SOS....Save Yourself

I've learned something very important this weekend. In this world where we can barely see a movie without killing someone, I still go and torture myself. Here are the reasons why I love to go to the movies, but everyone else ruins it for me:

~Teenagers acting a fool (i.e. dancing in the aisles)
~Two older people trying to explain the movie to one another in non-quiet voices
~Someone's cell phone going off
~Someone ANSWERING their cell phone and having a conversation
~A noisy eater
~Someone who clearly needs a chainsaw to open a bag of Twizzlers since they sound like they are having a wrestling match with it
~An hour of previews (last movie 15 minutes...come on!)

Reasons I love going to the movies:
~It never gets old the excitement of the lights going down....etc, etc
~It's really a treat-$9 ticket at 4 in the afternoon! I can get a combo meal for less than that.

HERE'S THE LESSON YOU WAITED FOR:
-Sit on the aisle. For the sole purpose of escaping should you be submitted to either Meryl Streep or Pierce Brosnan "attempting" to sing.

If you're an ABBA fan, I'm sorry, but the truth hurts. I LIKE musicals. I was in a musical once. I sang, I danced. There's much to be appreciated in a musical.

Save yourself. DO NOT under any circumstances see Mama Mia.

Enchanted was a better movie. Annie was a better movie. Sweeney Todd was a better movie.

You get it. Heed the words. Don't be fooled.

ACUPUNC-ME

So we had another great 4th of July weekend at the lake. It was a little stormy so we didn't get fireworks, but it was still relaxing. I would like to thank my friend Mark for successfully getting the "Banana Phone" song stuck in every one's head. He should really be punished for this. It is awful and wrong.



I also had my first acupuncture session today to try and cure my migraine headaches. It was very interesting. I discussed the color, texture and timeliness of my stool. I am not sure I've ever discussed that with anyone. I was diagnosed as having a "hot stomach". I wonder if that's anything like a "volcano stomach" or a "magma colon". What it means is that my stomach is all jacked up and we need to get the "chi" back to its happy place. So he put some needles in my feet and hands and turned up the pan flute music and I got to stare at the ceiling for twenty minutes. I will say that there were "sensations" going on. Some of my muscles started to spasm and twitch, but no, I did not wet the table. My stomach also started to gurgle and do weird things. Overall it was a pleasant visit and I will keep you updated on if its actually working.

Remember This?

Apparently Matt has no idea what this is. Are you kidding? I now know that his youth was filled only with Steve Erkel dolls and a million cabbage patch kids. How did this one get by? My sister and I used to FIGHT over this book. It seriously was the cooler than Day to Night Barbie back then. I can't even speak when people don't recognize this. And Matt is not the only one! I did a survey and just threw it out there and got some strange responses. You mean you haven't heard of the place that rains meatballs? You never wanted to sled down a mountain of mashed potatoes? Blasphemy. Pure and simple.

Oh yeah, they are making a movie out it and I am PUMPED. Apparently it is loosely based on the book and is going to come out next year with Andy Samberg and Anna Farris. I am not very impressed with the movie poster, but its a little early to judge. It says "The World is Going To Eat It"



I'll keep you posted. We'll see if they are able to create Chewandswallow the way I remember......

Work Woes

I had a very difficult and busy weekend. Friday was not a happy time for me at work. There are a couple of reasons, but here's what's up. For the last couple of months the "powers that be" have been trying to strong-arm me into a more sales driven position at work. I initially came to the company because of my graphic and organizational marketing skills. In my interview I agreed to attempt more sales if given the right tools to do so. The company is not really hard sales driven, so it was never a worry for me. But as my responsibilities grew in the office, they started to push me into all this sales junk. I very adamantly refused-not because I was trying to be difficult, but because I had done it before, it wasn't really my thing. Because of this blatant refusal on my part, I shot any chance for a director position and immediately started getting the cold shoulder. Well, not the cold shoulder, but rather the "silence." You know, act like you're not there, occasionally check on you, but never mention the tender subject or acknowledge the issues.



I erred on the side of patience and went along with everything. Me being an optimist I was thinking maybe they had simply listened and agreed. That was not the case. A couple of weeks ago came "changes" in our marketing dept. Now, I don't want to take ALL the credit for screwing things up, but I like to think it had something to do with it. Suddenly they had moved another person within the company and hired another person to basically do what I wouldn't. I was told I would be these three people's "support".

So we know what that means. Desk Rat.


Coincidentally, I had my yearly review Friday. Here are some things that were mentioned:
~Work on a more positive attitude
~Learn to control my emotions in the workplace

WHAT? A year and these people don't even have a clue about me. Of course I go absolute wacko on them (which they can't figure out why because I had a good review and got a raise). I was basically not reacting the review, but the outcome of my last month declaration of what I would and wouldn't do in the workplace.



So the owner drags me into the office because my manager just couldn't figure out how to deal with me crying and acting weird. He explains that of course since I didn't agree to do what they wanted, there would have to be changes. Blah blah. Something about me not meeting them halfway. Yeah, I definitely had to drink a cup of NyQuil to get myself to sleep I was so hyped up.

So here's the moral: While I wasn't expecting to get the shaft, I still believe I made the right choice. I've learned from various different jobs that I DO have a choice in where my career is going and that isn't a bad thing. If I am uncomfortable or out of my comfort zone, I probably shouldn't give my employer a false expectation of what I can do.

Word.

ps I will not quit this job-I worked too hard to get it.

In Case You're Wondering......

Pearl Jam still has it after all these years:) My sis and I went on Tuesday to VA Beach to see them. I had seen them a couple of times before, but she never had. It was a beautiful night and I was really impressed. Eddie Vedder sounds just like he always has. It was a good mix of songs and it actually made me want to go to another one of their shows!

Cake, Please!

So I've been meaning to post some of my cakes that I have been making. I started a few years ago and it's been a "learn as I go" type of thing. Most of the cakes are favors or requests from friends. I am still learning how to get the cake textures correct and I wish I had a bigger kitchen! It takes so much space and I feel like I need three kitchens for everything.

Anyway, here are the two most recent..

This was for our friends' rehearsal dinner. Groom is big Buffalo Bills/Sabres Hockey Fan







I will try and add some others soon!

Keeping it Clean

I never realized how much of a germ-a-phobe I would become later in life. Of course, with these bizarre West Nile/Bird Flu un-curable strains, I hardly feel bad.

I know I have mentioned this before in my many adventures to the gym. They shouldn't call it the "gym" they should call it "salmonella". Or "E Coli". Or whatever other crazy virus or bacteria you can get from touching things in the gym. Besides some of the absolutely intolerable people who decide its best to let their freak flag fly when they are exercising.

*SIDE NOTE: If I see one more person doing arm push ups on an elliptical, I might take my power smoothie and exercise my right to let people know what I think (no, I really don't
drink smoothies-I need to pay my mortgage, silly)

I always encounter the weirdest people at the gym. For instance, a guy next to me a couple of days ago thought it was appropriate to shoot a snot rocket into his hand while power running on the elliptical. Not only did I throw up in my mouth, but this would also be the guy doing the push ups. Double Negative for him.

So then I started to notice something at work. We have a huge office and there are a couple other tenants in the building, but our 40+ employees occupy most of it. Unfortunately we have a VERY small bathroom with only two stalls. I went to the bathroom about four or five times today (shut up) and EVERY time someone had peed on the seat. First of all, the only times I've peed on a seat is when I'm "hovering" because its a latrine or a gas station bathroom that no one has cleaned for 15 years. But this is our company bathroom that IS clean and we are all professional adults that I thought were able to successfully use the bathroom in a cleanly manner.

As a result I am now a toilet cover user. I never thought I'd be, and I'm sad to see it happen to such a young person, but you can never be too careful when there's stray urine.