Photo Per Day #1: Stella! Hey, Stella!

After a fabulous Thanksgiving at Belhurst Castle with my family and amazing nephew who was in town from (no sleep till) Brooklyn, I spent the rest of the weekend -- until this very morning -- in bed with the flu. The Christmas tree is literally half decorated as the first wave hit me like a hurricane as I was attempting to affix the (not tacky at all, thanks for asking) black Labrador angel to the treetop. Blech.

I did have a momentary lapse in sanity when I thought that, perchance, I was okay, so I went to the pool on Monday a.m. and then to the 6:45 a.m. mass at St. Louis only to get the sweats and shakes and run like hell.

Today, I am back to my sunny office, feeling on top of my game (and who wouldn't after working 36 hours from M-W this week in bed!?) only to discover that, hey, I'M A WIENER (insert hotdog wingding here)! I won a Stella + Dot bracelet from local blogger Chic and Green.

Who's the coolest chick in town? I am! I am! Thanks to my new best friend, whom I've never met, Karley. #winning

And now for fun, I'm reprising last year's photo-a-day series (taken during the month of November) with my second annual photo-a-day series (a month later). My audience loved it. Critics adored it. I think I even had a comment or two. Fans galore!

So without further ado: my sunny office as taken from behind my desk. Exciting, right? It doesn't get much better than this. You can't see me in the mirror because, I'm skillfully hidden behind the white door panels (well, except the arm taking the picture). I'm amazing like Kreskin.

Happy December y'all.

All in a Day's Work

There's nothing I love more when trying to work than listening to the radio, the sound of hammering, and painters who are refurbishing my old space for the new tenants talking about how girls have gotten hotter since they graduated from high school (but they themselves haven’t changed much).

Landlord? Check please.

Alone Again (Naturally)

My Myers-Briggs Profile is ENTP. And the E, for extrovert, is a strong E. Ergo, I need people around for energy. Working alone in this office for the next eight months is going to be the death of me. Facebook is my proverbial water cooler. Now, thanks to the hubby, I have a virtual team of supporters to praise me all the livelong day. I only hope they add some of the golden nuggets suggested by my old HR department.

I'm becoming my very own version of Stuart Smalley. I'm good enough. I'm smart enough. And doggone it, people like me.

Make Believe You're In a Jungle Movie

Yesterday morning, thanks to a snafu on my boss' part and a lack of communication on my part, we had a room full of clients in Atlanta at 7:00 a.m. whereas my boss thought the meeting started an hour later (i.e., she wasn't there). I apologized profusely but my client was totally cool about it. Actually, I was so mortified that I must have apologized a hundred times.

Today, I received a box full of fresh, gourmet strawberries dipped and molded into various animal shapes, along with a note that said, "We've all had an off day, here's to today being better!"

I also liked the message on the packaging (which, of course, I botched with my unpacking and my mad photography skills).

What a really, really nice and thoughtful gesture, no?!

Crank v. Prank

Looking for a good, harmless practical joke? Put a million items for sale on Craigslist along with your neighbor's phone number.

You can thank me later. I'm too busy right now fielding phone calls about a Chevy Suburban.

Watching the Detectives

I arrived at work this morning to find my usually locked door slightly ajar. And by slightly ajar, I mean completely smashed off the door frame.

Pretty subtle, eh? The perp (I never get to use that term!) used our water bottle in the hallway as a battering ram. Clever, right?

Me, not being fully awake at 7:00 a.m., thought the following: Hmmm, why is our water bottle on the ground? Wow, did I leave the door unlocked last night? What is that mess on the floor?

I continued to walk into my office where I noticed my laptop unplugged and moved. Odd, right? Ohhhhhhhhhh, wait a minute . . .

None too quick.

Of course, I immediately called the police. The dispatcher asked if anyone else was there. "Nope, the entire parking lot and garage are empty." Just then I heard footsteps. "Oh, I take that back, I hear someone upstairs."

Her response, "Get outside and away from the building right now." (The killer is in the house!)

So the cops came, looked around, took fingerprints and heaps of photos, asked oodles of questions about ex-coworkers/marital status/disputes and left. Now I'm sitting here alone waiting for someone from the building management to fix my door; otherwise, I cannot leave to go anywhere. No clients today anyway but now no errands. No library research. No nothing.

Super sleuth that I am, I did mention to the officers how the alarm did, in fact, say "burglary in progress" when I turned it off this morning. However, it says that almost every day. So often that they disconnected the alarm from the 911 system. I also mentioned how the door to the front lawn was wide open. Also a daily event. What none of us noticed was the hallway window open or the footprints in the side yard leading to my window. Scary . . .

When we packed up the office and moved everything to Denver last week, I didn't think there would be so many fun and fabulous events in store for me. Sure, my friend Charlie -- who is suddenly alone in an office in Baltimore -- and I joked about naked Skype-ing (time to go on the diet!) but never did I imagine I could be all alone with danger. Danger! Lucky me.

What's freaky is that nothing was taken. Aborted attempt? Someone messing with me? 

I guess this means I should leave before it gets dark every night. Always an upside!

Foxy!

Yesterday, I went to a new client site. One guy's office that I entered was filled to the brim. Boxes on the floor with parts, cords, papers. Racks and racks of WIP that were rolled in from the production floor. It was difficult to make a path through the wreckage just to sit at his desk.

Me: Wow, I really like what you've done with this place.

Him: Well, if I knew what a fox you were, I would have picked up a bit.

Two thoughts: 1) I love you. Really. What a nice compliment from a total stranger (albeit strangely unprofessional). It really pays to have clients out in the boondocks where I still pass as foxy. 2) A fox? Who the heck says that?! OMG. I just met with Garth!

Let Me Off!

Taking her cues from our client, my boss wrote the following in a presentation for today, "Breaks will be provided throughout the meeting. Healthy minds and bodies produce better thinking!"

Later, there is a section about living a healthy lifestyle that poses the question, "What one thing should you change about your lifestyle to be healthier?"

Around 9:30 p.m. last night, after her flight home was delayed, cancelled, re-booked, etc. she called me, at work, from LaGuardia. I just had to bust her chops re: this new found, softer side.

"Oh, did you like that?" she asked while chuckling.

"Yeah, and I have an answer to the 'one thing I should change' question, too! I think my boss needs to move to Colorado and I should get a new job!"

I'm not sure if it was the later hour, the much-needed stress relief or just the sheer hilarity of visualizing her presenting these work/life balance tidbits, but we were laughing so hard, I had tears rolling down my cheeks.

Sure, our balance is not optimal, but it helps to have some fun in the midst.

Bad Idea

Me: We should really update our website to look more current, better reflect our brand and bump us higher in the search engine rankings.

My boss: Why? Do you think we need more work?

Good point.

Jiggity Jig

Home again. Home again. I may be at work but my brain is still on vacation . . .

On a semi-related note: why does the Houston Aquarium have a white tiger? Was it unhappy in the zoo?

That Was Easy

My obsession with living ones corporate brand continues. Today: An unplanned visit to Staples to buy invitations for an upcoming client-related seminar.

After searching the envelope/office supplies section, I asked Customer Service for help. A guy stocking shelves, overhearing my request, came running up. "Are you the lady who called? I can help." He then led me to the right section, helped me pick the appropriate products, carried my boxes to checkout and thanked me for my business. I said, "No, thank YOU. You made it so easy."

No joke. He pointed to the sign on the wall and asked me, "What does that say?"

Staples. That was easy.

I'll be darned. It was. And I'm glad he pointed it out! A+

Editorial Review

Years ago my old boss, Frank Smith, and I were in Penn Station on the way to a client visit in Philadelphia. He glanced at the newsstand and did a double take at Ms. magazine. A typo on the cover?! We both bought copies. He said, "Well, someone just lost a job." My heart sank for that person. By the time we arrived at the 30th Street Station in Philly, all of the issues had already been pulled from the shelves.

On the news later that week, the editor of Ms. magazine went on record to share that no one lost a job. In fact, a gazillion people within the magazine had seen/reviewed that cover and all of them, collectively, were culpable. Checks and balances. Mutual accountability.

Love that.

Image grabbed from here.

Vacation Day!

Guess where I am? *&^%$#@#$%$^%&&^%$##(*%$#@^^

It's the most wonderful time of the year
There'll be much mistletoe-ing
And CPUs will be glowing
When coworkers are near
It's the most wonderful time of the year

There'll be meetings for hosting
Strategies for toasting
And driving out in the snow
There'll be scary client stories
And tales of the glories of
vacations long, long ago

It's the most wonderful time of the year

Photo Per Day #24: Got the Time Tick Tick Ticking

Sooooo excited for Thanksgiving, a four-day weekend, the kickoff of the Christmas season, dinner at my sister's house, food, family fun, etc. Alone at work, I can't stop looking at the clock on the wall outside my office door. Got another day to get through . . . No such thing as tomorrow, only 1-2-3-go.

Photo Per Day #19: Roadrunner Roadrunner

My brother is in Paris on business. His daughter is visiting him for the weekend from university in Seville.

In a similar vein, I spend my life on the road hitting all sorts of exotic locales. With the radio on.

Photo Per Day #15: Morning Sky

There's a church on the way to my sister's house that posts pithy, thought provoking maxims on their lawn sign. I always slow down to read them. Yesterday's read, "Joy is not the absence of problems but the presence of God." Love that.

Back to work. 

 

Photo Per Day #12: TGIF

Yea! It's almost the weekend! A few more hours of this view (below), an afternoon at a client site, and then the fun begins with a visit from my girlfriend Yammikins.

And if my bro is reading this, please note your name, actually your entire family's signatures, remain on the bottom of the white board in my office. We're just conducting business around the more important stuff in life.

Photo Per Day #9: Work

Eight, eight, I forget what eight is for. Yes, this is the second time I've quoted the Violent Femmes in as many months. And yes, I missed a day already.

I blame this place. With that bleak sky, it looks almost institutional.

 

Dirty (Construction) Boots

I just downloaded a report from the World Economic Forum on Engineering and Construction: Scenarios to 2020 and subsequently clicked on the accompanying video. I was totally impressed with their choice of background music until I realized I still had my Pandora streaming.

In related news, if I ever highlight "My Girlfriends" on this blog, Kim Gordon will be front and center alongside Chrissie Hynde, Zooey Deschanel, Diane Lane and Natalie Portman.

FML

I've been having a run of bad luck lately. Not major life events -- the hubby is dealing with that stuff. I mean little things gone awry. Forgetting to do things. Driving to the gym to find the pool closed. Almost running out of gas on the Thruway but not stopping, heart racing, because I'm cutting the timing to my meeting so friggin' close. Attempting to facilitate (ugh) a meeting that was god awful and absolutely out of control. (Nice work, huh.) Losing my glasses. Losing my sunglasses. Getting lost in downtown Syracuse without my GPS. Heading to a Red Wings game after an 80 degree, sunny day just in time for the downpour. Dumping a cup of cinnamon all over my oatmeal because I had the non-shaker side of the top open. Dealing with chronic, and amplifying, shoulder and neck pain that has spread from the right shoulder across my entire upper back over the past three weeks. And so on.

Then I heard about my coworker's best friend whose step father died over the weekend literally while on the Peace Bridge. (Thankfully his wife was driving.) He's a truck driver and wanted his ashes sprinkled over the Thruway. So they did just that: opened up the sunroof on Sunday and let him fly. And then, out of nowhere, came a huge gust of wind (a "tornado" in their words) which swooped him directly up and dropped him back into the car -- all over everyone. In their eyes, hair, clothes. This woman spent the rest of the weekend vacuuming up her step dad while grieving.

I guess my life isn't all that bad. I'm feeling thankful for the small things today.