When rumors become reality. And a blurb about house guests.

Rumors have a way of evolving when it's passed from one ear to the next. It's like the game "telephone." The lead person whispers in the ear of the person next to her then that person whispers what's told to the next and so on. At some point the information gets mixed up or retold backwards or completely incorrect. The last person that hears the whisper typically gets a fraction of the original whisper. It's actually a fun game...an ice breaker. Not the case when rumors start at work that involve layoffs or some kind of reorganization. The truth gets muddled and becomes gnarly this three headed beast. For the past several months rumors at work have been circulating about layoffs. Everyone speculated about who and what departments and when the ax will drop. Well it dropped today. We had a layoff of 200 people. It was mixed between two departments and management was included in this round. Of the three or four minimizing stints in the past year I felt this one most. 


Why? Petal is gone. These dbags took my Petal! Now, we've always talked about contingency plans and how it would go down. I never thought it would happen this soon. Petal is taking off for home by months end. I totally understand why. There really isn't a tie to this area of the continent and home has been calling to her for some time. We will gorge ourselves on brunch buffet one last time before you hit the road, my friend. Eggs Benedict will have no shelter that day. 


OMG! You're leaving in just two weeks!!! I do not want to say, "Fare-thee-well!" It will be more like, "Until we meet again." Either way, this sucks balls. Yes. Balls.


What is it one of our presidents once said about house guests? Guests, like fish, begin to smell after three days. Thank goodness they are only here one night! I'll have to say this new guest is great at sparing and he really brings something to the conversation. I am just happy this time I was not presented with yard sale items for trade of my garden or house hold knick knacks. It's like he's at a swap meet at my house...where he seriously feels it's ok to swap his stuff for my stuff. The giving of the shoes belonging to our dearly departed LJ were the icing on the cake last visit. But Petal? She can come down and visit any time for as long as she wants. I know the water and the Q will call you back for a spell soon enough.


I'm sad to lose Petal but am happy she is finally free to take a new path. 

Just some nattering about nothing...

It was a relatively busy day at work today but this time of year is slow and I must remember to pace myself. If I don't pace myself the Monday hustle turns into the most excruciating boredom by Thursday. I try to hold back every week but Friday becomes a wasted day of me trying to keep myself under the radar. I am never successful. My back is to the aisle and I have no peripheral so my boss man is able to sneak up on me while I am reading a fashion article on Yahoo or just simply spacing out looking through the big plate glass window. Today I was using company resources (our internal communicator/Instant Messenger powered by AIM) to chatter with a work-mate about the movie Prometheus. I had a question about something that required a detailed explanation. Told him we could take a break and a second or two later I felt a presence behind me. I turned around giggling because I thought Haley decided to come over right then to tell me what I wanted to know...nope. As I was turning around giggling I said, "Well Haley, you didn't have to come right over." And boss man says, "Uh, yes I did. And Haley is much taller and better looking than me." OOPS! Busted again.


Making some Goulash for dinner. I have sampled some to test the flavors and I must say it is pretty darn yummy. Pat myself on the back for a job well done. It's one of the ultimate comfort foods. Not that I need comfort for anything right now. I was in the mood to cook and I wanted to make something that would last a couple days. I don't know what it is but every time I make Goulash it not only tastes different but it grows in quantity. Tonight I made enough for two army's. Bruce will get some for lunch tomorrow. He fed me some broccoli salad today. It had red onions and raisins in some white wine slaw sauce. It was very good...and about an hour later I was building up some gassy fumes. Yes, Mr. Padron. Girls fart too. I could hardly wait to get to my car after work to release the beast from my buttocks.


I bought these 24oz Tervis Tumblers yesterday. One is a pink and brown cheetah print and the other is of sweet pink butterflies. They come with a coordinating topper to keep the fluids from spilling. The boy got a Miami Dolphins one. The great thing about these tumblers is they have a lifetime warranty against leaking. I've owned these types of tumblers before and slowly lost them moving from one place to another.  Oh well. The tumbler keeps my drink ice cold for a long while so I will hold on to these for a spell.


So our short trip to Key West is set for next month. Booked a suite at La Concha. Never stayed there before and figured this time of year is the cheapest to go so what the hell. It's only money and we can't take it with us. I've always wanted to stay right on Duval in the heart of the action. I don't intend to puss out of the crawl this year but now at least I know if I do I don't have far to walk to a bed. Petal and her BFF are going to be in Key West the same weekend. This is going to be a fun weekend! Can't hardly wait to shop and eat and drink and walk and sweat and...eww sweat. Dang it's going to be scorching hot down there. Well, thankfully there will be a poolside bar. 


I'm off to get a second helping of Goulash. This shit is good.

Dreams, shopping, and dining out...

For me, dreams are our minds way of processing data that we have gained during the day. It is my minds way of interpreting things that I didn't pick up in a wakeful state or things that bother me and I don't know how to deal. The past few nights I have been dreaming about dogs. Dogs in dreams symbolize intuition, loyalty, happiness, protection, and fidelity. One interpreter on the net says to use the words associated with the dog to help you understand what your dream is trying to tell you. Part of last nights dream featured one of my own dogs. Sunshine turned up next to me for a dose of affection but the fur on her back was sparse and the skin looked a little flaky and red. A typical presentation of allergic dermatitis. In my dream, the thing that struck me as odd was that it was Sunshine suffering this affliction and not Annie. Annie is allergic to everything and has had patches on her before that have looked like this patch on Sunshine. So what might my intuition be trying to tell me I wonder? One conversation during the day that may be related had to deal with diet and my eating habits. I lost a great deal of weight last year and have slowly put about 20 pounds back on. I have reverted to old eating habits and want to embrace the newly learned eating habits again but am too lazy. Eating right and making better choices is a lot of work. I am going to take it as my subconsciousness screaming at me to stop eating the bad stuff because it is making me look horrible like that ugly patch on Sunshine's back. I do not want to look like a yucky patch of skin.

 

  

I love shopping. I invent, in my mind, all kinds of things that I must have. Shopping has become a sport and I latch on to the thrill of going form store to store trying to find the item I have decided I cannot live with out. Be it a pair of shoes or handbag, I hunt and hunt until I find my prize. 

Things that I actually need I put on the long list. Right now I need a new toaster oven. Toaster ovens are not fun and I cannot wear it to work or out to dinner. That is why it ends up on the long list. Our fancy TV remote has been busted for about six months. Well, the remote itself works but the touch screen doesn't making it very hard for anyone but one of us to use. Forget trying to explain the where the sweet spot on the screen of the remote is to turn on the TV. I fixed this by adding a cable box to the guest room. Unfortunately my father-in-law manages to screw that one up too. LOL! I guess I better add this remote to the short list since he is coming in Wednesday, huh?

Dining out, to me, is a convenience. I get to eat great food that someone else has prepared and I don't have to clean up after. I had lunch with Lulu before our adventure at the theater. We went to see a matinee of La Cage aux Folles at the Broward Center starring George Hamilton. The show was great and the show girls made you want to get up and dance.

After some shopping at the Galleria we parted ways and I went home to the boys. It had been some time since I ate so I was hungry. I was denied my chicken wings on Friday night in for hot Italian subs at Pasquale's so I insisted we get my chicken wings last night. And we did. Service was average and the food was great! I got my chicken wings and didn't have to clean up. Bonus!

Today we are off to the mall, the movies, and Bed Bath and Beyond. I need to get a dang toaster oven. Maybe pick up a remote while we are out. Nah. I would rather buy shoes.

 

 

The ladies room, bathroom habits, annoying voices, and whatever else comes to mind tonight...

I walked into the ladies room at work today to be greeted by the smell of poop. There was obviously a lady in the restroom that has never heard the phrase, "courtesy flush." You know it is the right thing to do when using a public toilet. Right? It's mortifying enough to have to make #2 while you are at work. But isn't it more mortifying to make others aware you have to make #2 at work because you don't have the courtesy to flush away that stench? I would rather others know I am dropping a load, because I keep flushing and sparing them the opportunity to catch a whiff of last nights meal on exit, than let them take the smell on. Oh, and if you hover to pee...clean it from the seat. Otherwise this forces us to abandon the one stall rule because we don't want to wipe up someone else's piss. And if you are pooping and not a courtesy flusher that means we have to take your stench full force...or run for the hills! It is very unlikely you will catch anything form the seat of a public toilet. And if it's your own pee, why aren't you cleaning it up? Why leave it for the next lady to find?


My darling husband questions the courtesy flush and it's validity. I don't doubt it's usefulness one bit.


Here's an article about toilet seat cooties: http://www.webmd.com/balance/features/what-can-you-catch-in-restrooms?pagenumber=2


You know you are comfortable with your friends when you can talk about your bathroom habits. Petal and I end up, rather frequently, sharing stories about bathroom horrors and instances of desperation. Remember to double bag first! She claims Freud would say we were stuck in the anal phase. I think my issue began at the age of one when my mother prematurely potty trained me. Seriously. My young experience boils down to the fact if I don't have a clean working toilet behind a locked door it's not happening. No camping in the great wilderness, no deep sea fishing unless there is a working head....I probably just gave you all way too much information haven't I?


So we have all heard voices that make us cringe. There is one lady with a voice that could find you in your grave. It is nasally, whiny, and got louder when there were extraneous noises in the vicinity. The environment I work in makes it hard to avoid. I thought for a very long time that it was the worst voice ever. Though I haven't heard it in some time I think she's met her match. This other lady's voice is horrible in another way. She is fake, condescending, and just not friendly. She has an obvious Latin accent but when she turns on the "charm" it sounds more like Asian. Not sure why that is but I can't help hearing everything she says...the proximity makes it easy. 


So I am on the SLOOH Space Camera website trying to figure out where the live feed is for this humongous asteroid. The LZ1 is about 1600 feet across and the still photos make it look like a white dot with bright lines around it. Not even sure if it's the asteroid. Probably a planet. Well that was anti-climatic. 

Work rant, fourth grader palate's, Publix while hungry, and Pillsbury...

Work is work. I work to live not live to work. Most days don't normally get to me. I go in, do my job, then go home. At the end of the day we were given yet another report to manage tracking our progress with the students we make contact with. Business is slow this time of year but not typical of our department. I was brought in with 10 other newbies and we are all feeling a bit deflated. We were expecting to be so busy that our performance would be stellar to say the least. Not the case. The rant is just that I am already working in two reports to get my job done...now we have to do one more? What busy work will they invent next? A side note...a cell mate made known to my direct supervisor that she witnesses I bust my butt all day. That was nice of her but I think he already knows this. Why? I go in, do my job, go home.

My dear friend, Petal has a fourth graders palate. She loves beef-a-roni, mac n' cheese, and any other kind of fourth grader comfort food. Oh she's adventurous also but when the going gets tough she reverts. It was a long day for her today too. So she randomly announces that she is making biscuits and bacon for sammy's and will pour honey or slather strawberry jam on the rest. This is her supper tonight. I immediately began dreaming about sausage gravy and buttermilk biscuits. Guess where I stopped on the way home?

The Publix most convenient to me on the way home is the "old people" one. I have a 4 Publix within one mile of my home. We affectionately refer to them by demographic. We have "old people" Publix, "spanish land" Publix, "caribbean" Publix, and the "new one you can never find your way out of" Publix. Ok, so "old people" Publix is named as such because it neighbors the Wynmoore community of residents that are at least an average of 75 years old. I try in vain each time to get through the store with out falling victim to nattering of some sort but not typical. Anywho, as I went in search for the items I needed to make sausage gravy and biscuits I stopped in the bakery. A cake and apple cheese danish went into the cart. So this prompted the need for ice cream. Add the hot fudge. Hmmm...Frank said he wanted some frozen pizza so I ended up with about half a dozen varieties. Geez! Never shop hungry!

Pillsbury biscuits in the can are convenient and tasty. I read the directions and peel the paper off. Very, very, very gingerly. I absolutely hate the can popping in my hand. I don't know why but this absolutely wigs me out. Totally. So as soon as I finished ripping the paper off as slowly and gently as I can...POP! Dangit.

Dinner is done and I am famished!

Tanzania, back pain, a key, and GNC

My friend CM is on a humanitarian mission to help women diagnosed with AIDS in Africa to write their last will and testament. He's a first year law student and I am living vicariously through his blogs. He has posted some photos and has spent some time describing his experiences. I am looking for the blog about him finally eating mystery meat on a stick in some back alley restaurant. Soon, CM, soon. Tuk tuk!

I went to bed with a stiff lower back. This is a common occurrence and not something that typically slows me down too much. I stretched as usual but today it wasn't going to loosen up no matter what I tried. I was sitting at my desk shifting in my seat trying to find a comfy position and leaned forward too fast. OUCH! Yup, blew my back out for real. Thanks, Bruce for making me walk out some of the tension. It helped some but I still hurt like hell. The highlight was getting to ride in Bruce's new car today. Cadillac STS in a gorgeous metallic red with black leather interior. Driving it to Miami Subs in Ft. Lauderdale for lunch was the first time he ever drove the car! He purchased the car through a broker and all he had to do was pick the car...the broker did everything else including delivering it to work this morning all buffed and shiny.

My birthday passed a week ago. I spent the evening out with my girlfriend's at the casino. We had a good time having drinks and bar hopping. I met the "most interesting man in the world" and even got my picture made with him. I don't think he was expecting me, all large and in charge, to stroll up and introduce myself then ask to have my picture taken with him. He was on a date so it she probably had fun with the situation afterward. So, a couple of my girls got me an Amazon gift card. I was so excited and thought, "Oh the books I can by for my Kindle on iPad!" Then it hit me...I have been shopping for one of those key charms and seriously contemplated a $300 Tiffany. Psssh. I found one much prettier on Amazon. And even got a chain to go with it for the amount of the gift card. It arrived today. Thank you Petal and Lulu!!! It's absolutely me!

I ran out of my protein shake mix this morning so I went to GNC after work to pick some up. Just as I pulled up the boy running the store left and locked up to go get some dinner I guess. He opted for Panera Bread when there was some bangin' shawarma next door at the Falafel Gourmet. Poor choice buddy. I had a few things I needed to get at Target (the best store ever) so opted to go there while I waited for poor food choice boy to come back to his store. I bought a toothbrush, toothpaste, root lifter-buy one get free, a scarf belt, peanut butter, and protein powder. Bruce drinks EAS brand, the one in the purple jug. It was half the price of the stuff I buy at GNC so thought what the hec. Doesn't hurt to try and I hope GNC boy enjoyed his lame meal from Panera. Don't you know shawarma is Avenger approved?

Random things on my mind...

World of Beer at the Coconut Creek Promenade is, by far, one of the coolest places for new age yuppies of the beer drinking kind. I am typically considered a wino but once in a while I do enjoy a cold one. The WoB has a long list of what's on tap (and a book of what's bottled) providing a description with alcohol content to aid with decision making. In the beginning I went for the higher alcohol content beers from Belgium only to realize it was no longer my goal to get drunk as fast as I can. They are usually on the hoppy side to which I realize I don't like. The beers that appeal to me are on two different planes (very light or very dark) and depends on my mood at the time of consumption. I spent Saturday afternoon with my husband drinking at WoB. He went with his hoppy bitters while I opted for the lighter, highly carbonated, fruity beers. Beer burps were plenty. Next time I will have to take the time to remember the names of each brew I drink. 


The WoB doesn't serve food but they do have relationships with surrounding restaurants that will deliver right to you at the bar. I called to order grilled chicken nachos and flautas from Lime and the young lady asked me to look at the map to tell her where in the bar we sat.  Ok...I am a total retard when it comes to reading a map or schematic but she was able to find us in 40 minutes after a promised 15 minute delivery. Seriously, she only had to walk 100 feet! The flautas were yummy but the nachos sucked. Sucked so bad we stopped at the grocery to buy the ingredients to make one at home. Now those nachos were TASTY!


So after our drinking excursion and before our trip to the grocer we did manage to walk around the promenade for a while. Hubby bought me some totally gaudy costume rings and a straw handbag that may only be used twice this summer. We stumbled on a guitar center and passed a wine bar. Hmmm...wine....


Here's to ya, and from ya, and to ya again...