Catching Up

While the week began with drama it is ending with a hush. The office is eerily quiet. People are here working, but with quiet concentration. They are all getting ready for a long weekend I am sure.
I had a good day... two interviews with broadcasting students followed by lunch with my pal the nonconformist (I am still tasting chicken shawerma btw). This afternoon I had a painless meeting about a web site we are about to start designing. It was a full day but not a particularly busy one. Jack ran an important errand so I didn't have to and I got to see him for a brief exchange of kisses. All in all, it was a good day.
Tonight I will endeavor to do some more cardio and contemplate my next step in dietary restrictions - getting rid of the tortillas (my last remaining bread product). As much as I love tortillas - I am going to try to rid my diet of them as well. Empty calories and yeast. My sister rid her diet of all yeast and lost a ton of weight (and got clear skin). Maybe it will work for me. Can't hurt to try. Just might be a bit difficult for a while. And my skin could use the assistance.

Boy Am I Pissed

So after weeks (months) of eating right and exercising three times a week (twice with a trainer for 60 minutes a pop)- I am still a fat chick. I just saw pictures of me taken this weekend. I look heftier than ever. Confirming the fact: I weighed myself, I was still a whopping weight. So I am pissed about that. I hate being a fatty. I especially hate it when I have been working my ass off and my ass remains.
Next, today a colleague of mine informs me that 3 different people have mentioned to her a rumor involving me. I allegedly posted an offensive picture (in Twitter and/or Facebook)in reference to another colleague. How do prove that you did not do something when you are accused by three different people?! What did I do to piss off these three people? No one can show the picture (since it does not exist) but they can certainly describe it. I am pissed!!!!!!!!!

Sigh... I have to confess...

I hate making mistakes. I really hate being wrong. And I really hate when my mistakes are caught by others. I know intellectually that I am far from perfect and that I am not fooling anyone. I simply get embarrassed easily. Part of it stems from insecurity - someone I like may think I am a total idiot. Oh the horror. Anyway, I am spending my time today (when I am not wrestling with Dreamweaver) scraping away evidence. I let slip a typo in a publication that I just had printed. Can't pay to have it reprinted. I am literally taking a pin and scraping away the ink so it looks like a printing error and not a typo. Yes, I get paid to do this. Ha!

Thinking Alike

I have a feeling that the nonconformist and I may be thinking along the same lines here. Perhaps this will become a joint effort. Sometime we have to corral other people to keep our own sanity, remain employed, or just for the betterment of the world. That said, some people are not necessarily as skilled as others in doing this. A certification program should be established. It should be incorporated into managerial and leadership training courses. An appropriate acronym may be developed at a later time.
Lesson 1 - Identifying one who needs to be corralled. (includes a prerequisite "do I need to be corralled?" section)
Lesson 2 - Appropriate responses and reactions (emphasis on diplomacy and diversion)
Lesson 3 - Enhanced Tactics (when "Look over there!" does not cut it)
Lesson 4 - Coalitions (building a group of corrallers)
Lesson 5 - Pick your battles (knowing when to let it go)

That is enough for now.... will work on the certification exam next I think.

Our Student Newspaper is Clueless

The nation is wracked with unemployment and financial losses. The university is about to hemorrhage - facing staggering cuts from the state. What stories make the cover of the newspaper? A frisbee game and a professor with 780 pocket protectors.Fucking clueless.

Why I Hate Tattletales or Facebook Etiquette

Twitter and Facebook are spaces for talking about life (so is this blog by the way) which often includes venting about aspects of your life including co-workers. I keep my FB private, check out my followers on Twitter, and don't use real names in this blog. If you are in my circle of friends and confidantes, it is because I welcomed you there.
Recently one of my co-workers - one who does indeed drive me crazy - was told that some unflattering things were on Facebook about her. Her feelings were hurt and no doubt it will impact their working relationship. Now if this person's profile was not set to private and s/he placed hurtful material out there for the world - well, that is just stupid. But, if they were talking to trusted individuals - then I call a party foul.
I am severely disappointed in the individual that would go out their way to point out hurtful information. It is just childish tattling and serves no substantive place. The correct thing to do would be to approach the individual who posted and request s/he be a bit more discreet. The object should be to spare hurt feelings not exacerbate them.
No, I do not work in a kindergarten - although sometimes it may appear that way. Grow up people, get a thicker skin - I know I am talked about in some unflattering ways (and I know who is doing it - not because of a tattle tale, but because I know people.)
BTW, in the light of full disclosure... it was suggested that I may have been the source of the hurtful statement. I did indeed say something the effect of surviving a meeting with a specific individual. This is something I do regularly. Every meeting is one survive. I may have felt especially wary of meeting with this individual as it is hard to keep her on track. This is merely my reality. If an individual is that sensitive - which I do not think she is - well, there is no hope. And for the record, it was actually a pleasant meeting.

Money is the root of it all

If I could afford therapy I would not need it. My anxiety stems from a fear of financial exigency. I have been especially stressed about money lately. I had to write a series of checks for the Gustav damage (the amount exceeding what State Farm has so far paid up plus our hurricane deductible)at the same time that my American Express card's limit was drastically cut. The AMEX was not simply where we spent money on fun stuff but was also my safety net. I had tens of thousands of dollars available in credit just in case. No longer. So now I have to really pay down the blasted card for emergency use within the lower cap. We are using our savings to survive the month and still be able to enjoy some semblance of a social life. It sucks. This is on top of my every present fear that layoffs are coming and I will be out on my ass. I hate feeling expendable and vulnerable. It makes me neurotic and difficult to live with. I need to win the lottery and become less insane. Now would be nice.

Ready for Spring

While few people can say they look forward to the sweltering humid heat of a swampland summer, I am tired of the cold. I am done wearing a coat and bundling up at night with the heater blowing my hard-earned money away. I want to stop having chapped skin from the cold and the heat. I want to wear open toed shoes! I want to feel the sun lightly beating down on me as I walk across campus. Let me be clear, I am not ready for summer. My diet and exercise regime has not progressed to the point where I want to wear a bathing suit and bask in the sun pool-side. I simply want a very long spring. And I want it now.