Ah, April

My lawn was getting absolutely out of control! As soon as April hit, the grass knew and shot up. I actually came home from work and saw my neighbor's lawn mower and got motivated. I grabbed mine.



I actually had to go over it twice, it was so long. Here's some cut and some uncut lawn:



And the aftermath!



I actually enjoy mowing the lawn. I need to do it again already because that was a few days ago and there has been some rebellion. I think another go would make it perfect. And this is my weapon of choice:



I'm thinking about naming it... Any ideas?

Just Another Day

Thursday. I'm having problems uploading pictures for some reason.

Aside from that, I've been watching a bit of Starsky and Hutch as I mentioned earlier, and I think I love Hutch, AKA David Soul. Well, the younger version of him. Okay, maybe love is a strong word for it, but where are all the guys like Hutch?!? Strong, semi-quiet, witty, cute, masculine... Seriously, where ARE these guys?!? *sigh* I think I might be addicted.

Do you have a TV star that you think is "the bee's knees"? Am I so pathetic? Why won't my hair grow faster? Do I need more vitamins?

It's Wednesday

Okay, I know you're all sick of hearing me complain about work, so I tried to make a vow to myself not to post about it... But we all know that's just silly. So I've modified the vow. I can only post one sentence about work. And the rest has to be about other stuff. So here's today's work-post:

Today my boss made a client wait 40 minutes to see her, and a prospective clerk waited very close to an hour for his interview.

Okay, moving on.

Here is another glorious shot of Duke's place... it's one of my favorites.



On a totally different subject, Easter Sunday is coming up soon. I have a solo down at church and I'm really excited about it. First, most of you know that I love to sing. Quite honestly, it's all I've ever wanted to do since I was about 5 or 6 years old. Of course it's not exactly an easy business to get into and you can't just pick up a band wherever you want, so it's always been on the back burner. But I really love to sing... It's like breathing. I feel, I am, I love and I live when I sing. But whatever. You never really know how good you are until you "make it", because if people tell you that you sound great, they might just be nice or related to you. It's a strange thing.

Anyway, the reason why I'm excited is because not only is one of my best friends ever going to hear me sing for the first time, but so is my MOM!!! She's seen me sing on tape once, but that's it. So I get to sing at church at all three services and my mom gets to see me!

And this is Wednesday.

Me and Duke

While Jeff was on vacation I got to hang out with Duke! Duke is the coolest. I tried to get pictures of him bounding around (sometimes bouncing higher than I am tall, I think), but he was too quick and my camera too slow. But I might have a couple of Duke here and there.

There is a pond that Duke loves, and it has ducks, reeds and other pond-y stuff. Sometimes I could hear him, but not see him so much...



And suddenly, AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!.... oh, I mean, Good boy Duke! I knew it was you...



Here he's doing a great impression of a crocodile.



If he gets tired of swimming, or as a precursor to the swim, he also enjoys digging for moles and mice. Ahh, the life of Duke.



Here's to you, Duke!

Watching a little TV

I just got hooked up on that new Blockbuster deal where you can basically have unlimited movies for one set price... I am on the "three movies out at a time" deal which is perfect for me. I can watch one a night, send one out and have another coming on it's way. It's pretty sweet!

So I saw that I could get The Starsky & Hutch television show on DVD... How could I resist?!? When I saw the opening credits and whatnot, it seemed vaguely familiar. Like a distant scent from my childhood. And you know what? I like this show! I miss cops-n-robber type shows!

And some of the things that are on the show crack me up - not counting the clothing and accessories! For example, when they do a street scene and there are some stunts involved, it's amazing that there is NO TRAFFIC WHATSOEVER. Amazing. It's really great though, I'm getting a big kick out of it.

I do like the movie as well by the way. But ahhh, those 70's flicks and series!

What's... Up??

I saw this when I was out at lunch with my friend Joel... We thought it was great and decided it deserved a post.




I would like to see the the inside of that door. I wonder what it says. "Watch Your Step!" Or "Elevator Broken - Only Goes Down". It would be cool to have an office right there and have a fireman's pole on the outside. Friday's would be awesome! As soon as you finish your work, you could lock the door to your office, open the door to the pole and slide right down to your car! Of course, it might not be so fun when it's raining or really hot. You might have to wear gloves. But it would be soooooo worth it!

It's my SISTER'S BIRTHDAY!!!

IT'S RAYLEEN'S BIRTHDAY!!!
Here's your cake and present (I'm just so darn artistic.):



I love you sis, and I hope you're having a great birthday!!! God bless you this next year of your life!

I haven't posted for a while... Again

I've been having lapses in posting again. I will blame it on work. Which by the way, is okay. There have been some interesting moments. Well... I might as well be truthful:
After 4 and 1/2 days I got "The Talk". My boss had a legal pad full of "concerns". Here are some of her concerns...
1. I asked too many questions - some of the same questions repeated.
In my defense, that's how I learn. Repetition. Especially when it's totally foreign to me.
2. I stopped asking questions.
Uh, yeah. I could tell they were getting annoyed at the questions, so I tried to figure it out myself. My bad.
3. I said "awesome" on the phone.
Oops. I didn't realize that. She wants me to review the phone etiquette again.
4. On two of the days, I seemed to get stressed at the end of the day.
Yup. I was getting stressed. The boss and my trainer (her daughter) were leaving for vacation the week after I started, so I was trying to learn everything I could. She said I need to "maintain my energy level throughout the day".
5. I read the dictionary.
This was an interesting one. My trainer was on the computer doing something unrelated to me (on my second day), so I grabbed the dictionary and flipped through it. She made a comment like, "you like to read the dictionary?" I said something about loving words or whatever. Then I put it down. Later, she put a person on hold and asked me if "pro bono" meant free. I wasn't sure so I looked in the dictionary (novel idea) while she asked the other lawyer in the office. I said yes it does and tried to show her. She ignored me since she got her answer from the attorney, went to the phone and told the person there. And then told her mom that I read the dictionary for fun.

Those are just a few of her concerns. I didn't defend myself. I was too shocked to be getting the talk at such an early stage. And after only a week there, why should I be defending myself? I'm new and learning!!!

I can honestly say that I don't see myself working there for years and years. And even if I stay there for a year or two and decide to move on, that's a year or two that I could have put into a 401K or whatever at a job I enjoy. So I've decided to go ahead and keep my eyes open for another job. Now I'm trying to look for one that would just make me happy to go to work. That's a difficult job to find if I actually want to be able to support myself! So I'm not in a huge rush, but I'll try to be smarter about it.

This week the boss and daughter are on vacation (although she calls in), so it's less tense. Even though I know everything I say and do (and I really do mean everything) is being reported back to her. That's what they call communication. Everybody tattles on each other and then the boss talks to you. Why do jobs and careers have to be so difficult?!?

What would you have said or done? What would you do now?

New Post

Okay, I apologize insanely for my lack of posting. I was going to wait for pictures, but I'll just tell you about stuff and post pics later.

My new job has been going fantastic, more or less. I'm a little overwhelmed right now, just because my trainer (who is also the boss's daughter) is leaving next week. I'm not exactly sure if she's coming back, but the fact of the matter is that I'll be on my own. I prefer to work on my own, but there's so much to learn. I'm trying to become a sponge and soak it all in, but after a certain point in the day I somehow become a rock and most things just bounce right off.

I get to go to the post office and courthouse every morning and gather the mail. For some reason I like this. Don't ask me why. In six months I might hate it. But for now it just seems like a nice way to start the day.

They're actually looking for a new house to put the office in. I'm happy about that - not because I don't like the house we're in, but because moving to a new place means I can put things where they make sense to me and make the space my own. I've been trying to organize things a little right now, but it's difficult when you aren't sure where they go in the first place.

I think in a month or so, I'm going to be really comfortable and actually know what I'm doing. I can't wait.

Yesterday my boss slipped on the wood floor. She was wearing heels and they slipped. She was okay, but sat there for a few minutes. Later, she almost slipped again. I wouldn't have been wearing the heels anymore. And why do people sit there? To collect themselves? I'm one of the people who like to get up right away to show that I'm okay. I don't leap up by any means, but I try to get up soon. Unless I'm laughing. And then I have to "walk it off". If I'm in a lot of pain, I'll probably go somewhere else and check the damage and maybe cry if totally necessary... But it's usually not. Are you a sit-and-rest? Or a jump-up? Or a walk-it-off?

OOh, I gotta get ready for work! Here's to the last day with a trainer on my 5th day - Cheers!!!

The Last Day

I tried to post this after my last day at work while it was still fresh, but I think Blogger was down. So it might not be as fresh, but oh well.

My last day was hell. They wouldn't give me my paycheck until my shift was over, which was a good idea. I actually thought about walking out more than a few times that evening.

It was as if the pharmacist saved all of her angry pettiness for that day. She stomped around. She huffed and sighed. She threw little things on the counter. She slammed the pill bottles down. She mumbled things just low enough so I couldn't hear her.

I took down my certificate. I took my license out of the frame. I collected my folder. And counted down the hours... And the minutes.

When I left I said, "Have a good night." She said, "Oh. You too." I didn't respond, but walked out with my till and didn't shut the door behind me (which normally drives me crazy when somebody doesn't shut the door). I hope to never see her again. The supervisor that night had to walk me to the door because it was late and the doors were locked, and she said that she was happy I'm going to be working for somebody who would be nice. Everybody there knows about this pharmacist, but can't seem to do anything about it.

But I am officially free! I was giddy when I left, talking to Roger and speeding home, just trying to get far away quickly. Now when I drive by the store I giggle and know that I don't have to go back. Ahhhh. It's good. It's very good.

Tomorrow I start my new job, full of naivete and not sure of what to expect. I have high hopes though. And like my sister Rayleen says, I can wear cute but uncomfortable shoes now because I'm not standing up for 9 hours straight! Yay!!!

I Quit!

Okay, so today was my last day at work. They held my paycheck until I was done with my shift to make sure I wouldn't walk out... Which is smart because I was tempted more than once. The pharmacist was in rare form tonight... Well, maybe not so rare. It's like she saved all of her angry pettiness for today. She stomped around and threw little things on the counter. She slammed the pill bottles down. She huffed and puffed to show me how angry she was. She mumbled things under her breath so I couldn't really hear.

And I counted down the hours. I took down my license. I took my book with my technician stuff in it. I tried to erase my existance in that building. I wanted it to be as if I were never there.

I didn't get "short-timers" too bad - I did my job as well as any other day. I treated the customers great and tried to make her job easier. But there was absolutely no pleasing her. So after my agonizing 10 hour shift, I did the happy jig, took my paycheck and went home! I'm actually considering cutting up my pharmacy smock as therapy. I have three of them, so I can use two for when I give Roger an oil change or something.

I'm just so happy! I'm ready for my three day weekend! And then I'll start my new job, full of hope and naivete. Ain't life grand?

I GOT A NEW JOB!!!

Yesterday (Friday) I took a long lunch and went on an interview. The interview was with two lawyers at their firm. It's a nice Victorian style house, but pretty modern on the inside. It's downtown, but not in the thick of it. The interview ran a lot longer than expected and I was tested on my typing skills and they had me transcript a pleading, something I have never done. I thought I really messed the pleading up, but it turns out I did fine. And my typing test came out at 48 WPM with no mistakes - that irked me because I know I can do better, but they were pleased.
I liked the interview and the two lawyers. They are both female and very nice. My boss is a direct person, but she seems to be very sensitive to other people and she's not cold. I'm only making 50 cents more than I am currently, but after six months I'll most likely get a raise, and possibly every six months if I understood correctly. I have government holidays off (paid), a week vacation a year to start (and that increases too), and my birthday off. She also likes to comp. people, so I might just get a day off here and there.
So I'm giving one week notice at my current job and after this week, I'll be a Legal Secretary!!!! YAY!!! I'm leaving this hellish place!!!! No more retail customer service!!! No more ringing people up! No more flatulent or insanely rude pharmacists!
I get my own desk and it's huge! When I start, I'll take pictures... well, maybe after a week or so when I'm done with most of the training. :)

Duke

I just want to introduce everybody to Duke.


Duke is Jeff's dog and he's my favorite dog. He's a big lug of a thing, and he's sooo sweet! Oh, uh, I'm sure he's furocious too. On this day however, he was enjoying being out at the hangar with me and Jeff in the sunshine.


He lets me know that he appreciates me telling him that he's a good dog.


Good dog, Duke!

New Pen

I understand how completely geeky this post will portray me to be. I will post it anyway!!!
I got a new pen. It's the neatest little gadget ever! I write and type a lot at work, and when I take moment to get my pen out of my pocket and put it back in, I get a lot of ink everywhere (smock, hand, etc.). I also lose pens to other people.
NOT ANYMORE!
Allow me to introduce you to the Zip Pen.

(I apologize for the bad pictures... if I use my flash, all you see is a little black dot. Use the link for much better pictures.)
Co-workers laugh, customers look at it with intrest, and I'm as happy as... well, as happy as a person who won't lose their pen I guess.
As you can see, it just clips onto your middle finger...


... and yet it stays out of the way while you're typing. See how it's angled up, ever so slightly?


What's that?... You're typing and the phone rings... and you need to jot something down quickly? Just curl your fingers together because the pen is ready to write!


So there it is. My new pen. Scoff if you must, I like it! Oh, and it comes with a little clear cap that you can put on it... I use it for the pressure sensitive debit/credit thing at the register when the customer doesn't tap it when they're supposed to.

A Conversation At Work

Me: Boy, I could really go for some chorizo right now.

Co-worker: Chorizo?

Me: Yeah, I know it's really bad for you and everything, but once in a while I really get a craving for it.

Co-worker: Yeah...

Me: Hm. It's a good thing I've never been forced to cannabalize, because one day I would just say, "You know what really sounds good right now?..." (laughing)


Yeah, I laughed alone on that one. *sigh*

Quickie

I will post again later (with a picture!), but for now I'm just going to post a short one. Without going into too much detail (because we all know how wordy I can be and how much I love to tell stories), I've decided to give myself ONE MONTH to get a new job. Instead of complaining about it and being sad about my current position, I'm going to be as proactive as possible and get a NEW JOB. I can't take it anymore! I'm behind in Life!
I really hesitated blogging this because, what if I fail? But phooey. I'm blogging it and making it known. I'm getting a new stinking job and it's going to be better and pay better!
Oh, my deadline is 01 April... no joke. *sigh*

Sunriver

This weekend Jeff was a super rockstar and rented a house in Sunriver. The house was beautiful! I didn't get pictures of every room, but I got a couple. I should have taken more, but I wasn't really thinking about taking pictures. I was relaxing and enjoying the time and company!
Here's a picture of the room I stayed in.


This was a really pretty bench that was in my room... I just liked it a lot. :)


A shot of the main living room, although I didn't get a picture of the smaller one that I loved. But this is where we spent a lot of time talking and laughing. The television in this room was on very little, and when it was, the volume was usually muted. We need to keep up on the Olympics though!


And the kitchen and dining area. Lots of activity here too. Jeff brought a turkey and fixin's. We had so much to eat it was incredible... Mashed potatoes, corn, olives, bread and of course lots of butter. I like butter.


I don't think this picture came out very well, but I think you can get the gist of how much snow there was. It didn't snow while we were there (we had beautiful weather), so it was pretty packed and thick ice underneath.


I had a lot of fun. Some people went snowmobiling, some knitted, we all played a game together, we watched movies, soaked in the hottub, cooked, ate, laughed and never quite got enough sleep. It was awesome. So a big thanks to Michelle, Jimmy, Travis, Troy, Stacy, and Rick. You guys rock! (But I'm starting to forget if "ironicy" and "ironicism" are real words or not...)
And a mongo-huge thanks to Jeff for hooking us up!
I now sit here typing in my pajamas, sipping hot cocoa and fighting the intense urge to go straight to bed. It's only a quarter after 8pm, but I'm pretty tired. (Actually, I've been fighting it since about 7pm... just a little longer...) I hope everybody had a good weekend and will sleep well tonight!
*yaaaawwwnn* G'nite!

*WARNING* PMS POST!!!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*gasp*

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
AAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa............

(why, why, why?!?!?!?!?)

Okay, I admit at the beginning of the day I was a little irrational. Especially when I went to buy some "not-so-angry tablets" (like Pamprin), and they didn't have the brand I wanted. They always have before. But not today. When I need it. THIS brand doesn't say anything about irritablility! I need something for that!! But it helped anyway. Now I'm just sleepy. I think I'll go take a nap....

Random Blah Blah

So the last post was so awesome because I got to fly with Jeff, I haven't posted since. What can compare?!?

But it's been a while so as I snack on some roasted wasabi peas, I've decided to post some random stuff. Well, pictures.

Here's a nice field I drive by sometimes.



And for some reason, I love this house. Every time I pass it, I stare. I just think it's nice. I want to live in it. Oh, and if you notice in the upper right hand corner, there's a pirate antenna topper that my sister gave me from Disneyland.


This is what Buddy looks like when he's getting some love... He's so happy!


I'm not sure if you can tell, but this is Grace sitting on my lap. She's getting ready for some "belly loves". She loves it when I scratch her stomach.


And finally, here is some recent frost from this morning. It's been pretty cold lately. I think it should snow just to make it worth it.

You'll Never Guess What I Did Today

Today my friend Jeff flew down from Salem to here with his friend "Gyro" Jeff. We met at a Chinese restaurant and had TONS of food - way too much to eat. Now Jeff had mentioned something about taking me up in his little plane (an Avid Plus) so I brought my camera. He took one look at the big camera bag and said, "What's that?" He then brought out a little digital camera and said, "See the difference?"... I said, "What do you mean?" and then took my camera to Roger.

I rarely lock Roger, so it was weird. But I trusted he would be okay.

Honestly, I was a little nervous. I haven't been up in the air in quite a while. But I know Jeff and have the utmost trust in him, so I rolled myself into the little cockpit and we taxied out.



Up, up and away! Oh, wait... isn't that Superman or something?... Whatever.



Gaining altitude...



If you can, click on that picture to get a closer look at the little sign in the lower right-hand corner. Interesting.
Here's a picture of Gyro-Jeff:



And a closer look - Isn't it amazing?



We ended up circling around Gyro at one point and I thought briefly about what the Chinese food would look like the second time around. We are getting ready to land in Salem. Jeff said, "Do you see the landing strip?" I nodded because I saw some asphalt... Hm....



Hey, where'd the asphalt go? And why do the letters on my door spell out "EXPERIMENTAL"???



AAAAAAAH!!!! There's no landing strip!!!! We're landing in the GRASSSSSSSS!!!!



It was actually one of the smoothest landings I've ever seen. On our way home, we took the long way. It was gorgeous. Jeff narrated the "motorcyclist's route" all the way home, which was awesome. On our way, we saw a couple of lambs - they were sooo cute!



And an awesome bridge...



Which segued into a lovely sunset.



What a great day! And now Ladies and Gentlemen, if I may introduce you to the most awesome pilot ever, and my favorite guy to hang out with... Jeff.



A big thanks to Jeff! You're not just a porkchop, you're a rockstar, Baby!!!

The Duck Walk

I walked to the store the other day because it was soooo sunny outside and I need the U.V. rays. My skin is transparent. On the way back I walked on the bike path, which turned out to be a really pretty walk. It took too long though, I'll have to take my bike next time... A novel idea really, a bike on a bike path.

Anyway, the bike path goes beside a little canal type of thing, and it led me to a cute little park. This was basically what I saw first... I like it.



Then I saw the ducks. Who doesn't like ducks?!? They saw me too, and started meandering toward me.



Then they saw the grocery bags I was carrying...



A couple came up to me... (Hey lady, what's in the bag?)



Hey, she's got pita bread in there!!!



Okay, I know I can walk faster than them, but if they take to the air I'm in BIG trouble!



Ahhh, the end is near... this little bridge led me out of the park and away from the cute (but a little crazy) ducks. Maybe I should bring some bread next time.



And just for the fun of it...

AFLAK!