eventually I'll have Carlos help me with Photoshop so I can do things right.
I also found a cool program that came with my computer that's called Muvees (or something like that). Anyway it's a movie creation program put out by HP so I'll be playing with that in the future. Maybe I'll become a movie director like Eric and Stacey! (but not as good)
I guess I'll drag myself out to the stores and buy some more necessities, like a toaster and towels and such. It's a dirty job but someone's got to do it.
Take care until next time.
I did empty 4 boxes this morning. I had cleaned the kitchen yesterday before Carlos came over for lunch but I still need to organize some things. I also need to run some errands which requires shopping and I'm not a shopaholic even though it may sound like it. I really don't like going to the store. One store a week and I'm good. I've done more shopping this week than I've done in the past 3 months. I think that's why I like shopping online so much. No need to venture out and wear out the feet. : )
I noticed this morning that we both started out with 54 degree temps ... I have both Dublin and Hillsboro weather on my desktop. Now at 1:30 Dublin is a sunny 73 degrees and Hillsboro is an overcast 59 degrees. BUT I've been here 7 days and it hasn't rained yet. Several days were bright and sunny and even on the overcast days there are periods of blue sky. It did start to sprinkle yesterday for about 10 seconds but that was it. If it has been raining it has been at night when I don't see or hear it.
I'm going to see if I can post some pictures. Tami took photos with her camera on Sunday, when I arrived. Let's see how this goes.
This is a picture of Heaven, Tami's daughter, and Heather outside my front door while they were waiting for me to arrive.
I was running about an hour behind when I'd told them I would arrive so they had to fill in their time. Part of that fill-in time was going to P.F. Chang's for dinner! without me!
I really wanted to show you a shot of my welcome banner. The story I got is they didn't have enough time to print it out or they forgot to print it out -- whatever. The end result is they wrote it out on Heaven's hand! She displayed it just as I was getting out of the car. Pretty clever, don't you think? Every time I post it the picture disappears. It shows up on my preview, but not the published post. I'll try to put it in tomorrow.
A shot of me crossing the threshold from the garage into the entrance hall. Yes, the picture is small but I'm not giving you anything closer. I have no hair, no makeup and I'm looking extremely worn out and exhausted. This gives you a general idea and that's all you need.
We're eating at Rosies cafe. I'm enjoying a French dip sandwich (one of my favorites) and the others are having dessert. Why? Oh, yes ... because they'd already eaten dinner. I told the girls that I'm feeling very proud of myself having lost 26 pounds .. when I get dressed my clothes are more loose and I can feel the difference in other ways. But when I see pictures like this! YIKES I still have a long way to go. A real balloon popper.
A shot of Heather and me. Why, yes, she does look rested! Huh.Okay, that's it for this posting. I'm still unpacking and looking for connection cords. I do have some photos on my camera to share with you. I found my external hard drive and have that hooked up so I can upload all my photos to that. YAY Eventually I'll have Carlos help me with Photoshop so I can do things right.
I also found a cool program that came with my computer that's called Muvees (or something like that). Anyway it's a movie creation program put out by HP so I'll be playing with that in the future. Maybe I'll become a movie director like Eric and Stacey! (but not as good)
I guess I'll drag myself out to the stores and buy some more necessities, like a toaster and towels and such. It's a dirty job but someone's got to do it.
Take care until next time.
Friday, May 9, 2008
Oops
Well, I got a slap on the hand today. Carlos and I got to work about 8:00 and we had a call from Adrian shortly after (Adrian is our boss). Seems there's a problem with me making my cubicle my own. I'd put up my pictures and filled a drawer ... some of you know how I like to have lots of stuff on my workspace. Well! Farmers has not yet received "permission" to occupy the building, so even though we have legitimate business there we can't make it look like we've moved in. Adrian was really cool about it. He said he thinks it's trivial but if inspectors come through they'll call Farmers on the carpet for it and I do not want to be the one responsible for THAT.
Carlos told me about a cool web site. It's watch-movies.net. I'm watching 100 Million BC right now. Brendan or Justin had told me about another web site but I could never get it to work right. This one seems easier to me.
I just got a really nice Mother's Day gift from the Davis Contingent. They sent me an egift card for Target.com. Definitely more useful than flowers! Especially as I'm still limited in necessities. I keep making lists of things I need to get and then I sort them into HAVE to have right now and CAN WAIT until later. It seems like I'm constantly jotting things down.
I just called Carlos to see if his stuff had been delivered. They're just finishing up. I've invited him over for lunch. He mentioned this morning how hard it is to leave all his family behind and he has no one here. Audrey told me I'd have to be her family when she moves up here. I know the feeling, so the more we can support each other the easier it will be for all of us.
I've warned Carlos that I have only 2 chairs and no table. He has NO furniture at all so he can relate. At least I have food. Good thing I went shopping yesterday.
Today I need to find DMV. They have small renewal offices everywhere but I have to find the main office so I can get my car registered. I'll change my drivers license later, after I've studied the manual.
One thing I've noticed is that EVERYONE stops when a school bus has its lights flashing. If it's a 4-lane highway and a school bus has stopped with flashing lights, all 4 lanes stop where they are. We don't see too many school buses stopping on main streets at home, but here they seem to be everywhere. The trick is to leave for work before the buses start picking up the kids and to come home before or after they drop them off.
I don't remember if I told you what happened with my cable box. Paul, the cable guy, came back yesterday to swap out my box because it wouldn't turn on. He said the problem was that I didn't have the power switch on. BUT, says I, the TV works! Sure, he said, but that's because half of the outlet is always on .. for lamps. WHAT??!!! I've never heard of such a thing. Carlos said he's heard of it before. Maybe it's that way in the newer homes but not in any house I've ever lived in. If the switch is off, both halves of the outlet are off. Have you guys experienced this? Only in Oregon.
Well, I'm going to go prepare some lunch for my guest. Dinner and a movie tonight with Heather and Tami. I have such a social calendar, eh?
Take care until next time.
Carlos told me about a cool web site. It's watch-movies.net. I'm watching 100 Million BC right now. Brendan or Justin had told me about another web site but I could never get it to work right. This one seems easier to me.
I just got a really nice Mother's Day gift from the Davis Contingent. They sent me an egift card for Target.com. Definitely more useful than flowers! Especially as I'm still limited in necessities. I keep making lists of things I need to get and then I sort them into HAVE to have right now and CAN WAIT until later. It seems like I'm constantly jotting things down.
I just called Carlos to see if his stuff had been delivered. They're just finishing up. I've invited him over for lunch. He mentioned this morning how hard it is to leave all his family behind and he has no one here. Audrey told me I'd have to be her family when she moves up here. I know the feeling, so the more we can support each other the easier it will be for all of us.
I've warned Carlos that I have only 2 chairs and no table. He has NO furniture at all so he can relate. At least I have food. Good thing I went shopping yesterday.
Today I need to find DMV. They have small renewal offices everywhere but I have to find the main office so I can get my car registered. I'll change my drivers license later, after I've studied the manual.
One thing I've noticed is that EVERYONE stops when a school bus has its lights flashing. If it's a 4-lane highway and a school bus has stopped with flashing lights, all 4 lanes stop where they are. We don't see too many school buses stopping on main streets at home, but here they seem to be everywhere. The trick is to leave for work before the buses start picking up the kids and to come home before or after they drop them off.
I don't remember if I told you what happened with my cable box. Paul, the cable guy, came back yesterday to swap out my box because it wouldn't turn on. He said the problem was that I didn't have the power switch on. BUT, says I, the TV works! Sure, he said, but that's because half of the outlet is always on .. for lamps. WHAT??!!! I've never heard of such a thing. Carlos said he's heard of it before. Maybe it's that way in the newer homes but not in any house I've ever lived in. If the switch is off, both halves of the outlet are off. Have you guys experienced this? Only in Oregon.
Well, I'm going to go prepare some lunch for my guest. Dinner and a movie tonight with Heather and Tami. I have such a social calendar, eh?
Take care until next time.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Settling in?
What a day, what a day! Carlos and I got to work at 8:00 and the only ones there were the two Avaya installers who were still putting phones on the desks. No construction crew that I could see. We had a 9:00 conference call with the telephony team and that went well. 90% of what they were talking about flew right over my head. I asked Carlos what a few things meant and he didn't know either, so that made me feel better.
Carlos had to pick up his apartment key this morning and I had several errands to run so after our conference call, we left. We have no badges with key cards, nor door keys so without the constructions guys there we have no way to get back in. Adrian told us to check with the IT manager but she said she didn't have any extra keys. Adrian said he'd call her and get that taken care of.
In keeping with the little dark cloud that seems to be following me (at least it's a little one) my mattress has to be returned because it's leaking. I had hoped it was a one-shot thing and I just needed to pump it up some more but nope! I wake up 2 or 3 times during the night sinking into the mattress which causes my neck to bend at an uncomfortable angle because the pillows are now too high.
Since I had the morning free, I called Aero and they told me to return the bed to Costco, so I did. Naturally, the store doesn't carry the bed in stock so I would have to order it online. A delay of 7-10 days. Can I sleep on the floor that long without going crazy? I gassed up the car while I was at Costco and then ran home to get my grocery list and decided to order the bed while I was there. Costco online doesn't have the bed!! They only have the twin, single layer and I want the double layer so I don't feel like I'm falling on the floor when I get into bed.
I went down the street to Winco to buy groceries. Warehouse-type store (think Pak-n-Save) that's really big and unfamiliar. Took 3 times longer than it needed to but I have to start cooking dinner instead of eating out or eating just snack food, cereal and grapefruit. The shopping center where Winco is located also has a Joe's camping store. I went in there to look for a blow up bed and all they had was a Coleman that's a double-height. They don't come with a pump so I had to buy a pump too. When I got it home, it takes 10 hours to charge up the pump because it's a rechargeable battery!! That means at least one night on the floor. Darn it.
Decided to run to Target to get some kitchen utensils so I can make a real dinner tomorrow (tonight I heated up an orange chicken and rice dish that I bought at Winco). I got some measuring cups and spoons and some cutting mats, then decided to look in the camping section for a bed. They have the queen Aero mattress that's double-high but it's more expensive than the Costco one. I bought it anyway. Better to have a bed than to wait who knows how long for one to come in and then wait another week or more to have it delivered. Tomorrow I'll return the pump and Coleman bed to Joe's.
When I left Target I drove through the back of the shopping center and found a Michaels (!!), Best Buy, and Linen n' Things. Then coming up the street to go home I saw across the street a Barnes and Noble! Life is good. There is so much shopping in such a short area that I won't lack for anything. Except money.
I'm really worn out after lugging all those groceries and purchases into the house and up the stairs. I can't wait to crawl into my new bed ... once I get it made. I have a lot of reorganizing to do this weekend but tomorrow night I'm going to dinner and a movie with Heather and Tami. Then I HAVE to get the rest of my stuff unpacked, the clothes in my closet organized, and all the stuff that's sitting on top of my bathroom sink put away. If only I had somewhere to put it.
Heaven only knows how I'm going to organize my craft stuff. I'm already dreading the possibility of moving away from here and that won't come up for at least a year. LOL
I hope you're behaving yourselves and think of me often because I certainly think of each one of you every day.
Adios for now ...
Carlos had to pick up his apartment key this morning and I had several errands to run so after our conference call, we left. We have no badges with key cards, nor door keys so without the constructions guys there we have no way to get back in. Adrian told us to check with the IT manager but she said she didn't have any extra keys. Adrian said he'd call her and get that taken care of.
In keeping with the little dark cloud that seems to be following me (at least it's a little one) my mattress has to be returned because it's leaking. I had hoped it was a one-shot thing and I just needed to pump it up some more but nope! I wake up 2 or 3 times during the night sinking into the mattress which causes my neck to bend at an uncomfortable angle because the pillows are now too high.
Since I had the morning free, I called Aero and they told me to return the bed to Costco, so I did. Naturally, the store doesn't carry the bed in stock so I would have to order it online. A delay of 7-10 days. Can I sleep on the floor that long without going crazy? I gassed up the car while I was at Costco and then ran home to get my grocery list and decided to order the bed while I was there. Costco online doesn't have the bed!! They only have the twin, single layer and I want the double layer so I don't feel like I'm falling on the floor when I get into bed.
I went down the street to Winco to buy groceries. Warehouse-type store (think Pak-n-Save) that's really big and unfamiliar. Took 3 times longer than it needed to but I have to start cooking dinner instead of eating out or eating just snack food, cereal and grapefruit. The shopping center where Winco is located also has a Joe's camping store. I went in there to look for a blow up bed and all they had was a Coleman that's a double-height. They don't come with a pump so I had to buy a pump too. When I got it home, it takes 10 hours to charge up the pump because it's a rechargeable battery!! That means at least one night on the floor. Darn it.
Decided to run to Target to get some kitchen utensils so I can make a real dinner tomorrow (tonight I heated up an orange chicken and rice dish that I bought at Winco). I got some measuring cups and spoons and some cutting mats, then decided to look in the camping section for a bed. They have the queen Aero mattress that's double-high but it's more expensive than the Costco one. I bought it anyway. Better to have a bed than to wait who knows how long for one to come in and then wait another week or more to have it delivered. Tomorrow I'll return the pump and Coleman bed to Joe's.
When I left Target I drove through the back of the shopping center and found a Michaels (!!), Best Buy, and Linen n' Things. Then coming up the street to go home I saw across the street a Barnes and Noble! Life is good. There is so much shopping in such a short area that I won't lack for anything. Except money.
I'm really worn out after lugging all those groceries and purchases into the house and up the stairs. I can't wait to crawl into my new bed ... once I get it made. I have a lot of reorganizing to do this weekend but tomorrow night I'm going to dinner and a movie with Heather and Tami. Then I HAVE to get the rest of my stuff unpacked, the clothes in my closet organized, and all the stuff that's sitting on top of my bathroom sink put away. If only I had somewhere to put it.
Heaven only knows how I'm going to organize my craft stuff. I'm already dreading the possibility of moving away from here and that won't come up for at least a year. LOL
I hope you're behaving yourselves and think of me often because I certainly think of each one of you every day.
Adios for now ...
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
First day on the job? with a rewind
Okay, I want to tell you about my first day on the job but let me do a quick recap of yesterday. Inquiring minds want to know. I forgot to mention that because I ran late the leasing office was closed (they close at 5:00 on Sundays) but one of the girls, Chai (pronounced Shay, not Chi) gave me her cell phone number so I could call when I got in and she brought me the keys. How sweet, huh!
By now you all realize that if there is going to be a mishap, I'm going to be in the middle of it. I blew up my Aero bed (Todd, it has a pump so I didn't hyperventilate) and got it all made up. Using one of the cardboard boxes upended for a nightstand. In the middle of the night I woke up and I was sinking in the bed. It seems to have a slow leak. Great! When I spoke to Carol later she said to put it in a tub of water to find the leak. It's a queen-size bed! There's no flippin' way I'm going to put that thing in the tub ... especially by myself. I have an 800 number to call. *sigh*
Johnnie (the mover) arrived about 8:30. He was by himself. He was unable to get anyone to help him. He gave me the checkoff sheets. There were 12 boxes packed by the other 2 guys and 24 items (not all boxes) packed by him. As he'd haul them up the stairs (30 stairs) he'd shout out the number of the item/box and I'd check it off. I think there are 4 or 5 boxes of books. Those suckers are heavy!! But not as heavy as the armoire.
He'd taken it apart, so the shelves were easy (of course!). The desk was a little heavy but he managed. The bottom cabinet is light and he just 'rolled' it end over end ... piece of cake. The cornice on the top cabinet was removable and he took it off. He said he'd been worried about that part because it angles out and has sharp corners. The top cabinet is a son-of-a-gun. He was panting and moaning, but he got it to the first landing. He couldn't get it around the corner though. Said he needed to lift it straight up and turn it a little. Then decided to remove the doors and that might give him the extra space he needed. He was removing the screws from the hinges but I showed him that these are self-releasing hinges (he was impressed!) so we took the doors off lickity-split. Still couldn't move the darned thing. It is HEAVY.
I suggested maybe he could find someone walking around outside that we could pay to help him. I'm in the kitchen area unpacking boxes while all this is going on. Then I hear him talking to someone and the next thing I know some guy is helping him bring it up the stairs and up to the next level! Cool! It made it through all that relatively unscathed. The bottom left-hand door has about a 3" scratch where the paint is off. I think I'll write to the guy who made it and ask what paint he used.
Johnnie was done by 11:30 and the cable guy had called to say he was running late so he'd be by about 12:00. He came and left in about an hour. Hooked up cable and internet. I brought the modem upstairs so I could set up my laptop in my room, using my Farmers conference room table as my computer desk. It's perfect! A few of you have said you want to see pictures. As soon as I find all my cables I'll post some pictures.
I spent most of the day making a mess. I had Johnnie put all my boxes in Carol's room so I could move around in mine. I did go to the store and get some basic supplies, and now that my boxes are here I have more. We have enough toilet paper stocked up to have company!! So come on up!
Carol and I have the same size closets, but hers has two sets of doors so she can access it better. Once the clothes hang in mine, I can't get to the far ends. In her bathroom (she has the master bedroom) she has a double sink which is no biggie, but she has double the cupboard space AND a drawer! I have no drawer. I have a 2 door cupboard and a washer/dryer. And a tub with shower. Not crazy about my bathroom. The things I do for scrapbooking.
I told Carol that I commandeered one of her bathroom cabinets to store the extra toilet paper and hand soap. There's very little storage upstairs. It's all in the kitchen!
So on to today. I got to the new Service Point about 7:15, signed in and asked the guard if he knew where the telecom dept is. Nope. Several construction type workers busily putting together work stations, or chairs or something. The two that I asked had no clue. I found a door with a big sign saying NO ADMITTANCE and warning the room had some kind of chemical safeguard or something. I didn't really read it. But I knew I'd found the server room. Walked around to the other side of the building (the place is HUGE) and asked someone else if he knew where the telecom group would be and he said to ask the electrician. Found him and asked him the same thing. He took me to the IBM room. *sigh* No sign of Carlos, my new coworker.
I called Peggy in Austin and she gave me Carlos's phone number. Also relayed a message from Adrian that we were both to go to Tigard and check in with Annette and also HR to make sure all our paperwork is done. I called Carlos and he was in Portland picking up his car. We agreed to meet in Tigard. Again .. thank goodness Magellan was over her mad and working!
Carlos is really nice! We hit it off right away. He's originally from Guatemala, but grew up in Los Angeles so we shared horror stories of So. Cal. He said he was going to his apartment complex this afternoon to see the unit they have available for him. I told him we'd found a place right away. Turns out we're in the same complex!! How funny is that.
After we were released from Tigard, we went to lunch (at Panera's!!) and spent some time getting to know one another. He has a 10 yr old son, but is divorced. His youngest sister may come up and live with him. He's more than willing to train me and get me set up with some online classes. I think I'll enjoy working with him. The best part is he has to take care of some business on Thursday and Friday and without him, there's nothing for me to do. So I'll use those days to get my car registered and call about my mattress.
Oh! I forgot to mention that when I found the box with the TV (small 13" one of the boys won in high school, so it's OLD) I set it up and the darn power button broke off! I can't turn it on. I don't think the remote got packed or if it did, I haven't found it yet. Haven't found my dishes either. All the remaining boxes say books or crafts. I'm hoping the dishes are there somewhere.
Carlos and I were done about 2:30 so he went to the leasing office to take care of his apartment business and I went looking for the library. It's closer to my house than I thought (I drove all around the outskirts yesterday, looking) because when Tami and Heather took me there, we were coming from the other side of town. I'm not yet familiar enough with my surroundings to figure out where the heck I am.
Anyway, I found it and THEY WERE HAVING A BOOK SALE! Now is that fate, or what. I found a couple books to fill in some series that I'm reading. Woo hoo. I also got a library card. They do something really cool here. They buy passes for local attractions called Culture Passes, and you can check them out and get in free! You can get passes for the Children's Museum, the Chinese Classical Garden, Japanese Gardens, Pittock Mansion, Portland Art Museum and the Rice N Museum of Rocks and Minerals. Each pass is good for multiple people -- usually 2 adults and 1 or 2 children, but it varies with each place. I love this idea!
On the way home from the library, I found Costco. Also close to our place! YAY I bought a few things, always keeping in mind that I would have to unload the car by myself and cart the stuff into the house and up the stairs by myself. I did get some bottled water, but I left it downstairs in the hall closet and I'll bring it up as needed. This Costco is really big. It has several floor displays of furniture. At least 3 beds and two living room sets. No samples though. I also found a Winco Foods on the same street. I might go there tomorrow to pick up a few things that I didn't need a lot of.
So basically this first day was a good day. I got a lot of things done and I like the idea that Costco is close enough for me to buy my gas there.
I'm really tired right now so I'm going to close. I have another restless night ahead of me with a slowly deflating mattress. I have GOT to get that fixed!!
You take care and keep in touch. I really miss you guys, but I'm keeping busy and enjoying the peace and quiet. I just heard Carol laugh at that.
Toodles!
By now you all realize that if there is going to be a mishap, I'm going to be in the middle of it. I blew up my Aero bed (Todd, it has a pump so I didn't hyperventilate) and got it all made up. Using one of the cardboard boxes upended for a nightstand. In the middle of the night I woke up and I was sinking in the bed. It seems to have a slow leak. Great! When I spoke to Carol later she said to put it in a tub of water to find the leak. It's a queen-size bed! There's no flippin' way I'm going to put that thing in the tub ... especially by myself. I have an 800 number to call. *sigh*
Johnnie (the mover) arrived about 8:30. He was by himself. He was unable to get anyone to help him. He gave me the checkoff sheets. There were 12 boxes packed by the other 2 guys and 24 items (not all boxes) packed by him. As he'd haul them up the stairs (30 stairs) he'd shout out the number of the item/box and I'd check it off. I think there are 4 or 5 boxes of books. Those suckers are heavy!! But not as heavy as the armoire.
He'd taken it apart, so the shelves were easy (of course!). The desk was a little heavy but he managed. The bottom cabinet is light and he just 'rolled' it end over end ... piece of cake. The cornice on the top cabinet was removable and he took it off. He said he'd been worried about that part because it angles out and has sharp corners. The top cabinet is a son-of-a-gun. He was panting and moaning, but he got it to the first landing. He couldn't get it around the corner though. Said he needed to lift it straight up and turn it a little. Then decided to remove the doors and that might give him the extra space he needed. He was removing the screws from the hinges but I showed him that these are self-releasing hinges (he was impressed!) so we took the doors off lickity-split. Still couldn't move the darned thing. It is HEAVY.
I suggested maybe he could find someone walking around outside that we could pay to help him. I'm in the kitchen area unpacking boxes while all this is going on. Then I hear him talking to someone and the next thing I know some guy is helping him bring it up the stairs and up to the next level! Cool! It made it through all that relatively unscathed. The bottom left-hand door has about a 3" scratch where the paint is off. I think I'll write to the guy who made it and ask what paint he used.
Johnnie was done by 11:30 and the cable guy had called to say he was running late so he'd be by about 12:00. He came and left in about an hour. Hooked up cable and internet. I brought the modem upstairs so I could set up my laptop in my room, using my Farmers conference room table as my computer desk. It's perfect! A few of you have said you want to see pictures. As soon as I find all my cables I'll post some pictures.
I spent most of the day making a mess. I had Johnnie put all my boxes in Carol's room so I could move around in mine. I did go to the store and get some basic supplies, and now that my boxes are here I have more. We have enough toilet paper stocked up to have company!! So come on up!
Carol and I have the same size closets, but hers has two sets of doors so she can access it better. Once the clothes hang in mine, I can't get to the far ends. In her bathroom (she has the master bedroom) she has a double sink which is no biggie, but she has double the cupboard space AND a drawer! I have no drawer. I have a 2 door cupboard and a washer/dryer. And a tub with shower. Not crazy about my bathroom. The things I do for scrapbooking.
I told Carol that I commandeered one of her bathroom cabinets to store the extra toilet paper and hand soap. There's very little storage upstairs. It's all in the kitchen!
So on to today. I got to the new Service Point about 7:15, signed in and asked the guard if he knew where the telecom dept is. Nope. Several construction type workers busily putting together work stations, or chairs or something. The two that I asked had no clue. I found a door with a big sign saying NO ADMITTANCE and warning the room had some kind of chemical safeguard or something. I didn't really read it. But I knew I'd found the server room. Walked around to the other side of the building (the place is HUGE) and asked someone else if he knew where the telecom group would be and he said to ask the electrician. Found him and asked him the same thing. He took me to the IBM room. *sigh* No sign of Carlos, my new coworker.
I called Peggy in Austin and she gave me Carlos's phone number. Also relayed a message from Adrian that we were both to go to Tigard and check in with Annette and also HR to make sure all our paperwork is done. I called Carlos and he was in Portland picking up his car. We agreed to meet in Tigard. Again .. thank goodness Magellan was over her mad and working!
Carlos is really nice! We hit it off right away. He's originally from Guatemala, but grew up in Los Angeles so we shared horror stories of So. Cal. He said he was going to his apartment complex this afternoon to see the unit they have available for him. I told him we'd found a place right away. Turns out we're in the same complex!! How funny is that.
After we were released from Tigard, we went to lunch (at Panera's!!) and spent some time getting to know one another. He has a 10 yr old son, but is divorced. His youngest sister may come up and live with him. He's more than willing to train me and get me set up with some online classes. I think I'll enjoy working with him. The best part is he has to take care of some business on Thursday and Friday and without him, there's nothing for me to do. So I'll use those days to get my car registered and call about my mattress.
Oh! I forgot to mention that when I found the box with the TV (small 13" one of the boys won in high school, so it's OLD) I set it up and the darn power button broke off! I can't turn it on. I don't think the remote got packed or if it did, I haven't found it yet. Haven't found my dishes either. All the remaining boxes say books or crafts. I'm hoping the dishes are there somewhere.
Carlos and I were done about 2:30 so he went to the leasing office to take care of his apartment business and I went looking for the library. It's closer to my house than I thought (I drove all around the outskirts yesterday, looking) because when Tami and Heather took me there, we were coming from the other side of town. I'm not yet familiar enough with my surroundings to figure out where the heck I am.
Anyway, I found it and THEY WERE HAVING A BOOK SALE! Now is that fate, or what. I found a couple books to fill in some series that I'm reading. Woo hoo. I also got a library card. They do something really cool here. They buy passes for local attractions called Culture Passes, and you can check them out and get in free! You can get passes for the Children's Museum, the Chinese Classical Garden, Japanese Gardens, Pittock Mansion, Portland Art Museum and the Rice N Museum of Rocks and Minerals. Each pass is good for multiple people -- usually 2 adults and 1 or 2 children, but it varies with each place. I love this idea!
On the way home from the library, I found Costco. Also close to our place! YAY I bought a few things, always keeping in mind that I would have to unload the car by myself and cart the stuff into the house and up the stairs by myself. I did get some bottled water, but I left it downstairs in the hall closet and I'll bring it up as needed. This Costco is really big. It has several floor displays of furniture. At least 3 beds and two living room sets. No samples though. I also found a Winco Foods on the same street. I might go there tomorrow to pick up a few things that I didn't need a lot of.
So basically this first day was a good day. I got a lot of things done and I like the idea that Costco is close enough for me to buy my gas there.
I'm really tired right now so I'm going to close. I have another restless night ahead of me with a slowly deflating mattress. I have GOT to get that fixed!!
You take care and keep in touch. I really miss you guys, but I'm keeping busy and enjoying the peace and quiet. I just heard Carol laugh at that.
Toodles!
Monday, May 5, 2008
Hillsboro, at last!
I've been trying to find a way to fix the first part of this blog so someone who is new to it can just start reading at the bottom and work their way up. I'll figure it out but I don't really have the time to waste on it right now.
Again with the tips. I'm telling you ... I'm going to start charging! I should start a consulting business. "Sharon's Screwups -- let me screw up, so you don't have to!"
Tip #1 - when moving any distance, be sure to bring along a roll of toilet paper. If you're flying, pack it in your suitcase. If driving, throw it in the car. You may not have time to dig through boxes and if your boxes are on a moving van, who knows when you'll get it! Sure, you can run to the store .. but do you have time for that?? 'Nuf said.
Tip #2 - if your Magellan freezes up on you, turn it off. Push the ON button and hold it for 10 seconds. Not until it turns on -- for 10 full seconds. Count them. One, one thousand. Two, one thousand, etc. It will come on and turn off again. It's supposed to. You are just rebooting it. It's fine.
I woke up really early on Sunday, and promptly went back to sleep. Well, not PROMPTLY. I was hoping to get on the road by 5:00 or 5:30, but since I woke up at 5:00 that was pretty much thrown out the window. I did manage to get the rest of my stuff in the car (those last minute items that you can't pack until you walk out the door) and start the engine about 6:15, give or take. I put an audio book in the tape player (Eragon) and headed out. I was using the Magellan even though it was pretty much a straight shot up I-5. So when she said to take the exit for I-505 I was a little nervous! It was way before the turnoff for Davis and I knew I wasn't near I-5 yet ... but being the brave soul that I am, I took the exit.
My heart is skipping a little beat because there is NOTHING on this stretch of highway. Just a lot of farmland. I have no idea how long this will last. Praying I won't need gas before I see a gas station. Wonderiing if I should have invested in a Thomas Guide. Darn Magellan! What does she know? She doesn't live here! Turns out she knows more than I do. It hooks up with I-5 and I avoided that long drive across 80 to Sacramento. Whew.
The rest of the trip was fairly uneventful. I stopped for gas twice in California, my strategy being to fill the tank when it reached the 1/2 level. Not taking any chances. I hit a couple of rest stops on the way to get out and stretch my legs and give my eyes a break from asphalt and car bumpers. Hit a McDonalds on my first gas stop and got a breakfast biscuit. Other than that, I ate snack size raisins the rest of the way. Oh, and a single serving bag of Lays Baked potato chips.
When I hit Creswell, OR I stopped to visit with Cal's two brothers and a sister-in-law. It has been several years since we've seen one another so it was nice to spend a little time together even though it wasn't very long. When I was leaviing Larry and Sandy's (you know how you always refer to the married in-laws as "John and Mary" never just "John" or "Mary") I turned on the Magellan and it wouldn't come on. At all. Everything was plugged in, but it had been sitting in the hot car, so I was assuming she was suffering from heat exhaustion. After a minute or so it came on (whew!) and I headed out.
Yes, I was tired. I also had no makeup on and I finger-combed my hair in the morning so I wasn't looking my best. When I left, those brats called Cal to say that I looked really tired. So of course, he called me right away to see if I was alright. That rest stop did a world of good though.
I also had regular calls from Tami/Heather. They were just checking on my progress. Making sure I was okay. At one point they called to say they were at the apartment waiting for me to help me unload! How sweet is that!
At my last gas stop, Magellan gave up the ghost. She wouldn't display the map any more. When I started the car, it went to the User Settings screen and I couldn't get past it. Couldn't back up and could only go forward one more screen. SHOOT! When I left the station to get back on the freeway, she was still talking to me but I didn't know if she'd keep that up. Just outside of Salem, Tami called again and I told her I had no idea where I'm going because Magellan wouldn't show me the map. She told me to take the 217 exit and call her, and they'd talk me through it. As I came up to the 217 exit, Magellan told me to take that exit! She was still talking to me!! YAY
She got me all the way to the apartment and Tami, Heather and Tami's daughter, Heaven helped me unload the car. They actually did 99.9% of it. (I must have looked REALLY tired) We walked across the street to the mall and I had dinner at Rosie's while they had dessert (they'd already eaten dinner an hour earlier while they were waiting for me). I don't know whose dumb idea it was to walk! We wound up taking the long way around because none of us knew for sure where the restaurant was in relation to my apartment. I thought I could use the exercise but I was more tired than I realized. It was fun though, and I so appreciated them showing up like that. I'd have been up until midnight moving things into the house.
Just so you know, there are 30 steps up to the 3rd floor. Eight steps up from the ground floor, then a landing and 6 more steps to the 2nd floor. Turn the corner and eight steps to the next landing and 8 more to the 3rd floor.
I know I'm a day behind, and tomorrow is the first day on the job, but I'll try to get caught up. There wasn't as much happening today but still have things to share.
Sleep tight, until next time!
Again with the tips. I'm telling you ... I'm going to start charging! I should start a consulting business. "Sharon's Screwups -- let me screw up, so you don't have to!"
Tip #1 - when moving any distance, be sure to bring along a roll of toilet paper. If you're flying, pack it in your suitcase. If driving, throw it in the car. You may not have time to dig through boxes and if your boxes are on a moving van, who knows when you'll get it! Sure, you can run to the store .. but do you have time for that?? 'Nuf said.
Tip #2 - if your Magellan freezes up on you, turn it off. Push the ON button and hold it for 10 seconds. Not until it turns on -- for 10 full seconds. Count them. One, one thousand. Two, one thousand, etc. It will come on and turn off again. It's supposed to. You are just rebooting it. It's fine.
I woke up really early on Sunday, and promptly went back to sleep. Well, not PROMPTLY. I was hoping to get on the road by 5:00 or 5:30, but since I woke up at 5:00 that was pretty much thrown out the window. I did manage to get the rest of my stuff in the car (those last minute items that you can't pack until you walk out the door) and start the engine about 6:15, give or take. I put an audio book in the tape player (Eragon) and headed out. I was using the Magellan even though it was pretty much a straight shot up I-5. So when she said to take the exit for I-505 I was a little nervous! It was way before the turnoff for Davis and I knew I wasn't near I-5 yet ... but being the brave soul that I am, I took the exit.
My heart is skipping a little beat because there is NOTHING on this stretch of highway. Just a lot of farmland. I have no idea how long this will last. Praying I won't need gas before I see a gas station. Wonderiing if I should have invested in a Thomas Guide. Darn Magellan! What does she know? She doesn't live here! Turns out she knows more than I do. It hooks up with I-5 and I avoided that long drive across 80 to Sacramento. Whew.
The rest of the trip was fairly uneventful. I stopped for gas twice in California, my strategy being to fill the tank when it reached the 1/2 level. Not taking any chances. I hit a couple of rest stops on the way to get out and stretch my legs and give my eyes a break from asphalt and car bumpers. Hit a McDonalds on my first gas stop and got a breakfast biscuit. Other than that, I ate snack size raisins the rest of the way. Oh, and a single serving bag of Lays Baked potato chips.
When I hit Creswell, OR I stopped to visit with Cal's two brothers and a sister-in-law. It has been several years since we've seen one another so it was nice to spend a little time together even though it wasn't very long. When I was leaviing Larry and Sandy's (you know how you always refer to the married in-laws as "John and Mary" never just "John" or "Mary") I turned on the Magellan and it wouldn't come on. At all. Everything was plugged in, but it had been sitting in the hot car, so I was assuming she was suffering from heat exhaustion. After a minute or so it came on (whew!) and I headed out.
Yes, I was tired. I also had no makeup on and I finger-combed my hair in the morning so I wasn't looking my best. When I left, those brats called Cal to say that I looked really tired. So of course, he called me right away to see if I was alright. That rest stop did a world of good though.
I also had regular calls from Tami/Heather. They were just checking on my progress. Making sure I was okay. At one point they called to say they were at the apartment waiting for me to help me unload! How sweet is that!
At my last gas stop, Magellan gave up the ghost. She wouldn't display the map any more. When I started the car, it went to the User Settings screen and I couldn't get past it. Couldn't back up and could only go forward one more screen. SHOOT! When I left the station to get back on the freeway, she was still talking to me but I didn't know if she'd keep that up. Just outside of Salem, Tami called again and I told her I had no idea where I'm going because Magellan wouldn't show me the map. She told me to take the 217 exit and call her, and they'd talk me through it. As I came up to the 217 exit, Magellan told me to take that exit! She was still talking to me!! YAY
She got me all the way to the apartment and Tami, Heather and Tami's daughter, Heaven helped me unload the car. They actually did 99.9% of it. (I must have looked REALLY tired) We walked across the street to the mall and I had dinner at Rosie's while they had dessert (they'd already eaten dinner an hour earlier while they were waiting for me). I don't know whose dumb idea it was to walk! We wound up taking the long way around because none of us knew for sure where the restaurant was in relation to my apartment. I thought I could use the exercise but I was more tired than I realized. It was fun though, and I so appreciated them showing up like that. I'd have been up until midnight moving things into the house.
Just so you know, there are 30 steps up to the 3rd floor. Eight steps up from the ground floor, then a landing and 6 more steps to the 2nd floor. Turn the corner and eight steps to the next landing and 8 more to the 3rd floor.
I know I'm a day behind, and tomorrow is the first day on the job, but I'll try to get caught up. There wasn't as much happening today but still have things to share.
Sleep tight, until next time!
Saturday, May 3, 2008
A Day of Rest -- For You
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Let me start with the usual disclaimer. Should any of you wish to be removed from this mailing list, please let me know. I'll not be offended -- unless, of course, you're one of my kids and then I'll just be ticked.
No journal yesterday. I was too tired. AND I wanted to watch a movie, which I did. Using my Netflix "watch instantly" -- which isn't too 'instant' when you're connected to a hotel internet access. I tried wireless first, but the picture kept stopping so I thought I'd be clever and hook up to their "high speed" internet connection, since my work laptop comes with a patch cable. Hah.
Their "high speed" connection is apparently just a grade above snail's pace. I had to wait 20 minutes for the movie to load ... during which time I washed my face, brushed my teeth, etc. Made some tea. Ate a granola bar. Played my hand-held solitaire game.
The movie finally started -- U.S. Marshalls -- and only stopped 3 times! Each restart took anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes. In spite of all that I loved the movie. Another one I can remove from my queue.
We spent most of yesterday (when we weren't outside smoking) checking that all my log-ins are working. There are 3, 4 or 5 different systems I'll have to log in to, and I have to log in to each one 3 times (once for each Service Point). You'd think I would know how many systems there are, but they were so busy throwing acronyms around that I don't know if some of them have more than one name. More than once Peggy would show me something and then say "oh, you're going to be VoIP so it probably won't be the same". Terrific.
When Adrian was leaving for the day, I did ask if I'd be taking any classes and he assured me he's looking for the ones closest to my area. Thank goodness! I don't care where they are, I'll go!!
Donna brought in homemade tortilla chips and pico de gallo. Really good! Besides the Texas donut and chocolate cake Adrian brought in. I brought in a bag of baked Cheetos. :0 ) And they were eating them! Go figure.
Yesterday was a March of Dimes hamburger lunch. We bought tickets for $5 and got a grilled hamburger with all the fixings and a bag of chips. Drinks were another $1. The burgers were small (we do these things better in CA!) so I didn't feel too bad about eating it.
In the middle of the day, Peggy said I had to turn my company car in because someone was scheduled to take it. I gave her my key so she could turn it in and completely forgot that my Magellan dashboard mount was on the passenger side floor! (Do you see a trend? It's because I'm sleep-deprived, darn it) She took me to Avis after work so I could pick up a rental car in order to get to the airport on Monday morning. It was as I was getting into the car that I realized I don't have my dashboard mount. Peggy's going to ship it to me. That's probably the 2.5 pounds I was over in my luggage weight anyway. My Magellan will still work, it just won't look pretty sitting on the dashboard.
In my effort to come down off this food high I've been on all week, I took 2 granola bars and a bowl of raisin bran back to my room for later. They had biscuits, eggs and sausage patties with sausage gravy for breakfast. I had one biscuit with gravy and only 1/3 of the sausage patty. It was SO salty I couldn't eat it. I had 1/2 the raisin bran too. I also have several yogurts in the 'frig so I'm doing yogurt for dinner. I hope I can at least get down to what I was when I got here. Of course, there are no scales around for me to check.
I'm going to do my laundry today and the laundry room is in the fitness room so maybe I'll go on the treadmill while my clothes are washing. Sounds like a plan!
Oh, the whole "let's go to San Antonio Fiesta" is off the table. Everyone is too busy, too tired or whatever. I'm just as glad. I'm not really a sightseeing kind of gal, especially with strangers. I like to look at everything and most people do a quick browse (Heather and Tami, you know what I mean). When I went to the Exploratorium with my kids, they did the entire museum in the time it took me to check out one exhibit. Sheesh.
I've not been overly impressed with the little bit of Austin that I've seen. The traffic is just as bad as ours, and made worse by the fact they're doing construction all along the stretch of freeway that I have to travel. They don't have on-ramps, they have lanes that go on to the freeway. There is no freeway landscaping ... it's basically just overgrown and weedy. Yuk. And everything looks dusty. Granted, I'm seeing just a very small part of it and it's near an industrial area so not a good place to form an opinion, but if I were here to consider moving here for a job -- I'd be heading back home.
My intention for this weekend is to complete at least one of my telecom VCU classes. For you non-Farmers people, VCU is the online "university" we access through our company web site. I've signed up for two telephony classes, one that is specifically for VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol). I'd hoped to have some time to do that during the week but we spent so much time outside smoking, I wasn't able to. So -- onward and upward.
The sun is shining, the sky is clear -- did I tell you about the thunder storm on Thursday night that I slept through? I vaguely remember thinking 'that sounds like thunder', but I heard no rain. Everyone said the rain was so loud it woke them up. Of course, they're not on the 4th floor of a hotel!
Alrighty then. That's it for this episode. I'll probably not write again until Monday so keep all your fingers and toes crossed that I make it to Kansas without incident. If any of you find my missing brain cells, please don't FedEx them to me. I think the US Post Office will get them here faster.
Have a great weekend everyone!
Let me start with the usual disclaimer. Should any of you wish to be removed from this mailing list, please let me know. I'll not be offended -- unless, of course, you're one of my kids and then I'll just be ticked.
No journal yesterday. I was too tired. AND I wanted to watch a movie, which I did. Using my Netflix "watch instantly" -- which isn't too 'instant' when you're connected to a hotel internet access. I tried wireless first, but the picture kept stopping so I thought I'd be clever and hook up to their "high speed" internet connection, since my work laptop comes with a patch cable. Hah.
Their "high speed" connection is apparently just a grade above snail's pace. I had to wait 20 minutes for the movie to load ... during which time I washed my face, brushed my teeth, etc. Made some tea. Ate a granola bar. Played my hand-held solitaire game.
The movie finally started -- U.S. Marshalls -- and only stopped 3 times! Each restart took anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes. In spite of all that I loved the movie. Another one I can remove from my queue.
We spent most of yesterday (when we weren't outside smoking) checking that all my log-ins are working. There are 3, 4 or 5 different systems I'll have to log in to, and I have to log in to each one 3 times (once for each Service Point). You'd think I would know how many systems there are, but they were so busy throwing acronyms around that I don't know if some of them have more than one name. More than once Peggy would show me something and then say "oh, you're going to be VoIP so it probably won't be the same". Terrific.
When Adrian was leaving for the day, I did ask if I'd be taking any classes and he assured me he's looking for the ones closest to my area. Thank goodness! I don't care where they are, I'll go!!
Donna brought in homemade tortilla chips and pico de gallo. Really good! Besides the Texas donut and chocolate cake Adrian brought in. I brought in a bag of baked Cheetos. :0 ) And they were eating them! Go figure.
Yesterday was a March of Dimes hamburger lunch. We bought tickets for $5 and got a grilled hamburger with all the fixings and a bag of chips. Drinks were another $1. The burgers were small (we do these things better in CA!) so I didn't feel too bad about eating it.
In the middle of the day, Peggy said I had to turn my company car in because someone was scheduled to take it. I gave her my key so she could turn it in and completely forgot that my Magellan dashboard mount was on the passenger side floor! (Do you see a trend? It's because I'm sleep-deprived, darn it) She took me to Avis after work so I could pick up a rental car in order to get to the airport on Monday morning. It was as I was getting into the car that I realized I don't have my dashboard mount. Peggy's going to ship it to me. That's probably the 2.5 pounds I was over in my luggage weight anyway. My Magellan will still work, it just won't look pretty sitting on the dashboard.
In my effort to come down off this food high I've been on all week, I took 2 granola bars and a bowl of raisin bran back to my room for later. They had biscuits, eggs and sausage patties with sausage gravy for breakfast. I had one biscuit with gravy and only 1/3 of the sausage patty. It was SO salty I couldn't eat it. I had 1/2 the raisin bran too. I also have several yogurts in the 'frig so I'm doing yogurt for dinner. I hope I can at least get down to what I was when I got here. Of course, there are no scales around for me to check.
I'm going to do my laundry today and the laundry room is in the fitness room so maybe I'll go on the treadmill while my clothes are washing. Sounds like a plan!
Oh, the whole "let's go to San Antonio Fiesta" is off the table. Everyone is too busy, too tired or whatever. I'm just as glad. I'm not really a sightseeing kind of gal, especially with strangers. I like to look at everything and most people do a quick browse (Heather and Tami, you know what I mean). When I went to the Exploratorium with my kids, they did the entire museum in the time it took me to check out one exhibit. Sheesh.
I've not been overly impressed with the little bit of Austin that I've seen. The traffic is just as bad as ours, and made worse by the fact they're doing construction all along the stretch of freeway that I have to travel. They don't have on-ramps, they have lanes that go on to the freeway. There is no freeway landscaping ... it's basically just overgrown and weedy. Yuk. And everything looks dusty. Granted, I'm seeing just a very small part of it and it's near an industrial area so not a good place to form an opinion, but if I were here to consider moving here for a job -- I'd be heading back home.
My intention for this weekend is to complete at least one of my telecom VCU classes. For you non-Farmers people, VCU is the online "university" we access through our company web site. I've signed up for two telephony classes, one that is specifically for VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol). I'd hoped to have some time to do that during the week but we spent so much time outside smoking, I wasn't able to. So -- onward and upward.
The sun is shining, the sky is clear -- did I tell you about the thunder storm on Thursday night that I slept through? I vaguely remember thinking 'that sounds like thunder', but I heard no rain. Everyone said the rain was so loud it woke them up. Of course, they're not on the 4th floor of a hotel!
Alrighty then. That's it for this episode. I'll probably not write again until Monday so keep all your fingers and toes crossed that I make it to Kansas without incident. If any of you find my missing brain cells, please don't FedEx them to me. I think the US Post Office will get them here faster.
Have a great weekend everyone!
Day 4 .. not much more
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Day 4 - and literally not much more to add.
I had raisin bran for breakfast. Ok, I had some bacon too and a spoonful of scrambled egg. The bacon was really thin though; you could practically see through it. I couldn't pass it up because it was so crisp and I love crisp bacon.
I'm laughing as I write this because the people I'm working with are obsessed with food! I told them they're turning me into a restaurant critic because all I have to write about is what I've eaten for the day.
The first day when they were telling me how to get back to my hotel room, they were identifying streets by what fast food place was on that street. "You take I-35 until you see the Round Rock Bakery and then you turn left. Go straight until you pass Tia Tina's Taqueria" Seriously.
When I got in today (I "slept in" until 6:15 -- didn't get in the office until almost 8:30 -- subtract 2 hours for CA time) Scott had brought in a donut to celebrate my being here. In the box was ONE gigantic donut -- donuts done Texas style!
I got to spend an hour with Donna for some OJT (on the job training). She was explaining the Genesys system to me, even though I won't actually be using it. I just need to know the basics for when I'm on call, but that won't be for several months. Great. I've already forgotten what she told me and I won't even use it for months!!! I'm encouraged.
Then it was time for a cigarette break. I swear the number of times these people go out for a cigarette make it tempting to start smoking. Although as I said, I have enough second hand smoke now built up to last me a month of Sundays. Even better, when we went to lunch (Peggy, Donna and I) they were both smoking in the car! Yippee.
Lunch was at "Puffy Taco". That's not the complete name but that's what they all call it. I had a crispy taco and a chicken enchilada with Spanish rice. It was pretty darned good, too. No puffy tacos. The chips were obviously made by them and oh, so greasy! I had a few and I think I'm going to regret it. I think tomorrow will be a double raisin-bran day.
Back at the hotel dinner was Frito pie. Basically fritos with toppings of chili (it took me awhile to get just the chili w/o any beans), sour cream, chopped tomatoes, shredded cheese and shredded lettuce. Took it back to the room to eat.
While I'm eating I hear this really strange noise!! Sounds like someone is vacuuming close to my door. Kind of a vibrating, moaning sound. Then I thought it might be the refrigerator. Then I thought it might be coming from the next room. It doesn't happen all the time, but every time it did I jumped up and ran to the door to look out the peephole. Couldn't believe anyone would be vacuuming this time of night. After pulling the refrigerator in and out and looking in the freezer several times, and just about ready to call management, I figured out what it is. I have my windows open and it's VERY windy out. 80% chance of rain and possible thunderstorms. Every time the wind blows hard, I hear this noise. I think the wind is making the door vibrate. Sounds like when we used to put waxed paper over a comb and blow on it to make that vibrating noise.
Oh, just before I left this evening, Charles tells me they've gotten a complaint from one of our big agents that when they connected to NorCal, they got disconnected. Three times. He asked me if I could access our switch, (no) and he was on a very lengthy conference call about it. He finally told them there's nothing to be done at this point in time. Don't think they liked that!!
Well, I'm getting ready for bed while most of you are just getting home or fixing dinner. Whatever. Adrain has offered to take me to San Antonio on Saturday for Fiesta! Apparently 80,000 people come from all over the world for this event. Sounds like fun??
BTW, people from San Antonio say Santonio. Donna is from there and I asked her if she knew the rest of the world pronounced it as two words. She laughed. No one here has a Texas drawl either. She said that's more likely people in the hill country or just the country folk. Huh.
Okay, enough of my chatter. I've been getting a real kick out of your replies to my nonsense. If this were a book, it would never hit the bestseller list! Oh, and Barb, I saw Vince Thompsen again and I said "Vince, from Pleasanton!" He confessed it was indeed him and I told him that I'd mentioned to you that I thought I saw him. We were in a group of people so didn't really have an opportunity to chat.
Okay, everyone. Good night for now. Signing off until tomorrow....
Day 4 - and literally not much more to add.
I had raisin bran for breakfast. Ok, I had some bacon too and a spoonful of scrambled egg. The bacon was really thin though; you could practically see through it. I couldn't pass it up because it was so crisp and I love crisp bacon.
I'm laughing as I write this because the people I'm working with are obsessed with food! I told them they're turning me into a restaurant critic because all I have to write about is what I've eaten for the day.
The first day when they were telling me how to get back to my hotel room, they were identifying streets by what fast food place was on that street. "You take I-35 until you see the Round Rock Bakery and then you turn left. Go straight until you pass Tia Tina's Taqueria" Seriously.
When I got in today (I "slept in" until 6:15 -- didn't get in the office until almost 8:30 -- subtract 2 hours for CA time) Scott had brought in a donut to celebrate my being here. In the box was ONE gigantic donut -- donuts done Texas style!
I got to spend an hour with Donna for some OJT (on the job training). She was explaining the Genesys system to me, even though I won't actually be using it. I just need to know the basics for when I'm on call, but that won't be for several months. Great. I've already forgotten what she told me and I won't even use it for months!!! I'm encouraged.
Then it was time for a cigarette break. I swear the number of times these people go out for a cigarette make it tempting to start smoking. Although as I said, I have enough second hand smoke now built up to last me a month of Sundays. Even better, when we went to lunch (Peggy, Donna and I) they were both smoking in the car! Yippee.
Lunch was at "Puffy Taco". That's not the complete name but that's what they all call it. I had a crispy taco and a chicken enchilada with Spanish rice. It was pretty darned good, too. No puffy tacos. The chips were obviously made by them and oh, so greasy! I had a few and I think I'm going to regret it. I think tomorrow will be a double raisin-bran day.
Back at the hotel dinner was Frito pie. Basically fritos with toppings of chili (it took me awhile to get just the chili w/o any beans), sour cream, chopped tomatoes, shredded cheese and shredded lettuce. Took it back to the room to eat.
While I'm eating I hear this really strange noise!! Sounds like someone is vacuuming close to my door. Kind of a vibrating, moaning sound. Then I thought it might be the refrigerator. Then I thought it might be coming from the next room. It doesn't happen all the time, but every time it did I jumped up and ran to the door to look out the peephole. Couldn't believe anyone would be vacuuming this time of night. After pulling the refrigerator in and out and looking in the freezer several times, and just about ready to call management, I figured out what it is. I have my windows open and it's VERY windy out. 80% chance of rain and possible thunderstorms. Every time the wind blows hard, I hear this noise. I think the wind is making the door vibrate. Sounds like when we used to put waxed paper over a comb and blow on it to make that vibrating noise.
Oh, just before I left this evening, Charles tells me they've gotten a complaint from one of our big agents that when they connected to NorCal, they got disconnected. Three times. He asked me if I could access our switch, (no) and he was on a very lengthy conference call about it. He finally told them there's nothing to be done at this point in time. Don't think they liked that!!
Well, I'm getting ready for bed while most of you are just getting home or fixing dinner. Whatever. Adrain has offered to take me to San Antonio on Saturday for Fiesta! Apparently 80,000 people come from all over the world for this event. Sounds like fun??
BTW, people from San Antonio say Santonio. Donna is from there and I asked her if she knew the rest of the world pronounced it as two words. She laughed. No one here has a Texas drawl either. She said that's more likely people in the hill country or just the country folk. Huh.
Okay, enough of my chatter. I've been getting a real kick out of your replies to my nonsense. If this were a book, it would never hit the bestseller list! Oh, and Barb, I saw Vince Thompsen again and I said "Vince, from Pleasanton!" He confessed it was indeed him and I told him that I'd mentioned to you that I thought I saw him. We were in a group of people so didn't really have an opportunity to chat.
Okay, everyone. Good night for now. Signing off until tomorrow....
Day 3 .. the adventure fizzles
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
I said it could only get boring after the high of day 1. I was right. I'm starting to feel the effects of the time change. My laptop is still on CA time so when I got up this morning it said it was 3:00 am. WHAT!!?? Sheesh. Right now it tells me it's only 5:30 but the clock in my room is saying 7:30 and I'm feeling like it's 10:30 in any time zone.
We spent way too much time today trying to figure out why I was getting an error message every time I tried to reply to an email from my work laptop. Opened a ticket with IBM. Turns out it couldn't find my signature file. Probably because I didn't have one on that computer! Of course IBM tech support didn't figure that out. It was the desktop support guy who happened to be walking by who said "oh, I know what that is!" Problem solved.
He was giving me a bad time because I couldn't remember my password to get into my computer. I had changed my email password just before leaving home and couldn't remember if I'd changed the computer one too. Too many flippin' passwords!! He created a new one for me and was going to make it "forget123" but he decided to be nice. Of course, every time he passes me he mumbles "forget 123".
I will say everyone here has been really nice but they're a bunch of smart alecks. Yep! I fit right in!! I also find it sort of interesting that they have large signs posted on all the doors going into the building that say something to the effect "carrying concealed weapons is prohibited in this building". They explained that in TX you can carry a concealed weapon. But they also said since the sign says you can't carry concealed weapons, it must be okay to carry UNconcealed weapons!! Only in TX
OH! You might be happy (or not) to hear that my purse arrived this morning! A day late, but not a dollar short ... I counted all my money. Cal is checking into getting a refund because believe me, he paid and arm and a leg to get that thing to me overnight. More that $50, but less than $100. Isn't that insane! And then it doesn't even get to me overnight. The really weird thing is that it got to their Austin distribution center at 5:59am YESTERDAY. Apparently, it just didn't get on a truck. My brother-in-law used to work for FedEx and he said about 10% of the overnight packages don't make it overnight. That's a pretty high percentage.
I don't know if I mentioned it in my first missive, but my original luggage was overweight by 2.5 pounds. Normally, they charge an extra $50, but since I didn't have any money with me she just told me to be careful. I stopped at WalMart on the way back to the hotel tonight and bought another small suitcase. Since I now have 2 computer bags to bring with me, I'll put one inside the new bag and move 2.5 pounds of stuff to that bag too. :0 )
The hotel served BBQ tonight, which wasn't bad. Lean beef slices, bread, BBQ sauce, beans (I think--I didn't even bother to look), potato salad, sodas, coffee, tea. Nice spread that's included in the room charge. Farmers is paying for the room so I'm taking advantage of the amenities. There were 3 other Farmers cars in the parking lot when I drove in. I wonder who and what they are??
Barb, did Vince Thompsen (?) Thomas (?) come to Austin?? I could have sworn I saw him today.
It's almost 8:00 and I can hardly keep my eyes open. They told me to sleep in tomorrow and come in around 8:00 or 8:30. They do that because they end up working from home for several hours into the night. That's what I have to look forward to.
Still haven't learned anything that will be of much use to me. Every time Peggy shows me something she says, Oh, you're going to have VoIP and that will be totally different. *sigh* Adrian assures me he will have lots of suppport for me up in OR once I get there. I sure hope so. I'm feeling like this is just a meet and greet rather than a training opportunity. And believe me, the people who smoke (Peggy, Donna and Adrian) seem to be going out for a cigarette all the time! They drag me with them, and I feel like I have enough second-hand smoke to last me several months.
I'm going to get started on my VCU classes tomorrow while I wait for them to have time to explain whatever they can come up with about the system. Peggy and I have our all-employee meeting at 3:30.
Gosh, I feel like I should make up something to make today a bit more interesting, but nope. I had lunch (eaten at work) from Tex-Andwich, which is kind of like Schlotzky's if any of you remember that chain. English muffin-like bread, with cheese melted into the bread, ham and turkey and all the fixin's (except onion). I think I'm going to lose the battle to maintain the weight loss this week. *sigh*
I did pick up some bottled water at WalMart. No one here seems to drink much water. They are definitely soda people. I've been drinking green tea but tomorrow will be all water.
okay...I'm off to bed. Read for awhile, maybe a game of solitaire...then dreamland. Keep the home fires burning and I'll chat with you later.
I said it could only get boring after the high of day 1. I was right. I'm starting to feel the effects of the time change. My laptop is still on CA time so when I got up this morning it said it was 3:00 am. WHAT!!?? Sheesh. Right now it tells me it's only 5:30 but the clock in my room is saying 7:30 and I'm feeling like it's 10:30 in any time zone.
We spent way too much time today trying to figure out why I was getting an error message every time I tried to reply to an email from my work laptop. Opened a ticket with IBM. Turns out it couldn't find my signature file. Probably because I didn't have one on that computer! Of course IBM tech support didn't figure that out. It was the desktop support guy who happened to be walking by who said "oh, I know what that is!" Problem solved.
He was giving me a bad time because I couldn't remember my password to get into my computer. I had changed my email password just before leaving home and couldn't remember if I'd changed the computer one too. Too many flippin' passwords!! He created a new one for me and was going to make it "forget123" but he decided to be nice. Of course, every time he passes me he mumbles "forget 123".
I will say everyone here has been really nice but they're a bunch of smart alecks. Yep! I fit right in!! I also find it sort of interesting that they have large signs posted on all the doors going into the building that say something to the effect "carrying concealed weapons is prohibited in this building". They explained that in TX you can carry a concealed weapon. But they also said since the sign says you can't carry concealed weapons, it must be okay to carry UNconcealed weapons!! Only in TX
OH! You might be happy (or not) to hear that my purse arrived this morning! A day late, but not a dollar short ... I counted all my money. Cal is checking into getting a refund because believe me, he paid and arm and a leg to get that thing to me overnight. More that $50, but less than $100. Isn't that insane! And then it doesn't even get to me overnight. The really weird thing is that it got to their Austin distribution center at 5:59am YESTERDAY. Apparently, it just didn't get on a truck. My brother-in-law used to work for FedEx and he said about 10% of the overnight packages don't make it overnight. That's a pretty high percentage.
I don't know if I mentioned it in my first missive, but my original luggage was overweight by 2.5 pounds. Normally, they charge an extra $50, but since I didn't have any money with me she just told me to be careful. I stopped at WalMart on the way back to the hotel tonight and bought another small suitcase. Since I now have 2 computer bags to bring with me, I'll put one inside the new bag and move 2.5 pounds of stuff to that bag too. :0 )
The hotel served BBQ tonight, which wasn't bad. Lean beef slices, bread, BBQ sauce, beans (I think--I didn't even bother to look), potato salad, sodas, coffee, tea. Nice spread that's included in the room charge. Farmers is paying for the room so I'm taking advantage of the amenities. There were 3 other Farmers cars in the parking lot when I drove in. I wonder who and what they are??
Barb, did Vince Thompsen (?) Thomas (?) come to Austin?? I could have sworn I saw him today.
It's almost 8:00 and I can hardly keep my eyes open. They told me to sleep in tomorrow and come in around 8:00 or 8:30. They do that because they end up working from home for several hours into the night. That's what I have to look forward to.
Still haven't learned anything that will be of much use to me. Every time Peggy shows me something she says, Oh, you're going to have VoIP and that will be totally different. *sigh* Adrian assures me he will have lots of suppport for me up in OR once I get there. I sure hope so. I'm feeling like this is just a meet and greet rather than a training opportunity. And believe me, the people who smoke (Peggy, Donna and Adrian) seem to be going out for a cigarette all the time! They drag me with them, and I feel like I have enough second-hand smoke to last me several months.
I'm going to get started on my VCU classes tomorrow while I wait for them to have time to explain whatever they can come up with about the system. Peggy and I have our all-employee meeting at 3:30.
Gosh, I feel like I should make up something to make today a bit more interesting, but nope. I had lunch (eaten at work) from Tex-Andwich, which is kind of like Schlotzky's if any of you remember that chain. English muffin-like bread, with cheese melted into the bread, ham and turkey and all the fixin's (except onion). I think I'm going to lose the battle to maintain the weight loss this week. *sigh*
I did pick up some bottled water at WalMart. No one here seems to drink much water. They are definitely soda people. I've been drinking green tea but tomorrow will be all water.
okay...I'm off to bed. Read for awhile, maybe a game of solitaire...then dreamland. Keep the home fires burning and I'll chat with you later.
Day 2 ... the adventure continues
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Day 2 isn't nearly as interesting as day 1. Thank goodness!!
I finally got to eat. Remember the complimentary breakfast? I had a mini omelette (already prepared -- with some kind of cheese sauce inside), a bowl of hot oatmeal (yum!), some cottage cheese and a small blueberry muffin. And 4 oz of milk. I even took a Nutri-Grain bar for later. One never knows when one will be without food!
I've spent the majority of the day shadowing Peggy Lyle. We were waiting for my laptop to get imaged and kept checking the mailroom for my purse, which Cal FedEx'd overnight. The cell phone Pat Winnie sent arrived (thanks Pat!) but no purse. Fortunately, the credit union is onsite so I went in and took out some much needed cash. He asked for my ID (yeah, right) and Peggy was just about to say she'd vouch for me when he asked my mother's maiden name. I told him and he said okay...no one else would know that. :0 ) I now have $25 dollars to spend. Woo hoo!
Adrian took us all out to lunch at Rudy's BBQ, which was really good! I had extra lean brisket and coleslaw. Adrian shared his creamed corn which was pretty darned good. The serving plates are white butcher paper. They put your meat order on more of the paper and throw in some bread slices so you can make a sandwich. Very rustic. Fun.
Spent most of the day going outside with Peggy and Donna while they smoked and occasionally Adrian joined us. I'm so glad I don't do that. Also got a tour of the building and spoke with a few of the management types and other people I'll be working with in my new position. Spoke with one of the girls in Resource Planning (?), Resource Management (?) .. I don't remember what it's called .. but they're the ones who monitor what everyone is doing and keep track of the yellow and red alerts. There are 3 or 4 people who do that all day.
Oh! I saw Judith Miller from UW!! What a pleasant surprise. Big hugs and how are you's but no time to talk. Didn't see Mary or Don Powell.
Another big surprise. Lynda and Barb you'll love this. Peggy pulls up her Sametime window and I said "OH! Tom Bunn! I just love him." She said ... very quietly ... he's my brother. She wasn't kidding! That was a real shocker. We talked at some length about what a jerk he can be and such a pain in the neck, but I told her I grew to respect the knowledge he has; just didn't like his teaching methods all the time.
Left work about 5:00 after Peggy put about 2 dozen different links I'll need once I get going. Keep all your fingers and toes crossed for me to get through this first year relatively unscathed.
Once I got back to the hotel, they were having complimentary dinner. Sandwich makings and potato chips. I certainly got enough to eat today!
Now I'm trying to read the booklet for my new cell phone to figure out how it works. Another number to memorize.
Cal sent me the FedEx tracking number and it shows the box arrived at their Austin distribution center at 5:59 this morning. Now cross all those fingers and toes again because tomorrow I've got to find out what happened to that package! It has all my extremely important STUFF!! This is almost as bad as having my purse stolen. Kinda scary.
Okay. My computer says it's 8:07 pm but my cell phone says its 10:07. I'm going to bed to read for awhile and get psyched up for another day. I hope I start learning something tomorrow because time is running short!!
TTFN and here's hoping day 3 is productive. Or at least less boring. :0 )
Day 2 isn't nearly as interesting as day 1. Thank goodness!!
I finally got to eat. Remember the complimentary breakfast? I had a mini omelette (already prepared -- with some kind of cheese sauce inside), a bowl of hot oatmeal (yum!), some cottage cheese and a small blueberry muffin. And 4 oz of milk. I even took a Nutri-Grain bar for later. One never knows when one will be without food!
I've spent the majority of the day shadowing Peggy Lyle. We were waiting for my laptop to get imaged and kept checking the mailroom for my purse, which Cal FedEx'd overnight. The cell phone Pat Winnie sent arrived (thanks Pat!) but no purse. Fortunately, the credit union is onsite so I went in and took out some much needed cash. He asked for my ID (yeah, right) and Peggy was just about to say she'd vouch for me when he asked my mother's maiden name. I told him and he said okay...no one else would know that. :0 ) I now have $25 dollars to spend. Woo hoo!
Adrian took us all out to lunch at Rudy's BBQ, which was really good! I had extra lean brisket and coleslaw. Adrian shared his creamed corn which was pretty darned good. The serving plates are white butcher paper. They put your meat order on more of the paper and throw in some bread slices so you can make a sandwich. Very rustic. Fun.
Spent most of the day going outside with Peggy and Donna while they smoked and occasionally Adrian joined us. I'm so glad I don't do that. Also got a tour of the building and spoke with a few of the management types and other people I'll be working with in my new position. Spoke with one of the girls in Resource Planning (?), Resource Management (?) .. I don't remember what it's called .. but they're the ones who monitor what everyone is doing and keep track of the yellow and red alerts. There are 3 or 4 people who do that all day.
Oh! I saw Judith Miller from UW!! What a pleasant surprise. Big hugs and how are you's but no time to talk. Didn't see Mary or Don Powell.
Another big surprise. Lynda and Barb you'll love this. Peggy pulls up her Sametime window and I said "OH! Tom Bunn! I just love him." She said ... very quietly ... he's my brother. She wasn't kidding! That was a real shocker. We talked at some length about what a jerk he can be and such a pain in the neck, but I told her I grew to respect the knowledge he has; just didn't like his teaching methods all the time.
Left work about 5:00 after Peggy put about 2 dozen different links I'll need once I get going. Keep all your fingers and toes crossed for me to get through this first year relatively unscathed.
Once I got back to the hotel, they were having complimentary dinner. Sandwich makings and potato chips. I certainly got enough to eat today!
Now I'm trying to read the booklet for my new cell phone to figure out how it works. Another number to memorize.
Cal sent me the FedEx tracking number and it shows the box arrived at their Austin distribution center at 5:59 this morning. Now cross all those fingers and toes again because tomorrow I've got to find out what happened to that package! It has all my extremely important STUFF!! This is almost as bad as having my purse stolen. Kinda scary.
Okay. My computer says it's 8:07 pm but my cell phone says its 10:07. I'm going to bed to read for awhile and get psyched up for another day. I hope I start learning something tomorrow because time is running short!!
TTFN and here's hoping day 3 is productive. Or at least less boring. :0 )
Day 1, continued
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Okay! I heard from several of you that you couldn't open the attachment, so here it is in its entirety. Barb asked how Cal was getting my purse to me. He went to FedEx and had it overnighted. I'll let you know what happened in today's episode. In the meantime, here's the rest of yesterday:
After getting no answer on Cal’s cell, the security guard told me I could fly with no ID, but I’d have to go through extra security measures. Well, I have to get on the plane because I don’t even have a way to get Cal to pick me up. AnnaMarie, whatever fantasy world you are living in, one cannot – I repeat – cannot arrive at the airport ½ hour before a flight and expect to get on a plane. As we were driving in the roadside sign was flashing “high security alert”. The friggin’ line was out the door and halfway down the sidewalk past baggage claim! Besides the usual twisty, turny, snakelike section just before the screeners.
I managed to get on board after being frisked and all my possessions searched and wiped down for suspicious substances. I’m dying of thirst by now and can hardly wait for the plane to take off so I can have a drink. As I’m eating my little bag of cinnamon sticks I was thinking of the nice snacks I’d packed in my purse. *sigh*
When I get to Austin and collect my luggage I went to the Hertz car rental counter but, oh gosh, they can’t rent me a car without a drivers license. So sorry. I asked if they could call Farmers so I could ask someone to pick me up which they very willingly did. They were really very nice. I spoke with Adrian and he said he’d send Scott and have him meet me at the Hertz counter.
In the meantime, Cal had me paged at the airport with a message to call him back. Call him back! I HAVE NO MONEY. I haven’t used a payphone in years. Turns out you can use your credit card (I was just going to call collect, okay!) and fortunately, I have my credit card number memorized, including the 3 digit security code. Cal obviously figured out that I didn’t have my purse – I think it was when he called my cell and it rang right beside him that he realized what a predicament I was really in. He noticed it when he got to work and went in to tell his boss he was taking the day off and was trying to get hold of me. Paged me at the Oakland airport, but I think we’d already left by then. Here’s the kicker, as we’re landing in San Diego it dawns on me that I could have had the security guard call MY phone and Cal would have answered it and the story might have ended there. Too few brain cells that early in the morning.
Adrian called back (the Hertz people are now becoming my messenger service) and he didn’t really have anyone available because Scott was going to the dentist and Peggy was working from home. He had to go rescue his wife who just had 2 flat tires! He told me they got together $60 and left it at the front desk so I could take a shuttle or a taxi and pay when I got there.
The information booth lady told me to do the shuttle because it was MUCH cheaper, but when I asked if I could pay when they drop me off they said no! He did say I could pay by credit card … and hey! I know my number! Told him if he didn’t have to see it, I was all good.
So I did manage to get to the office after all. It looks much nicer in the pictures. And Heather, the fleet cars aren’t nearly as well kept up as yours! Peggy was telling me their guy does a really good job. HAH. The gas tank isn’t full and the car is dirty inside and out. Whatever. I’m hoping to pick up my rental tomorrow.
I have a really nice room (Peggy had to come with me to use her corporate credit card to hold the room until my purse arrives) with a kitchenette – and no food! There was a bag of popcorn here that I microwaved and devoured. I drank 2 cups of tea. Now I’m just counting the hours until the complimentary buffet breakfast tomorrow. As luck would have it, they also have complimentary dinners on Tues, Wed and Thurs. Tomorrow night is deli sandwiches and chips, Wed. is BBQ and Thurs is Frito pie. Yeah .. don’t ask me. This is Texas. If it sounds like I’m obsessing about the food it’s because I am. I’m hungry!
The best part of this place is they have a library! Can you believe it. My books are in my purse. I have nothing to read, but they have a library! Take a book and leave one. Great philosophy. I’m taking one and returning it at the end of the week. They have free wireless internet too, so I can jump on Netflix and use the “watch now” feature to watch a movie. I love Netflix!
As bad as this day has been it can only go up from here. It does make for a good story and I met some really nice people on the shuttle. In fact, the gentleman I sat next to was from Alabama where he says it was cold. I said I just came from CA and it was very nice out. He asked where in CA, and turns out he has a daughter who lives in San Francisco and a son who lives in Castro Valley! Small world.
Okay, I’m signing off for day 1. Stay tuned for more adventures. (you know the rest of the week will be BORING)
Okay! I heard from several of you that you couldn't open the attachment, so here it is in its entirety. Barb asked how Cal was getting my purse to me. He went to FedEx and had it overnighted. I'll let you know what happened in today's episode. In the meantime, here's the rest of yesterday:
After getting no answer on Cal’s cell, the security guard told me I could fly with no ID, but I’d have to go through extra security measures. Well, I have to get on the plane because I don’t even have a way to get Cal to pick me up. AnnaMarie, whatever fantasy world you are living in, one cannot – I repeat – cannot arrive at the airport ½ hour before a flight and expect to get on a plane. As we were driving in the roadside sign was flashing “high security alert”. The friggin’ line was out the door and halfway down the sidewalk past baggage claim! Besides the usual twisty, turny, snakelike section just before the screeners.
I managed to get on board after being frisked and all my possessions searched and wiped down for suspicious substances. I’m dying of thirst by now and can hardly wait for the plane to take off so I can have a drink. As I’m eating my little bag of cinnamon sticks I was thinking of the nice snacks I’d packed in my purse. *sigh*
When I get to Austin and collect my luggage I went to the Hertz car rental counter but, oh gosh, they can’t rent me a car without a drivers license. So sorry. I asked if they could call Farmers so I could ask someone to pick me up which they very willingly did. They were really very nice. I spoke with Adrian and he said he’d send Scott and have him meet me at the Hertz counter.
In the meantime, Cal had me paged at the airport with a message to call him back. Call him back! I HAVE NO MONEY. I haven’t used a payphone in years. Turns out you can use your credit card (I was just going to call collect, okay!) and fortunately, I have my credit card number memorized, including the 3 digit security code. Cal obviously figured out that I didn’t have my purse – I think it was when he called my cell and it rang right beside him that he realized what a predicament I was really in. He noticed it when he got to work and went in to tell his boss he was taking the day off and was trying to get hold of me. Paged me at the Oakland airport, but I think we’d already left by then. Here’s the kicker, as we’re landing in San Diego it dawns on me that I could have had the security guard call MY phone and Cal would have answered it and the story might have ended there. Too few brain cells that early in the morning.
Adrian called back (the Hertz people are now becoming my messenger service) and he didn’t really have anyone available because Scott was going to the dentist and Peggy was working from home. He had to go rescue his wife who just had 2 flat tires! He told me they got together $60 and left it at the front desk so I could take a shuttle or a taxi and pay when I got there.
The information booth lady told me to do the shuttle because it was MUCH cheaper, but when I asked if I could pay when they drop me off they said no! He did say I could pay by credit card … and hey! I know my number! Told him if he didn’t have to see it, I was all good.
So I did manage to get to the office after all. It looks much nicer in the pictures. And Heather, the fleet cars aren’t nearly as well kept up as yours! Peggy was telling me their guy does a really good job. HAH. The gas tank isn’t full and the car is dirty inside and out. Whatever. I’m hoping to pick up my rental tomorrow.
I have a really nice room (Peggy had to come with me to use her corporate credit card to hold the room until my purse arrives) with a kitchenette – and no food! There was a bag of popcorn here that I microwaved and devoured. I drank 2 cups of tea. Now I’m just counting the hours until the complimentary buffet breakfast tomorrow. As luck would have it, they also have complimentary dinners on Tues, Wed and Thurs. Tomorrow night is deli sandwiches and chips, Wed. is BBQ and Thurs is Frito pie. Yeah .. don’t ask me. This is Texas. If it sounds like I’m obsessing about the food it’s because I am. I’m hungry!
The best part of this place is they have a library! Can you believe it. My books are in my purse. I have nothing to read, but they have a library! Take a book and leave one. Great philosophy. I’m taking one and returning it at the end of the week. They have free wireless internet too, so I can jump on Netflix and use the “watch now” feature to watch a movie. I love Netflix!
As bad as this day has been it can only go up from here. It does make for a good story and I met some really nice people on the shuttle. In fact, the gentleman I sat next to was from Alabama where he says it was cold. I said I just came from CA and it was very nice out. He asked where in CA, and turns out he has a daughter who lives in San Francisco and a son who lives in Castro Valley! Small world.
Okay, I’m signing off for day 1. Stay tuned for more adventures. (you know the rest of the week will be BORING)
Day 1, and the adventure begins
Monday, April 14, 2008
This is going to be my journal, I'm just sharing it with half the world. Most of you are getting this as a blind copy -- and aren't you glad!
The family came over Sunday night and we went out to dinner (Casa Orozco). I fully intended to treat everyone but they turned the tables on me! At the house Stacey told me I need to check my email because Ellie and Colin sent me something. On my way to my computer I was telling them how someone at work gave me a gift certificate for SouthWest airlines and wasn't that a cool idea ... guess what Ellie and Colin sent me? A gift certificate for Alaska airlines!! LOL
I was up late (midnight) packing and still trying to somewhat organize my chaos, but managed to get up at 4:00 am to jump in the shower and get ready by 5:00. Cal decided to drop me off at the airport on his way to work. Okay .. it's not on his WAY to work, but he was willing to take the time to drop me there and then scoot on to work.
We actually got on the road in plenty of time, but it was still dark out. Cal was so busy looking for Terminal 2 he realized at the last minute that he had to cross over 2 or 3 lanes to get to the curb. He stopped abruptly and parked sort of catty-wampus. He asked me to set up his GPS while he got my suitcase out of the back. I was messing with that and then hopped out to get my laptop case out of the back seat before security came to tell him to move on. The minute I stepped inside the terminal I realized I'd left my purse in the car.
YEP! My boarding pass, my MONEY, my I.D., my credit cards, my snacks, my iPod (and I'd just downloaded 7 new books!!), my cell phone, EVERYTHING I needed ... on it's way back to Livermore.
I must have looked really stricken because a security guard asked if she could help and I told her my dilemma. Have a flight to catch and no ID, no boarding pass, NOTHING. She had me write Cal's cell phone number down and she went in back and called him. I knew he wouldn't answer because although he keeps it in the truck, he seldom turns it on. He claims it was on ... but I only know what she told me.
I don't think Yahoo will let me write much more so I'm going to finish this in Word, and maybe I'll send it as an attachment. Now that I've got you all hooked on the story, I'll say TTFN!
This is going to be my journal, I'm just sharing it with half the world. Most of you are getting this as a blind copy -- and aren't you glad!
The family came over Sunday night and we went out to dinner (Casa Orozco). I fully intended to treat everyone but they turned the tables on me! At the house Stacey told me I need to check my email because Ellie and Colin sent me something. On my way to my computer I was telling them how someone at work gave me a gift certificate for SouthWest airlines and wasn't that a cool idea ... guess what Ellie and Colin sent me? A gift certificate for Alaska airlines!! LOL
I was up late (midnight) packing and still trying to somewhat organize my chaos, but managed to get up at 4:00 am to jump in the shower and get ready by 5:00. Cal decided to drop me off at the airport on his way to work. Okay .. it's not on his WAY to work, but he was willing to take the time to drop me there and then scoot on to work.
We actually got on the road in plenty of time, but it was still dark out. Cal was so busy looking for Terminal 2 he realized at the last minute that he had to cross over 2 or 3 lanes to get to the curb. He stopped abruptly and parked sort of catty-wampus. He asked me to set up his GPS while he got my suitcase out of the back. I was messing with that and then hopped out to get my laptop case out of the back seat before security came to tell him to move on. The minute I stepped inside the terminal I realized I'd left my purse in the car.
YEP! My boarding pass, my MONEY, my I.D., my credit cards, my snacks, my iPod (and I'd just downloaded 7 new books!!), my cell phone, EVERYTHING I needed ... on it's way back to Livermore.
I must have looked really stricken because a security guard asked if she could help and I told her my dilemma. Have a flight to catch and no ID, no boarding pass, NOTHING. She had me write Cal's cell phone number down and she went in back and called him. I knew he wouldn't answer because although he keeps it in the truck, he seldom turns it on. He claims it was on ... but I only know what she told me.
I don't think Yahoo will let me write much more so I'm going to finish this in Word, and maybe I'll send it as an attachment. Now that I've got you all hooked on the story, I'll say TTFN!
Saturday -- one last day
Here's a tip for you. You know, as I think about it, I should start charging for my services. You are all learning a great deal from my screw-ups. I hope you learn the lessons well and don't walk down the dark path I seem to tread.
On to the lesson. When you are moving, especially when you have movers taking your "stuff", be sure to keep out a few days worth of clothes. It can be a bit of a shock to wake up in the morning, open your closet door and find it empty! I didn't have them pack my "personal items" so that wasn't an issue. But hey! Clothes come in handy! Fortunately, being the unorganized laggard that I am, I have clothes in the laundry still so it's not an issue. But a lesson for you nonetheless!
A final day of going through all the stuff left behind and deciding what I absolutely have to take with me. Making sure I have all my chargers/cords/plugs. The Aero bed, pillows, blankets!! Oh, don't forget the blankets!
Went to the salon for another hair 'treatment'. Much less red in the hair this time. I look like me again! Hello, me!
Carol and I met at work to load some stuff on to her son's truck for the trek north. I finished packing all my work cra..uh, stuff. Five more boxes. I can hear Pat W now. I couldn't have less boxes than Heather now, could I. I even brought two home. More stuff to go through when I'm here on extended weekends.
Back to packing. Tomorrow will be an early day.
Until next time.
On to the lesson. When you are moving, especially when you have movers taking your "stuff", be sure to keep out a few days worth of clothes. It can be a bit of a shock to wake up in the morning, open your closet door and find it empty! I didn't have them pack my "personal items" so that wasn't an issue. But hey! Clothes come in handy! Fortunately, being the unorganized laggard that I am, I have clothes in the laundry still so it's not an issue. But a lesson for you nonetheless!
A final day of going through all the stuff left behind and deciding what I absolutely have to take with me. Making sure I have all my chargers/cords/plugs. The Aero bed, pillows, blankets!! Oh, don't forget the blankets!
Went to the salon for another hair 'treatment'. Much less red in the hair this time. I look like me again! Hello, me!
Carol and I met at work to load some stuff on to her son's truck for the trek north. I finished packing all my work cra..uh, stuff. Five more boxes. I can hear Pat W now. I couldn't have less boxes than Heather now, could I. I even brought two home. More stuff to go through when I'm here on extended weekends.
Back to packing. Tomorrow will be an early day.
Until next time.
Friday, May 2, 2008
The Next Step
Friday, May 2, 2008
The past three days have been an emotional roller coaster.
I have a lot to do at work. I needed to clear out the rest of my cabinets, my work station, my desk and a 2-drawer credenza. On Wednesday I spent a lot of time talking to people who were surprised to see me, etc., so that cut drastically into my "getting things done time". But I did make progress! Pat Winnie even commented on it. A witness is always a good thing.
I went over to harass the boys (Jaime and Frank) and when I left their room it hit me that I won't be doing that any more, and the tears started. Then I was just a breath away from crying for the rest of the day.
Once I left work I had the same thing to do at home. Try to pull together all the stuff I'm taking to Oregon so the packers can pack it. I absolutely am taking my craft armoire .. but I had to clear a path for them to get into the room so they could pack it! With my emotions stretched to the breaking point I was absolutely worn out and ready to sleep the minute I got home. So, while I was making progress, it wasn't much. And the movers were coming on Friday!!
Friday morning -- a good thing I got up early. Mover was going to be here between 8 and 8:30. He showed up at 7:45. I showed him the kitchen table piled with stuff and the pile in the living room. Pointed out the armoire in the guest room (a path had been cleared!) and said I also have 2 big boxes of books as well as my hanging clothes. He started right in with packing it all up. Said he's been doing this for 40 years! He didn't look that old but it turns out he's going to be 60 on Wednesday. Maybe it's because they're my age that old people don't look old anymore.
I was worried about the armoire because it's custom-made and VERY heavy. Fortunately, the company did a screw up and sent another team to do the packing! They had another job to go to but they stayed to help Johnny and they got the armoire packed and dismantled in no time. They were done by 11:30 so I was able to go in to the office and finish up.
Another emotional day. Trish Hall had cut out various sized hearts in different colors and had them spread all over the floor by my desk and scatter on my desk top. Along with balloons, a card and a beautiful heart necklace -- yep, you guessed it. More tears! I hadn't had time to do my hair or put on any makeup which was probably a good thing.
At the end of the day Barb (God bless you!) came in when she was off work and helped me clear out the last of the mess. A lot of file folders to empty, which is time consuming when you have to open all the clasps first. We filled one shredding bin and several trash cans. I still need to go in tomorrow morning to pack up the rest of the stuff I want shipped to the new office. Carol and I are going to take some of the silk plants that Bruce and I snagged from the Hayward BCO when it closed.
A long 3 days. Worn out, exhausted. Cal and I decided to treat ourselves to Round Table pizza. LOVE their pizza. HATE their service. We always have a large 1/2 King Arthur, 1/2 Gourmet Veggie with NO onions. I make sure I emphatically stipulate no onions on the veggie side. Tell them it's an allergy .. sometimes that's the only way they'll listen. The phone person always gets it. Claim they write it in big letters. When it was delivered I said "check to make sure there are no onions". The light by the door wasn't working so we were trying to use the porch light and the delivery guy and I said it looks okay ... we paid, he left.
I'm getting my piece and DANG. There are green onions all over it. Alright. I can deal with this. Just scrape them off. But NO. That's not enough. They made sure to put red onions on as well and they're baked in under the cheese. Cal is ticked. He calls them to complain, so they're making another one. Another 45 minutes and it's almost 9:00 (I got home late). The same delivery guy comes back and I invite him in so he can see for himself that there are onions all over my veggie pizza. He's apologizing, and opens the new one. Onions on Cal's side .. and ... wait .. what's this?? The other side is mushrooms, olives and green peppers. NOT my gourmet veggie!! He said they are really swamped and that's probably why the screw up (except they do this every flippin' time!) so he's having them give us back our money (by not cashing the check .. huh, we'll see). So we end up with 2 pizzas for the price of none.
I'm exhausted and wrung out. I must have said goodbye to Lynda and Barb about 3 or 4 times with tears each time. I missed saying goodbye to several people (Pat W .. where were you?) and that made me cry too. So I'm off to bed. I have a lot to do tomorrow. I need to get the rest of the work stuff packed for shipping and I need to pack my car. I also hope to have some time to run to Davis and spend time with Colin and Ellie. Getting my hair done at 11:30. On Sunday I just want to get up and go.
Take care everyone, and I'll keep you posted!
The past three days have been an emotional roller coaster.
I have a lot to do at work. I needed to clear out the rest of my cabinets, my work station, my desk and a 2-drawer credenza. On Wednesday I spent a lot of time talking to people who were surprised to see me, etc., so that cut drastically into my "getting things done time". But I did make progress! Pat Winnie even commented on it. A witness is always a good thing.
I went over to harass the boys (Jaime and Frank) and when I left their room it hit me that I won't be doing that any more, and the tears started. Then I was just a breath away from crying for the rest of the day.
Once I left work I had the same thing to do at home. Try to pull together all the stuff I'm taking to Oregon so the packers can pack it. I absolutely am taking my craft armoire .. but I had to clear a path for them to get into the room so they could pack it! With my emotions stretched to the breaking point I was absolutely worn out and ready to sleep the minute I got home. So, while I was making progress, it wasn't much. And the movers were coming on Friday!!
Friday morning -- a good thing I got up early. Mover was going to be here between 8 and 8:30. He showed up at 7:45. I showed him the kitchen table piled with stuff and the pile in the living room. Pointed out the armoire in the guest room (a path had been cleared!) and said I also have 2 big boxes of books as well as my hanging clothes. He started right in with packing it all up. Said he's been doing this for 40 years! He didn't look that old but it turns out he's going to be 60 on Wednesday. Maybe it's because they're my age that old people don't look old anymore.
I was worried about the armoire because it's custom-made and VERY heavy. Fortunately, the company did a screw up and sent another team to do the packing! They had another job to go to but they stayed to help Johnny and they got the armoire packed and dismantled in no time. They were done by 11:30 so I was able to go in to the office and finish up.
Another emotional day. Trish Hall had cut out various sized hearts in different colors and had them spread all over the floor by my desk and scatter on my desk top. Along with balloons, a card and a beautiful heart necklace -- yep, you guessed it. More tears! I hadn't had time to do my hair or put on any makeup which was probably a good thing.
At the end of the day Barb (God bless you!) came in when she was off work and helped me clear out the last of the mess. A lot of file folders to empty, which is time consuming when you have to open all the clasps first. We filled one shredding bin and several trash cans. I still need to go in tomorrow morning to pack up the rest of the stuff I want shipped to the new office. Carol and I are going to take some of the silk plants that Bruce and I snagged from the Hayward BCO when it closed.
A long 3 days. Worn out, exhausted. Cal and I decided to treat ourselves to Round Table pizza. LOVE their pizza. HATE their service. We always have a large 1/2 King Arthur, 1/2 Gourmet Veggie with NO onions. I make sure I emphatically stipulate no onions on the veggie side. Tell them it's an allergy .. sometimes that's the only way they'll listen. The phone person always gets it. Claim they write it in big letters. When it was delivered I said "check to make sure there are no onions". The light by the door wasn't working so we were trying to use the porch light and the delivery guy and I said it looks okay ... we paid, he left.
I'm getting my piece and DANG. There are green onions all over it. Alright. I can deal with this. Just scrape them off. But NO. That's not enough. They made sure to put red onions on as well and they're baked in under the cheese. Cal is ticked. He calls them to complain, so they're making another one. Another 45 minutes and it's almost 9:00 (I got home late). The same delivery guy comes back and I invite him in so he can see for himself that there are onions all over my veggie pizza. He's apologizing, and opens the new one. Onions on Cal's side .. and ... wait .. what's this?? The other side is mushrooms, olives and green peppers. NOT my gourmet veggie!! He said they are really swamped and that's probably why the screw up (except they do this every flippin' time!) so he's having them give us back our money (by not cashing the check .. huh, we'll see). So we end up with 2 pizzas for the price of none.
I'm exhausted and wrung out. I must have said goodbye to Lynda and Barb about 3 or 4 times with tears each time. I missed saying goodbye to several people (Pat W .. where were you?) and that made me cry too. So I'm off to bed. I have a lot to do tomorrow. I need to get the rest of the work stuff packed for shipping and I need to pack my car. I also hope to have some time to run to Davis and spend time with Colin and Ellie. Getting my hair done at 11:30. On Sunday I just want to get up and go.
Take care everyone, and I'll keep you posted!
Another Flippin' Flight
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
4:15 and I'm awake again. This has got to stop.
Carol and I were very busy yesterday, but we accomplished a lot. We drove by Service Point to get an idea of where it is and it's only 3.5 miles from the townhouse. It's really strange but the miles here seem so much longer! I'm sure it's just that phenomenon of unfamiliarity but when we're using the Magellan and she says you're going to turn in .5 mi -- it takes forever to get there!
Then we just drove around and Hillsboro seems to be bigger than either of us thought. Population of 88,000. Their central downtown area has one-way streets so we'll avoid that whenever possible. :0 ) She'd heard that Winco is a good grocery store so we used the Magellan to find one and we took a mini-tour. It's like a Pak-n-Save. Warehouse shelving; lots of selection; huge; and you bag your own groceries. While we were in Winco, the Palladia called and we've been approved for the apartment (townhouse). We need to get proof of renters insurance and an account number with PGE (it's not P G & E, silly. It's Portland GENERAL Electric and has nothing to do with gas).
We left Winco, deciding to find an insurance agent and get that taken care of. As we're driving around, Carol suddenly pulls into a driveway -- she'd spotted a Farmers Insurance sign. We walked in and Walt has been blessed to become our agent! He said it would take him awhile to complete all the paperwork but he could give us evidence of insurance and we could come back later to pay, etc.
Went back to our room and I called PGE to set up the account with them. Took about 1/2 an hour, but the guy I talked to was really nice. He even recommended Stouffers stuffed peppers as a decent frozen dinner!
Armed with the necessary information we went back to the Palladia and signed the papers that make us official residents. I'll pick up the key(s) when I drive up on Sunday, but we did think about it later that I may not get there until after they close. We're going to go by there to day and see what arrangements we can make. We get 3 door keys, 2 mailbox keys and one amenities key (for the fitness room and pool). This is when they tell us that NO utilities are included in the rent ... we'll get a bill from the gas and water companies and we pay the apartment complex. I can tell you right now that I'm not putting in phone service! I'm keeping my 925 785-3262 cell phone number, and work will have my business cell number to call. Our new address is 2602 NW Palazza Way, Hillsboro OR 97124. I was pronouncing it "Palatza" but was politely told that 'here' we say "Palaza". Sort of like Plaza with an extra a thrown in for good measure.
After all that was done we had to go back to Walt's office to complete the insurance. Carol arranged to have her car insurance transferred here and we bought and paid for a renters insurance policy. Only $160 a year for $500,000 lliability. We're all good. It all seems a bit overwhelming, but when you split everythiing 3 ways, it's not so bad.
After all that running around we headed back to our rooms to freshen up and then we went to Heather and Tami's for a delicious lasagna dinner! They have a really cute house in a nice area and seem to be settling in. Heather says HI to everyone. We're already making plans for some sightseeing trips. I can't commit to anything yet because I don't know what my work schedule will be like, but I'm game! Tami even printed out my boarding pass for my flight today, AND gave me a doggie bag to take back to the room. Lunch!
Well, time for me to start packing AGAIN. Carol wants to run by DMV this morning and we need to run by the leasing office to see what we can do about the key pickup. I'll be home for the rest of the week so you won't get another email until I arrive in Portland. Actually, not even then, because I won't have internet access right away. Hmmm...maybe we should set that up today before I leave!
Alrighty then. Don't plan to hear from me until next Tuesday (the day I start work). If it's sooner, you'll just be surprised.
Toodles!!
4:15 and I'm awake again. This has got to stop.
Carol and I were very busy yesterday, but we accomplished a lot. We drove by Service Point to get an idea of where it is and it's only 3.5 miles from the townhouse. It's really strange but the miles here seem so much longer! I'm sure it's just that phenomenon of unfamiliarity but when we're using the Magellan and she says you're going to turn in .5 mi -- it takes forever to get there!
Then we just drove around and Hillsboro seems to be bigger than either of us thought. Population of 88,000. Their central downtown area has one-way streets so we'll avoid that whenever possible. :0 ) She'd heard that Winco is a good grocery store so we used the Magellan to find one and we took a mini-tour. It's like a Pak-n-Save. Warehouse shelving; lots of selection; huge; and you bag your own groceries. While we were in Winco, the Palladia called and we've been approved for the apartment (townhouse). We need to get proof of renters insurance and an account number with PGE (it's not P G & E, silly. It's Portland GENERAL Electric and has nothing to do with gas).
We left Winco, deciding to find an insurance agent and get that taken care of. As we're driving around, Carol suddenly pulls into a driveway -- she'd spotted a Farmers Insurance sign. We walked in and Walt has been blessed to become our agent! He said it would take him awhile to complete all the paperwork but he could give us evidence of insurance and we could come back later to pay, etc.
Went back to our room and I called PGE to set up the account with them. Took about 1/2 an hour, but the guy I talked to was really nice. He even recommended Stouffers stuffed peppers as a decent frozen dinner!
Armed with the necessary information we went back to the Palladia and signed the papers that make us official residents. I'll pick up the key(s) when I drive up on Sunday, but we did think about it later that I may not get there until after they close. We're going to go by there to day and see what arrangements we can make. We get 3 door keys, 2 mailbox keys and one amenities key (for the fitness room and pool). This is when they tell us that NO utilities are included in the rent ... we'll get a bill from the gas and water companies and we pay the apartment complex. I can tell you right now that I'm not putting in phone service! I'm keeping my 925 785-3262 cell phone number, and work will have my business cell number to call. Our new address is 2602 NW Palazza Way, Hillsboro OR 97124. I was pronouncing it "Palatza" but was politely told that 'here' we say "Palaza". Sort of like Plaza with an extra a thrown in for good measure.
After all that was done we had to go back to Walt's office to complete the insurance. Carol arranged to have her car insurance transferred here and we bought and paid for a renters insurance policy. Only $160 a year for $500,000 lliability. We're all good. It all seems a bit overwhelming, but when you split everythiing 3 ways, it's not so bad.
After all that running around we headed back to our rooms to freshen up and then we went to Heather and Tami's for a delicious lasagna dinner! They have a really cute house in a nice area and seem to be settling in. Heather says HI to everyone. We're already making plans for some sightseeing trips. I can't commit to anything yet because I don't know what my work schedule will be like, but I'm game! Tami even printed out my boarding pass for my flight today, AND gave me a doggie bag to take back to the room. Lunch!
Well, time for me to start packing AGAIN. Carol wants to run by DMV this morning and we need to run by the leasing office to see what we can do about the key pickup. I'll be home for the rest of the week so you won't get another email until I arrive in Portland. Actually, not even then, because I won't have internet access right away. Hmmm...maybe we should set that up today before I leave!
Alrighty then. Don't plan to hear from me until next Tuesday (the day I start work). If it's sooner, you'll just be surprised.
Toodles!!
Is it Monday Yet?
Monday, April 28, 2008
I don't know how I'd keep track of the day of the week were it not for cell phones.
I woke up at 4:00 PDT -- I think my brain is still trying to adjust to central time, but come on! We were only in that time zone for 2 weeks! At any rate, let's get on with the adventure.
Carol and her daughter showed up at my house about 6:30. Jamie was driving us to the airport. I'd almost forgotten to print out my boarding pass (still managed to get A59) but I had it! I did cut down to my smallest suitcase -- I'm only going to be here 3 days, after all. (LOL I just reread that paragraph and I'd spelled Jamie's name as Jaime. I should have left it so everyone could ask Jaime if he'd taken us to the airport! For you non-Farmers people, Jaime is one of our IT guys)
We made it to the airport and through security without incident. Carol was A46 for boarding but she managed to pick a row that was completely empty. A girl who was 2 people in front of me snagged the aisle seat so I took the middle -- but it wasn't too bad! Fortunately the other girl was a skinny little thing. (She's moving to SF from Portland for a teaching job-3rd grade. Her brother lives in SF)
Our flight attendant, when she was delivering our drinks, said to me "you look just like my friend Patty". Many of you know that I hear this ALL the time. Not the Patty part, but the "you look just like .. " (Lynda, Justin, Joan -- you know what I'm talking about) When she came back later she remarked on it again. I asked if Patty was nice (yes!) and she said "she just turned 50". "Oh!" says I. "I just turned 60." "REALLY?" says she. "Well, you look a whole lot better than she does!!" I have Carol as my witness.
During the course of our flight she made some jokes about my family roots being well spread and just before we deplaned she asked if I had any family in the Las Vegas area. Said I've never been there. Carol heard her say, "well, maybe your father or grandfather were there!"
Our friend Magellan got us safely from the airport to the hotel (Extended Stay America). This hotel does NOT have automatic doors at the entrance. AND they just renovated 2 years ago!! What is up with that? We're on the 3rd floor (top) in non-smoking rooms. Unfortunately, we have to walk through the heavily smoky-smelling hallway to get to these rooms! Either the smoke from rooms below us has permeated the floors and walls, or the smokers have to smoke in the hallway!! YUK
I do have a kitchenette, but no dishwasher. No closet doors (??) and a small TV (19-20") AND believe it or not, they charge $4.99 for internet access!! One-time charge, but still. Apparently they don't realize everyone else offers it free. There are no buffet breakfasts here either.
Carol's brother lives in Aloha (next town over) and her sister-in-law offered to drive us around to leasing offices and invited us to their house for dinner. The first place we went to is one Gary found on the internet, the Colonnade (3bdr, 3ba, 3 story), but they had nothing available. They sent us to a "sister property" called the Palladia. She showed us a unit that is available, same floor plan. End unit--the living room window looks out over a small city park (grassy area, benches, flowers and shrubs) and there is a lot of cupboard space in the kitchen. Internet access in every room. TV outlets in every room. Gary's bedroom and bathroom is right off the garage. The unit small .. in that every floor is about 500sq ft, but it's bright and has a lot of windows. Single car garage with parking in the driveway for a 2nd car. Plenty of on-street parking for a 3rd car. Price is $1385 plus $10 for trash and we can lock it in if we sign up by 5:00 pm. They can change their pricing weekly -- on Mondays -- and it can go up or down.
We went to a second property that is practically next door, same floor plan, but more expensive (!!) and the buildings were dark and every until looked out on pavement. They tried to entice us with one month free rent, but it's a 14mo lease and parking for a 3rd car is dicey. We decided to go back to the first place and put in our application. Didn't even bother looking anywhere else. The extra bonus for this place is we are practically across the street from an outdoor mall, the Streets of Tannasborne.
Remember when the "thing" was indoor malls? Here in Oregon, where it rains 80% of the time, they get all excited about an OUTDOOR mall!! Go figure. Anyway, Margie drove us through the mall and there are lots of restaurants (PF Changs, Macaroni Grill, Rosie's, etc) and -- Deb, Lynda, Marci, Barb -- there's a Brighton's!! Also Coldwater Creek and J Jill's. Carol and I are excited about our location. On the map it looks like it's close to the office too. We'll check that out today. We're not far from a movie theater complex either. There's a walking path on a green belt around the complex.
They're supposed to run our credit check this morning. We couldn't add Gary to the lease yet because he has to sign the paperwork to authorize the credit check. They assured us we can add him any time, no problem. They'll let us know sometime today if we are approved, then we have to get a PG&E (Portland Gas and Electric .. how funny is that) account number and proof of renters insurance before we can move in. Hopefully we can get all of that taken care of today or tomorrow.
There was a security deposit of $300 and a move-in fee of $200. They charge $200 for a holding deposit but they apply that to your move-in fee so for $300 and the first month's rent -- we're in! Since it's not available until the 2nd, they knocked off $45. The bummer is that I have to pay the first month's rent on my own since I'll be living here for a month before Carol and Gary come up. That will put a serious dent in my savings, but that's okay! It's a relief to have this wrapped up in time. As I'll be driving up here on Sunday, it's nice to know I'll have an apartment waiting for me.
After all this excitement, we followed Margie to her house. Didn't put the address in my Magellan because we were following someone. In a green SUV. Car turns left, I said "Oh, I didn't think that was her car", but we follow. Car pulls into a driveway, Carol has to drive past and do a turn-around to park in front of the house. As we're parking, someone gets out of the passenger side and looks at us! Margie didn't have a passenger. We followed the wrong car!! I'm laughing. Carol's still trying to figure how she lost Margie. Her phone rings and her sister-in-law is wondering where the heck we went. We managed to hook up with her again and made it to her house. Dinner was great, by the way (BBQ ribs, beans, hot potato salad, green salad -- YUM)
Which reminds me, Barb, when I got on my scale Sunday morning, I was up just 1.5 pounds! YAY
There was something else Carol did at the airport and I said "this is going in the email, you know". For the life of me I can't remember what it was but when I do ... you'll hear about it.
I need to go put on some makeup. Keep your fingers crossed that the credit checks go through quickly and we can get everythiing wrapped up today. I'll let you know how it goes!
TTFN
I don't know how I'd keep track of the day of the week were it not for cell phones.
I woke up at 4:00 PDT -- I think my brain is still trying to adjust to central time, but come on! We were only in that time zone for 2 weeks! At any rate, let's get on with the adventure.
Carol and her daughter showed up at my house about 6:30. Jamie was driving us to the airport. I'd almost forgotten to print out my boarding pass (still managed to get A59) but I had it! I did cut down to my smallest suitcase -- I'm only going to be here 3 days, after all. (LOL I just reread that paragraph and I'd spelled Jamie's name as Jaime. I should have left it so everyone could ask Jaime if he'd taken us to the airport! For you non-Farmers people, Jaime is one of our IT guys)
We made it to the airport and through security without incident. Carol was A46 for boarding but she managed to pick a row that was completely empty. A girl who was 2 people in front of me snagged the aisle seat so I took the middle -- but it wasn't too bad! Fortunately the other girl was a skinny little thing. (She's moving to SF from Portland for a teaching job-3rd grade. Her brother lives in SF)
Our flight attendant, when she was delivering our drinks, said to me "you look just like my friend Patty". Many of you know that I hear this ALL the time. Not the Patty part, but the "you look just like .. " (Lynda, Justin, Joan -- you know what I'm talking about) When she came back later she remarked on it again. I asked if Patty was nice (yes!) and she said "she just turned 50". "Oh!" says I. "I just turned 60." "REALLY?" says she. "Well, you look a whole lot better than she does!!" I have Carol as my witness.
During the course of our flight she made some jokes about my family roots being well spread and just before we deplaned she asked if I had any family in the Las Vegas area. Said I've never been there. Carol heard her say, "well, maybe your father or grandfather were there!"
Our friend Magellan got us safely from the airport to the hotel (Extended Stay America). This hotel does NOT have automatic doors at the entrance. AND they just renovated 2 years ago!! What is up with that? We're on the 3rd floor (top) in non-smoking rooms. Unfortunately, we have to walk through the heavily smoky-smelling hallway to get to these rooms! Either the smoke from rooms below us has permeated the floors and walls, or the smokers have to smoke in the hallway!! YUK
I do have a kitchenette, but no dishwasher. No closet doors (??) and a small TV (19-20") AND believe it or not, they charge $4.99 for internet access!! One-time charge, but still. Apparently they don't realize everyone else offers it free. There are no buffet breakfasts here either.
Carol's brother lives in Aloha (next town over) and her sister-in-law offered to drive us around to leasing offices and invited us to their house for dinner. The first place we went to is one Gary found on the internet, the Colonnade (3bdr, 3ba, 3 story), but they had nothing available. They sent us to a "sister property" called the Palladia. She showed us a unit that is available, same floor plan. End unit--the living room window looks out over a small city park (grassy area, benches, flowers and shrubs) and there is a lot of cupboard space in the kitchen. Internet access in every room. TV outlets in every room. Gary's bedroom and bathroom is right off the garage. The unit small .. in that every floor is about 500sq ft, but it's bright and has a lot of windows. Single car garage with parking in the driveway for a 2nd car. Plenty of on-street parking for a 3rd car. Price is $1385 plus $10 for trash and we can lock it in if we sign up by 5:00 pm. They can change their pricing weekly -- on Mondays -- and it can go up or down.
We went to a second property that is practically next door, same floor plan, but more expensive (!!) and the buildings were dark and every until looked out on pavement. They tried to entice us with one month free rent, but it's a 14mo lease and parking for a 3rd car is dicey. We decided to go back to the first place and put in our application. Didn't even bother looking anywhere else. The extra bonus for this place is we are practically across the street from an outdoor mall, the Streets of Tannasborne.
Remember when the "thing" was indoor malls? Here in Oregon, where it rains 80% of the time, they get all excited about an OUTDOOR mall!! Go figure. Anyway, Margie drove us through the mall and there are lots of restaurants (PF Changs, Macaroni Grill, Rosie's, etc) and -- Deb, Lynda, Marci, Barb -- there's a Brighton's!! Also Coldwater Creek and J Jill's. Carol and I are excited about our location. On the map it looks like it's close to the office too. We'll check that out today. We're not far from a movie theater complex either. There's a walking path on a green belt around the complex.
They're supposed to run our credit check this morning. We couldn't add Gary to the lease yet because he has to sign the paperwork to authorize the credit check. They assured us we can add him any time, no problem. They'll let us know sometime today if we are approved, then we have to get a PG&E (Portland Gas and Electric .. how funny is that) account number and proof of renters insurance before we can move in. Hopefully we can get all of that taken care of today or tomorrow.
There was a security deposit of $300 and a move-in fee of $200. They charge $200 for a holding deposit but they apply that to your move-in fee so for $300 and the first month's rent -- we're in! Since it's not available until the 2nd, they knocked off $45. The bummer is that I have to pay the first month's rent on my own since I'll be living here for a month before Carol and Gary come up. That will put a serious dent in my savings, but that's okay! It's a relief to have this wrapped up in time. As I'll be driving up here on Sunday, it's nice to know I'll have an apartment waiting for me.
After all this excitement, we followed Margie to her house. Didn't put the address in my Magellan because we were following someone. In a green SUV. Car turns left, I said "Oh, I didn't think that was her car", but we follow. Car pulls into a driveway, Carol has to drive past and do a turn-around to park in front of the house. As we're parking, someone gets out of the passenger side and looks at us! Margie didn't have a passenger. We followed the wrong car!! I'm laughing. Carol's still trying to figure how she lost Margie. Her phone rings and her sister-in-law is wondering where the heck we went. We managed to hook up with her again and made it to her house. Dinner was great, by the way (BBQ ribs, beans, hot potato salad, green salad -- YUM)
Which reminds me, Barb, when I got on my scale Sunday morning, I was up just 1.5 pounds! YAY
There was something else Carol did at the airport and I said "this is going in the email, you know". For the life of me I can't remember what it was but when I do ... you'll hear about it.
I need to go put on some makeup. Keep your fingers crossed that the credit checks go through quickly and we can get everythiing wrapped up today. I'll let you know how it goes!
TTFN
We're Here!
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Boy, do I have a lot to tell you! 1) traveling with someone else is more fun than travelling alone; 2) I'm not the only scatterbrain in this world; 3) God bless the person who invented personal GPS!!
Now, with that teaser I'm going to bid you good night. It's 11:34 pm (central) and I'm beat. Carol and I have had a long day and I certainly want to share it with you but I need to be in a more wide-awake frame of mind to do that. So you'll just have to wait patiently. Try not to bite your fingernails or toenails while waiting. I'll get to you as quickly as I can. Promise!
TTFN
Boy, do I have a lot to tell you! 1) traveling with someone else is more fun than travelling alone; 2) I'm not the only scatterbrain in this world; 3) God bless the person who invented personal GPS!!
Now, with that teaser I'm going to bid you good night. It's 11:34 pm (central) and I'm beat. Carol and I have had a long day and I certainly want to share it with you but I need to be in a more wide-awake frame of mind to do that. So you'll just have to wait patiently. Try not to bite your fingernails or toenails while waiting. I'll get to you as quickly as I can. Promise!
TTFN
TGIF!
Friday, April 25, 2008
As I told Barb, I walked 1/16" to McDonalds (it would be 1/16th of an inch on the map--probably less) Definitely had carb overload! Had a crispy chicken sandwich -- I even told the girl that the grilled chicken would be better for me -- with medium fries and sweet tea. It has been weeks since I've had fries, and throw the sweet tea on top of that -- what was I thinking?
When I got back to the room I decided to watch another Netflix movie. Night before last I watched a Jimmy Stewart movie I hadn't seen -- "You Can't Take it with You" (I can just see some of you saying 'who the heck is Jimmy Stewart') so last night I picked another classic with Carol Lombard "Mr. & Mrs. Smith". I fell asleep while I was watching! I had the laptop on the desk and I was lying on the bed (Justin Blosch, did I use that right?) with my head at the foot of the bed. Next thing I know, I hear a door slamming (the girl next door) and I was trying to figure out what I was doing at the end of the bed with no covers on and fully dressed. Took me a minute to realize what I'd done .. and it was 9:30!! No more McDonald's for me.
I went outside at lunchtime and walked around the building. It is friggin' cold out there!! I left my jacket at my desk. I walked fast, let me tell you. The weather changes really fast here. Supposed to be some more thunderstorms tonight. I hope they're all gone by the time I have to drive to the airport in the morning. My plane leaves at 11:05 and I'm about 45 minutes from the airport. I'm guesstimating that if I leave here at 8:00 I should be fine. I've already printed out my boarding pass (Heather, it's A19!) and have it securely placed in my purse.
I've been reading the book Hal loaned me most of the day. Rusty and I restarted some phones earlier but I won't remember anything two weeks from now when I show up in Hillsboro. Fortunately, the new Genesys guy who will be working with me will be there. Adrian's not having him come to Kansas; he'd rather have him in Hillsboro with me so we can start "bonding" (my word). Peggy will be there too to help me out. It will be fine. I keep telling myself that. It will be fine. Really.
Oh! When I bought my (personal) laptop to take to Oregon, I made sure it has a camera so I could do video mail with my grandkids. Last night I was downloading the program from Comcast so I could set it up. Wouldn't you just know it ... it's not yet compatible with Vista! There are probably other programs I could use, but I'm computer challenged and don't have the time nor the inclination to go looking. Perhaps once we get settled in, I'll have my resident computer guru (Gary) help me with that. :0) And don't you guys go snitching to Gary either!!
Did you guys know that MCI stands for Microwave Communications, Inc? (see -- I am learninig something!) And Sprint is/was related to the Southern Pacific Railway .. although there's some disagreement as to how the name was created.
I'm crunching on carrots and counting the minutes until it's time to leave. I have to get back to my room and start packing up. Make sure all the drawers are empty. Put all my dirty clothes in bags so I can wash them as soon as I get home (I'm flying to Portland the next day) I have too much to do to sit here doing nothing! :0 ) I'm getting sleepy too. Something to do with falling asleep at 12:30, after a 3 hour nap. :0 )
Yay! I'm free! Rusty comes in really early so he leaves early. I hung out for another half hour and then told Wade and Hal I'm leaving. What are they going to do, fire me? Neither of them could show me anything so I was just taking up space. They hardly lifted their eyes from their screens long enough to say goodbye. What a difference from the Austin group. There, everyone hugged me good-bye and said they hoped we'd meet up again ... these guys are typical guys. "Ok, see ya. Have a nice trip" and back to their computers. LOL
I am able to answer the burning question "are all Panda Express's created equal?" NO!!
I did a drive-through at Starbucks (still working on those gift cards) and a drive-through at Panda. The chow mein was okay but the sweet and sour pork, lousy. Tiny pieces of pork and they were dry and leathery. The orange chicken was hardly spicy at all. Ours is so much better.
In our team meeting this morning, Adrian clarified that when one is on call, one gets a 1/2 day off, but he prefers that we use it Tues-Thurs if possible. So much for building up a long weekend. BUT since I'll get 34 days next year with the new paid time off schedule, I'm sure I'll be able to work in several long weekends.
I have it on good authority that several of you are sharing these emails with others. Good! Now when I get back to work next week, no one should ask me how things went because they've already heard. Good job!
Well, boys and girls, I have a lot to do to get ready for my trip tomorrow so I'm going to sign off for now. You'll get the weekend free (I might jot a quick note after I get home on Saturday just so you know I made it without mishap) and probably not hear from me again until Monday. It's almost like listening to those old-time radio shows, isn't it? At least I'm not tied to the railroad track.
I think I'll try that movie again tonight. I can work through the first half of it and just listen since I saw that part already. *sigh* I have a tendency to tense up just before a trip, especially when I'm on a schedule .. so think good thoughts for me so I get a decent night's sleep! TTFN
As I told Barb, I walked 1/16" to McDonalds (it would be 1/16th of an inch on the map--probably less) Definitely had carb overload! Had a crispy chicken sandwich -- I even told the girl that the grilled chicken would be better for me -- with medium fries and sweet tea. It has been weeks since I've had fries, and throw the sweet tea on top of that -- what was I thinking?
When I got back to the room I decided to watch another Netflix movie. Night before last I watched a Jimmy Stewart movie I hadn't seen -- "You Can't Take it with You" (I can just see some of you saying 'who the heck is Jimmy Stewart') so last night I picked another classic with Carol Lombard "Mr. & Mrs. Smith". I fell asleep while I was watching! I had the laptop on the desk and I was lying on the bed (Justin Blosch, did I use that right?) with my head at the foot of the bed. Next thing I know, I hear a door slamming (the girl next door) and I was trying to figure out what I was doing at the end of the bed with no covers on and fully dressed. Took me a minute to realize what I'd done .. and it was 9:30!! No more McDonald's for me.
I went outside at lunchtime and walked around the building. It is friggin' cold out there!! I left my jacket at my desk. I walked fast, let me tell you. The weather changes really fast here. Supposed to be some more thunderstorms tonight. I hope they're all gone by the time I have to drive to the airport in the morning. My plane leaves at 11:05 and I'm about 45 minutes from the airport. I'm guesstimating that if I leave here at 8:00 I should be fine. I've already printed out my boarding pass (Heather, it's A19!) and have it securely placed in my purse.
I've been reading the book Hal loaned me most of the day. Rusty and I restarted some phones earlier but I won't remember anything two weeks from now when I show up in Hillsboro. Fortunately, the new Genesys guy who will be working with me will be there. Adrian's not having him come to Kansas; he'd rather have him in Hillsboro with me so we can start "bonding" (my word). Peggy will be there too to help me out. It will be fine. I keep telling myself that. It will be fine. Really.
Oh! When I bought my (personal) laptop to take to Oregon, I made sure it has a camera so I could do video mail with my grandkids. Last night I was downloading the program from Comcast so I could set it up. Wouldn't you just know it ... it's not yet compatible with Vista! There are probably other programs I could use, but I'm computer challenged and don't have the time nor the inclination to go looking. Perhaps once we get settled in, I'll have my resident computer guru (Gary) help me with that. :0) And don't you guys go snitching to Gary either!!
Did you guys know that MCI stands for Microwave Communications, Inc? (see -- I am learninig something!) And Sprint is/was related to the Southern Pacific Railway .. although there's some disagreement as to how the name was created.
I'm crunching on carrots and counting the minutes until it's time to leave. I have to get back to my room and start packing up. Make sure all the drawers are empty. Put all my dirty clothes in bags so I can wash them as soon as I get home (I'm flying to Portland the next day) I have too much to do to sit here doing nothing! :0 ) I'm getting sleepy too. Something to do with falling asleep at 12:30, after a 3 hour nap. :0 )
Yay! I'm free! Rusty comes in really early so he leaves early. I hung out for another half hour and then told Wade and Hal I'm leaving. What are they going to do, fire me? Neither of them could show me anything so I was just taking up space. They hardly lifted their eyes from their screens long enough to say goodbye. What a difference from the Austin group. There, everyone hugged me good-bye and said they hoped we'd meet up again ... these guys are typical guys. "Ok, see ya. Have a nice trip" and back to their computers. LOL
I am able to answer the burning question "are all Panda Express's created equal?" NO!!
I did a drive-through at Starbucks (still working on those gift cards) and a drive-through at Panda. The chow mein was okay but the sweet and sour pork, lousy. Tiny pieces of pork and they were dry and leathery. The orange chicken was hardly spicy at all. Ours is so much better.
In our team meeting this morning, Adrian clarified that when one is on call, one gets a 1/2 day off, but he prefers that we use it Tues-Thurs if possible. So much for building up a long weekend. BUT since I'll get 34 days next year with the new paid time off schedule, I'm sure I'll be able to work in several long weekends.
I have it on good authority that several of you are sharing these emails with others. Good! Now when I get back to work next week, no one should ask me how things went because they've already heard. Good job!
Well, boys and girls, I have a lot to do to get ready for my trip tomorrow so I'm going to sign off for now. You'll get the weekend free (I might jot a quick note after I get home on Saturday just so you know I made it without mishap) and probably not hear from me again until Monday. It's almost like listening to those old-time radio shows, isn't it? At least I'm not tied to the railroad track.
I think I'll try that movie again tonight. I can work through the first half of it and just listen since I saw that part already. *sigh* I have a tendency to tense up just before a trip, especially when I'm on a schedule .. so think good thoughts for me so I get a decent night's sleep! TTFN
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