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Date:31 January, 2005 Time:1:38am Subject: Work Drama I had a rough night at work tonight. And for once, the source of my angst didn't come from an idiot on the other end of the headset but from a colleague...and two managers. Long story short, I was asked to check some of the wake-up call sheets last night 45 minutes before I left for the night. This is a task they generally give to someone who is going to be there until at least 2 or 3 because it's time-consuming and can't be started until after midnight. Well I went to work on the wake-ups, ignoring the pain in my back incurred sitting on the floor doing B.S. project work earlier in my shift, and did my best to get through as much of the mammoth stack as possible before I had to go home. Ten minutes before the end of my shift, I gave the paperwork back to the girl working at the help desk. I explained which had been completed, which hadn't, and which required special attention, and went back to my desk to answer calls until precisely 1am. This afternoon I got summoned to the office by the two managers on duty who asked me if I was overwhelmed or if I hated checking the wake-ups. Apparently the fact that I was unable to do 3 hours of work in 45 minutes was an issue for the girl working the help desk. (theory: I asked her a question earlier that night and she gave me the wrong answer and I told her she was wrong. I don't think she took it well) I asked them later, after I had the chance to think about the line of questions, if they had been told I have a bad attitude of that I'm inept or something, and they assured me that no such issue existed. But that didn't feel like the case when the same girl came to me tonight at 11:00 with 4 wake up sheets (probably 20 minutes worth) and asked if I thought I could handle it. Scott wants me to take her to HR for harassment, but it's a battle I'd lose. So I'll sit there quietly and patiently and wait for her to become a non-issue on her own merits. Honestly, I feel bad for her. She's insecure in her position, and I guess feels that the best course of action is to be on the offensive all the time. And nobody likes a snitch. In the end, when you are so worried about keeping your job that you forget to do your job, you lose and so does everyone around you. I found out today that the free movie I'm going to is being attended by all sorts of big-wigs from the company. The investors converence is in town, and I guess this is an event for them. Gotta love being a seat-filler. Although we were warned to not bring cameras or camera-phones or weapons because we'd be going through bag checks and hand-held metal detectors because of the big-wigs. Scott is bitter already! Like a doctor who hates to be a patient, he hates being 'secured' by someone else. JLM, 1.31.05, 1:55am | Date:30 January, 2005 Time:1:38am Subject: War Coverage Worth Watching My last call tonight was definitely one for the history books! I get a TV network call from a man in Philly (Bethlehem, actually) asking what is supposed to be on his local affiliate right now, because he thinks he's watching coverage of the Iraqi elections. So I look it up, and it's the movie Navy Seals. I tell him this, and explain that if he's seeing coverage from Iraq that it's because they have broken in live (not something they generally do at 1am). He is very relieved to hear this, because there is footage of a ship under attack and a man falling out of a helicopter, and he was very worried that he was seeing live footage of real war. In his defense, he had been drifting in and out of sleep and had just kissed his wife goodbye so she could go deliver her newspapers and he was worried for her safety. But he thought a Charlie Sheen movie was real!!! I sometimes worry about the "greatest generation." The rest of my night at work was spent between more b.s. special projects (hopefully just one more day and we'll be finished with this one), stupid questions (no, we don't have large-screen TV rentals available for your hotel room for the Super Bowl), and processing lots of wake-up calls. Lots of people from up North are in town right now. I talked to people from Atco, Cherry Hill, and other familiar Jersey towns tonight...and it made me miss my old gang. Peace out, Bill and Tom, wherever you are right now. I finally de-coded the passwords I set for Scott and I last year when I did our taxes online and started this year's. Unfortunately, I had the wrong witholding on my W-2, and ended up owing $450. So it looks like Scott and I are going to have to file jointly to break even. That's a bummer...but at least we still have the money from my contract bonus sitting in the savings account...and my surgery ended up costing significantly less than we thought it would...and Scott's new contract finally got approved so we'll be seeing some retro-pay for him soon. e-lim-inate the negative latch on to the affirmative don't mess with Mr. Inbetween On the brighter side, we're going to the movies for FREE on Monday night, courtesy of Denise, one of the day-shift managers. She randomly gets tickets for movies that aren't yet out (last time it was a screening of National Treasure, and Beth sat 3 rows behind Jerry Bruckheimer!) and she has 100 for a preview of The Pacifier with Vin Diesel. So look for my review some time Tuesday. I saw the trailer, and it looks mildly amusing. By the way, the "usability session" I attended on Friday afternoon was great. I'm so excited about this computer application I was trying out and can't wait until they put it on the intranet so I'll be able to play with it at work. And we got an ice cream maker from Reyna. Now Scott can make me that banana ice cream that Alton Brown made on Good Eats. :o) JLM, 1.30.05, 1:57am | Date:28 January, 2005 Time:11:47am Subject: WHY??? Oh lordie, am I ever tired this morning. My whole body is just trembling from the exhaustion. I'm awake now because I have to be at D.U. for that "usability session" at 2 and wanted to give my hair a head-start (hahahaha...HEAD start...I told you I was exhausted!!) on drying before I finished it off with the dryer. I already took a shower, which usually wakes me up...but no luck this time. See, last night we had a more-stressful-than-usual night at work, complete with busy phone lines, a major computer crash, and silly me extending until 3am. Of course, by 1:30 everything was dead-quiet and I knocked out a good chunk of my current book. But I didn't get home until 3:30 and didn't get to sleep before 4:30 and my alarm went off at 11:15. Really, anything less than 7 hours and I'm just screwed. Well, I should really get this towel off of my head before my bangs set straight up! JLM, 1.28.05, 11:52am | Date:27 January, 2005 Time:1:39am Subject: Health Insurance Go here and read what it has to say. Please don't pre-judge based on the source of the information. This could be more important than your realize. Also, go here and listen to all of the fun ringtone options you have when you don't have a lame-@$$ cell provider like Nextel. My favorites are the Mr. Incredible "must be one of your friends - mine are all out saving the world" and "So This is Love" from Cinderella. Although I really think it would creep me out if someone randomly started talking inside my purse. It would be like 'I Dream of Jeannie' only creepier! I made pasta salad for lunch today. It was pretty decent, although I've been having bacon bit burps since about 5:00! Could there be anything worse? Yes - broccoli farts at work! I keep forgetting to mention Mia's booty call the other night. She was leaving as I was coming home at 1:30am, and then around 3 Scott and I were laying in bed and actually muted the TV and quietly laughed our butts off listening to her show. Her beau is the most vocal man I've ever heard of. The boy SCREAMS! And I was impressed because he was yelling her name...and then panting her name (with some 'oh God's thrown in for good measure) for a good 5 minutes after they finished! Some day, when I no longer live in an apartment, I will miss nights like that, falling asleep to the sounds of someone else's coital bliss. Well, good night! JLM, 1.27.05, 1:51am | Date:26 January, 2005 Time:2:34pm Subject: The Pull-Ups Commercial There is a commercial for Pull-Ups that they run a lot on TLC during Baby Story. The basic storyline is that mom is trying on a dress in a department store and little girl has to pee. Mom rushes out of the store, still in new dress, to take little girl to the bathroom, which sets off the store alarm. The first few times I saw this commercial, I laughed because at the end of the commercial, mother and daughter come out of the bathroom and an angry looking mall security guard is there waiting. Recently though, at the end of the commercial there is no security guard - just a blank wall. They airbrushed the guard out of the commercial. But why? They left the alarm going off. I really don't understand that at all. Was some Mothers Anonymous group offended? Was the Mall Security of America offended? Was there a lawsuit? The world may never know... Today is my monday. I have to remember to pay myself for the sick day I took on Sunday. I got a random call from my manager the other night. She asked me to go be a representative of the call center in some "usability session" for a new section they're putting on our intranet. I get to come in at 2 for the session and then leave at 10:30 or stay for OT. I was all psyched until I got a confirmation e-mail and I saw the e-mail recipients and found out that "Poofy Hair" Clinton from security is going to be there too. He's an idiot with an opinion on everything...only he doesn't think his opinions are anything other than fact. Maybe I'll wear a fake mustache so he won't recognize me. By the way, Murphy Brown is on Nick at Nite now. My life is now complete! JLM, 1.26.05, 2:45pm | Date:25 January, 2005 Time:4:50pm Subject: Oscars...and Milos and Kilos Ladies and Gentlemen, I am pleased to announce my Academy Award selections in the following categories: (based on my emotional favorites...not necessarily on logic) Like I said, emotional favorites. The Incredibles received 4 nominations and 4 wins in my book. And I couldn't bear to award Best Actor to anyone other than Johnny Depp. Let's see if Scott does any better... Strange...our choices don't differ very much. Anyway, on to our non-exciting day at home. We gave the kitties some fresh air time and then took pictures of the consequences...   ...and I'm still sitting here hoping UPS is coming for me. If they do, I'll be sure to mention it tomorrow. JLM, 1.25.05, 5:12pm | Date:24 January, 2005 Time:9:38pm Subject: A day out and about I ended up babysitting today...for just Conner. Honestly, it's strange to have just one kid to look after...especially one just sick enough to lay on the couch and watch Baby Einstein movies. Before babysitting, Scott and I went to Earl of Sandwich for lunch. mmm...turkey sandwich with cranberry sauce and ranch dressing... And he went to DisneyQuest while I babysat. Then we met up at Virgin where I bought the soundtrack of Phantom. On the way out of Downtown Disney, we had to stop and marvel at this car and wonder why we didn't invite the person who bought it to our wedding. Gee...maybe Donald Trump was in town?  the tag says WED GFT...and it's a Bentley! And here's what happens once the camera gets taken out -- Jamie and Scott take lame pictures of eachother! There's a game here though. Guess what I think is remarkable about each of these pictures and then click on the image to see if you're right! 
 And finally, for anyone who thinks we live like animals, here's proof: Milo grooming Scott.  Maybe that's why Scott usually wears so much hairspray - Milo can't stand the taste! JLM, 1.24.05, 8:56pm | Date:23 January, 2005 Time:8:38pm Subject: Eagles, Mulan, and Sickness I'm sick. I think I should stop eating enchiladas. Well, I know I'll stop eating enchiladas, since I just had the last one for dinner. But the one I had for lunch tied my stomach in knots and I decided that was a valid reason to call in sick. But I still went to babysit.   ...and these aren't the kids I was watching today. The little girl I was watching had a constant flow of ectoplasm coming from both nostrils, and the little boy has no sparkle. He's just sick and listless and he coughs and cries. It's heart-breaking. I offered to watch them if they weren't well enough to go to school this week...I guess we'll see if I'm needed. So I made it home in time to watch the Eagles score a TD in the first half of the NFC playoff game. I figured that was a good sign, so I turned off the game and watched Billy Elliott. I guess it was a good movie...although I had quite a tough time with that north england dialect. After Billy Elliott, I turned the game back on and watched the last two minutes (GO EAGLES!!!) and the trophy presentation, and then I cracked into my Mulan DVD. I watched Mulan with the director/producer commentary, and then watched the last 20 minutes again without the commentary so that I could cry without interruption from the people talking. I love listening the the commentary track...it's my favorite feature of almost every DVD, and the reason I'm bothering to transfer my favorite movies over from VHS. I'm a little bummed that the Steelers aren't faring so well against New England. I really would've enjoyed a Philly-Pitt superbowl. But I'll content myself with having the Eagles there. I've voluntarily watched a total of 20 minutes of football all season, and I probably won't watch much of the "big game" either. But I'm excited to see the giant Eagles jersey draped over the statue of William Penn. Gotta love Philly sports! Almost time for Desperate Housewives. ttfn JLM, 1.23.05, 8:56pm | Date:23 January, 2005 Time:12:27pm Subject: Beware BP Eggs Scott was craving brownies, so he stopped at the BP Express a few days ago on his way home from work (it was the only thing on the list, and he had to stop for gas anyway) and bought a dozen eggs...and a bottle of chocolate milk. He made a batch of brownies the other night and the egg he used had two yolks. Fluke? Not so much. He cracked open another one this morning and...  ...there it is again! I'm not quite sure where "Hillandale Farms" is located, but there seem to be some pretty fertile chickens running around! Maybe they had to change their name from Three Mile Island Farms after that whole nuclear meltdown thing. Oh well...the brownies are still quite tasty. :o) JLM, 1.23.05, 12:31pm | Date:22 January, 2005 Time:11:46pm Subject: Happy Wedding Day Today is the Donald's wedding day to his eye candy model girlfriend. I hope they are very happy together until he dies or finds someone younger. Is that rude? Maybe it is true love...I won't judge. OK, I'll keep my judgements to myself. Speaking of Trump, I missed the premiere of The Apprentice on Thursday night. I had no ever-loving clue that it was back on already! Luckily, I was able to tape the repeat on CNBC and watch it after work last night. I'm liking this season - once again seeing people with all sorts of college degrees flipping burgers at BK made me smile! And I think John of the uneducated team is pulling ahead as a front-runner right now. We'll see how he plays out. Work yesterday was a strange assortment of down-time, three interviewees sitting with me before their interviews, and it getting crazy-busy after lunch. I've somehow managed to convince myself that my manager thinks highly of the way I do my job and that's why I get to baby-sit these new people. And this will somehow play out well for me when I apply for two separate opportunities within our department that are currently coming down the line. That seems like a positive note. Let's end there. JLM, 1.22.05, 11:55pm | Date:21 January, 2005 Time:12:32pm Subject: P.T. Who??? So yesterday I'm driving down the road on my way to torment Scott, and I came across a peculiar sight - so peculiar in fact that I grabbed my camera from my purse and tried to snap a picture before he got too far away.  That's right, the Longwood Police have been channeling Bugsy, and are driving around in a black & white PT Cruiser. At first I thought it was just some schmuck who painted his own car black and white...but then I realized that the car had government tags. Anyway, I wonder what the citizens think of their police department...and I wonder what that car was doing all the way out in Kissimmee.  And then I went to visit Scott's car. Scott happened to be there. And then I went to work for 8 excruciating hours where we alternated between slow beyond mortal comprehension, busy busy busy, and computers melting down. Like I said, excruciating. Hopefully today will be better, or I may have to walk out! JLM, 1.21.05, 12:37pm | Date:20 January, 2005 Time:2:06pm Subject: Geography & Chocolate I'm lacking inspiration from my own life to write. Beth has made peace with her dress purchase (apparently after bawling to her mom on the phone) and is back to being happy with her decision. Other than that, there's really not much to report. So today we're going to have fun that has nothing to do with my life. First, let's all take this Geography Test. I did it three times - the first time my score was 90%, with a 33 mile average. And I think it's an educational little game that everyone should do....and record your results below in the comments section! And then when you're done with the quiz, reward yourself with free chocolate...or at least the chance to win some! By the way, starting Feb. 6, I have three weeks scheduled during day shift -- two weeks of 8:30-5 and one week of 7:30-4 -- with Fri/Sat off. At least that part will be fun. And I'll get to watch all the evening TV I want! *That's* the best part of all. JLM, 1.20.05, 2:13pm | Date:19 January, 2005 Time:1:05pm Subject: I Love the 90's I have to say the highlight of my television viewing experience over the weekend was VH1's I Love the 90's Part Deux. That show makes me laugh soooo hard! I rank 90, 91, and 92 almost at Idol level...when combined together. Oh yeah - so far I'm cheering for the music teacher from Newark. I doubt he'll win, but I like that he's a teacher. Here's a monday gift for you. I have to go back to work today. sigh Why are Mondays always such a drag? JLM, 1.19.05, 1:09pm | Date:18 January, 2005 Time:6:24pm Subject: A Productive Day I'm in pajamas. I haven't worn anything but pajamas all day today. But anyone who says you have to get dressed and leave home to be productive obviously hasn't spent time in my apartment today. Scott and I both contributed to our lunch of baked chicken, mac n cheese, and brussel sprouts. After lunch we took down Christmas (except for the advent calendar which somehow managed to avoid the sweep!). I also completely organized my ornaments, which desparately needed to return to their own boxes. Scott organized the 500 lights as they came off the tree, which will hopefully make next year easier. With Christmas gone, I took a shower, changed into different pajamas, and tried to lay down for a nap. Instead of napping, we...   We're still not sure if we like the new setup, but at least now we can watch TV during the day without the light coming in from the windows blinding us. And even if we both hated it, we're certainly not going to move all that heavy stuff again! But of course, the most exciting news of the day is that tonight marks the beginning of the 4th season of American Idol!!!!!!!!! Needless to say, I'll be glued to the TV while Scott avoids it like the plague. I'm so excited! :o) JLM, 1.18.05, 6:35pm | Date:17 January, 2005 Time:7:39pm Subject: Fun with Gowns There are no pictures of me in dresses. I tried on one...it was novel...especially with the blue toe socks peeking out from under the dress...but I decided that one was enough. Beth actually only tried on two. She bought the second. She's an easy shopper! Although it was her second trip. Anyway, the fun started after she gave the nice lady $479 and said 'I want this one.' We went back to her place and were going through her wedding planning binder (anyone out there who thought my wedding was over-planned - up until the last month when I stopped caring - has never met Beth!) and I logged onto my wedding info site with the lists of my vendors and she saw the pictures of my dress, which she has seen before, and was lamenting that my dress didn't come in pink. It does, and I made the mistake of telling her so. We proceeded to go into ebay and look at the seller from whom my dress was purchased. She loved the pink version of my dress and then found one she loved even more than that one. For $99. Let's compare...  |  $479........$99 clicking on either dress will take you to the website from which it was stolen...complete with zoom pictures of each dress So Beth is freaking out at this point. She's not completely loaded, and the dress was the one thing she was going to splurge on, and she was thinking about calling David's and cancelling her order and buying the other one (if it comes in her size...she e-mailed the seller to find out). I liked them both, but I have to say I'd love it if I weren't the only person I know who bought my dress on Ebay!! Enough about that. I came home and watched last night's Desperate Housewives (bravissima!) and then Scott and I went grocery shopping. It was time...we were out of everything! We went over budget by $30, but we stocked the pantry and the freezer. And I won't have to go back to that horrible place for at least two weeks. Part of the reason we went over budget was because I bought a 'Bucket of Fun' from the frozen section. It has mozzarella sticks, fish sticks, potato sticks. Total gimmick. Totally worked! It's going in the oven now. I'll let you know how it turns out. mmm...deep fried frozen and reheated goodness... JLM, 1.17.05, 7:55pm | Date:17 January, 2005 Time:10:22am Subject: RETURN OF 'LEMON FACE' I'm running out the door, but before I go I wanted to share this with the world:  The Mobley Lemon Face made it all the way to the golden globes!!! JLM, 1.17.05, 10:23am | Date:16 January, 2005 Time:1:55am Subject: wedding belles I'm going to go wedding dress shopping with Beth on Monday...probably. If we do, she said I get to try on dresses too, and that we get to take pictures. How fun!!! Fat chicks in taffeta!!! Anyway, since it's not an experience I had when planning my own wedding, I think it'll be fun to re-live my single days in the most innocent way possible. I was wrong last night when I said we had 30,000 calls for two days straight. Yesterday (meaning the evening of the 14th...not the night I just finished) we did 33,000+. No wonder I'm sprouting gray hairs! I got to go visit my "not my kids" today and had lots of fun with them, despite the fact that Autumn's hair had a sour-milk-vomit smell to it and the boys basically ran in circles for two hours. It was definitely more fun than talking to those convention people. And tomorrow morning Scott is driving all the way out to the airport to pick up Fullum, who is an idiot. With a temper. And no common sense. For $15 he could take a shuttle bus to within a 5 minute walk to his house, and yet it's better to get Scott to come and pick his sorry @$$ up. OK I admit it: I resent the fact that my human space heater is going all the way out there and leaving me in a cold bed. Is that so wrong? ;o) JLM, 1.16.05, 2:01am | Date:15 January, 2005 Time:1:43am Subject: zzzz We've done 30,000+ calls at work the past two days, and I'm just exhausted. Hopefully the Home Builders will start leaving the area tomorrow and the pace of my day will slow down a bit. On the bright side, I had two interviewees sitting in with me for a while today before their interviews. That's always fun. Tomorrow (ok, today) we're going to Stinky Shoe with Herb and the gang, and then I'm babysitting. Apparently I'm going to have a half-hour of downtime inbetween because Scott needs to be at work 40 minutes early. But I'll forgive him. ;o) Oh - and I cleaned out the last of my hurricane money today on much-needed new clothes. I got 2 suits (one with a skirt and pants) and a pair of tan pin-striped linen pants. Of course, I ordered it all online, so I'm hoping that in a week or so I get these clothes and they all fit. There's a novel concept! JLM, 1.15.05, 1:49am | Date:13 January, 2005 Time:2:40pm Subject: Happiest Faces on Earth I know I just wrote, but I wanted to throw this in before I forgot. As part of the "Happiest Celebration on Earth," Disneyland is creating these giant photomosiacs of Disney characters out of vacation pictures that people have submitted. The deadline is the end of this month, and I finally got my butt in gear to send in some pictures. These are the five I decided on (although after you submit the 5 they give you the option of sending more. this will have to do unless I get the scanner working in the next week or two)      I think I'm going to go back and throw in those carousel pictures from this weekend. What the heck? JLM, 1.13.05, 2:51pm | Date:13 January, 2005 Time:1:48pm Subject: Mail Bag Yesterday, a very strange assortment of e-mails crossed my computer. I guess I'm so used to getting spam for condos in Colombia and cheap prescription drugs that I had forgotten what it's like to get real mail from real people... If someone comes to your front door saying they are conducting a survey on deer ticks and asks you to take your clothes off and jump around to shake off the ticks, do not do it!!! IT IS A SCAM; they only want to see you naked. I wish I'd gotten this yesterday. I feel so stupid now... Thank you! I'll be here all year! Don't forget to tip your servers. JLM, 1.13.05, 1:59pm | Date:12 January, 2005 Time:12:16am Subject: Paging Mister Morrow... ...Mister Tom Morrow. Your Party from Saturn has arrived. Please give them a ring. That's right, Scott and I went park hopping today. And aside from a little twitch in my right thumb (which is either a fluke, carpal tunnel, or the beginning of Parkinson's), it was a great day!! We started in Animal Kingdom where we went on safari whereourguidetalkedsofastwecouldn'tunderstand3/4ofwhatshewassaying...       that's a "military mackaw" - Scott offered it an MRE! ...and we also tried on some **new** stupid hats...
  Scott's is a Mickey hat with hands that clap...when it works properly After Animal Kingdom, we took off for MK. But before we even got there, we ran into Herb and Stitch at the TTC.
 
We then came home and collapsed. I made swedish meatballs for dinner (I give the meal 2.5 out of 5. definite potential...definitely not realized) and we watched the new Queer Eye episode that had us both in tears. And now here I am...sore and sunburned and not ready to go back to work. Oh well...nothing new about that!
Date:10 January, 2005 Time:6:34pm Subject: Christmas in the Mailbox Wow! Really! Three things in the mail today that weren't junk! We got our pictures that we had taken last Tuesday at MGM (I tried to take a picture of them, but it was blurry. I seriously want to hook up the printer/scanner again and see if it kills the computer like last time!), and I got the 2 bras and matching undies I ordered from Victoria's Secret (which I decided to just not take a picture of at all!). The pictures came out so great. I'm excited because one is a 5x7 and the other is a sheet of 4 wallets. Now Scott has no excuse to not keep a picture of me in there with the pictures of other people's babies! We got exactly what we set out for at the mall. T-shirts - the Incredibles logo for Scott( you should see him in it...it's priceless!) and mine says I heart Grumpy Guys (and it's sparkly!!).  We're going to wear them out to the parks tomorrow so that Scott's buddies at MK can make fun of him. Who can wait for all of that fun?!? Now we have the rest of the night to hang out at home. That's definitely a good thing. JLM, 1.10.05, 6:42pm | Date:10 January, 2005 Time:12:40pm Subject: Why is the First Amendment First? Really...why is it first? Is it because speech is something those rascals at the Constitutional Convention felt strongly about, or was it just pulled out of a hat? It is certainly the amendment most attacked, ignored, and violated by the "grown-ups" of society. Anyone know where this is going? That's right - some back-woods Mississippi library system has pulled the Daily Show's "America: The Book" from circulation. It's a satirical textbook about American History. I sat in the Virgin Megastore one day and read a significant chunk of it. It's amusing...and there are even some educational parts. There is a page in the book that shows the current members of the Supreme Court naked. OK, it's not really them...just their heads pasted onto wrinkly old bodies. Apparently that's what offends. The head librarian said, "this is a library, not an adult bookstore," to which I would like to reply: "it's a library, not a church bookstore." I wonder if the citizens of that area have gotten back their copies of Huck Finn yet. That's it - I'm going to join the ACLU. I just can't stand it anymore! p.s. we're going to hit Sweet Tomatoes for lunch today, and then scope out the Florida Mall for Incredibles gear. yay! JLM, 1.10.05, 12:46pm | Date:9 January, 2005 Time:3:44pm Subject: Extreme(ly lame) Makeover I shaved, put on a skirt, and blow-dried my hair. It hasn't really helped. Of course, the world is a little easier to deal with today. And it's my Friday. So there's a little relief in sight. Calgon take me away!! JLM, 1.9.05, 3:46pm | Date:9 January, 2005 Time:2:34am Subject: Life I debated not writing tonight. Wait til tomorrow when things are hazier and therefore easier to deal with. I'm in a self-pitying funk, with no real end in sight. Of course, I always say that and I always come out smiling. But like a wound that may temporarily scab over, I just know I'll scratch it and I'll be right back here again. So why not write about it? At least that way I can look back and figure out how often I'm having my little life crises! I officially got my LCC rejection e-mail. I'm not surprised. Actually, I am surprised. This is the first time that I've actually gotten a rejection. Usually I just have to assume it. But I'm not surprised that I was rejected. I'm not in the line of business right now (despite the 3 years of experience I have in the areas), my attendance sucks, my education is...incomplete, and I don't "know" anyone worth knowing. But damnit - I read two interview books. Could someone at least agree to talk to me?? So now I'm depressed. I'm looking around and nothing appeals to me - not even the jobs I've applied for. I don't want to do anything. I want a house and I want to have a baby. We're locked into our apartment here until December, so looking for a house is a moot point. And having a baby would prevent - for a while at least - any of the other things I want. We wouldn't be able to afford a house, and I'd be locked into my current job for quite a while because I'd feel compelled to have a steady job where I'm assured vacation/maternity leave, etc. And what about that vacation? I need a getaway, but my bonus money really needs to be put to better use. I saw a shooting star tonight and couldn't even think of anything to wish for. You know what they say - be careful what you wish for, you might get it. That's where I am. It seems that all the things that I want conflict with the other things, and that I don't want one single thing enough to put all of the other things aside. So rather than working really hard to get everything, or even one thing, I'm taking the easy route, treading water, watching people around me sprinting toward their own finish lines. But don't worry about me. I need a good cry and then I can go back to pretending that everything is ok. After all, that's what life is all about, isn't it? JLM, 1.9.05, 2:54am | Date:8 January, 2005 Time:1:57am Subject: View from a Hyundai I love my drive to work...you never know what kind of 'local color' you might see. Take today for example. Not only did I see a whole gang of "bikers" (but can you really call them bikers when they are trailing their luggage behind them?), but the inflatable Elvis was out! How could life get any better?   JLM, 1.8.05, 2:03am | Date:7 January, 2005 Time:1:41pm Subject: Lava Lamp Scott just left for work, and I have an hour and a half to putz around before I have to start getting ready. I am going to be productive with my time and start working on Scott's section of our website. Since he's not exactly into this stuff the way I am, I'm strictly making it an animated picture of a lava lamp. Some day, scott.scottandjamie.com will be born...and all throughout the land will rejoice! Last night at work, we had an impromptu food party for Three Kings Day, sponsored by all of the spanish-speakers I work with. I don't understand where the motivation for the feast came from...nor do I care. I never look free food in the mouth. There was some kick-@$$ pulled pork and papas rellenas, just like the ones you get from the take-out window at Bongo's only better because they were home made, and some rice dishes and some chicken dishes and lots of desserts. And even some traditional spanish beverages - coke, sprite, and diet code red mountain dew. Other than that, work this week has been kinda lame. It's been pretty slow and I'm in a professional funk - I know that good behavior isn't going to get me anywhere in this company and I'm dealing with that realization and trying to not call in just because I can. Well, the marathon is this weekend, so our call volume oughta pick up. At least then I'll be busy. yay JLM, 1.7.05, 1:51pm | Date:6 January, 2005 Time:1:24pm Subject: No computer for you! Last night, Scott was having trouble getting past a certain level on his playstation game, so he logged onto the internet and did a search for cheats for this game, and when he picked a page, it installed like 10 crap programs onto our computer. What type of programs? We dunno. Probably the type that can see your passwords...or maybe just ad programs. Anyway, he is grounded now. If only the firewall would let us use the internet when it's installed... I guess this means I probably shouldn't check the bank balance...which I really need to do. Oh well, I guess we'll figure something out. JLM, 1.6.05, 1:32pm | Date:5 January, 2005 Time:3:25pm Subject: Back to work I'm waiting for the iron to heat up, which means I have about 2 minutes to say that I hate wearing my own clothes to work. I need a pay raise so I can have all of my work clothes dry-cleaned. Yes, I did just get a raise, but 40 cents an hour isn't enough to cover inflation, let alone dry cleaning! Now that I have that off my chest, I should probably go put something on my chest. They frown on showing up for work in the buff! JLM, 1.5.05, 3:27pm | Date:4 January, 2005 Time:10:28pm Subject:A Fantasmic Day! I'm sitting here right now eating a bowl of cherry cheesecake ice cream. This could be my new favorite ice cream flavor. And it is a perfect end to a perfect day! We decided to go to MGM today, and had such a terrific time. We met Mr. Incredible... We watched a parade...     ...and we ended the night with Fantasmic...   We also saw the Indiana Jones show, went through One Man's Dream (and I'm heart-broken that my picture of Mary Poppins' dress didn't turn out well), and consumed some free beverages. It turns out that the American tourists have mostly left Florida. Who's left? LOTS of british, spanish-speakers, and middle-eastern types. But I won't complain - we barely had to wait for anything today. If this is what it's like to have two days off without any babysitting responsibilities, sign me up! I can't remember another day when I had this much fun...even if my legs and feet are unbelieveably sore. JLM, 1.4.05, 10:40pm | Date:4 January, 2005 Time:12:14pm Subject:Elephants as Bulldozers I just saw a picture on AOL of an elephant with a motorcycle in its trunk, clearing tsunami debris. I think that's just great. Here in America, you'd never see elephants put to manual labor like that. It just put into sharp focus how different our cultures really are. So many tsunami pictures look like Florida's post-hurricane pictures, and the events get blurry around the edges...until you see an elephant acting as a bulldozer! Scott is making us breakfast of sausage and biscuits, and then we're going to get moving and go park hopping. I hear most of the idiot tourists are gone. yahoo! JLM, 1.4.05, 12:18pm | Date:3 January, 2005 Time:6:45pm Subject:I'm so Proud!!! So...maybe "completely re-design web page" wasn't on my to-do list, but I'm so glad I wasted the 4 hours today to do it. I cannot believe how pretty and professional-ish it looks! Anyway, you may remember that haircut and random-stuff shopping were also on the list for today. I did that. And Scott got his hair cut too!  I guess I should've turned the kitchen light off. Oops! Tomorrow we have to go grocery shopping and I'm still planning on hitting a park or two to have some pictures taken. We'll see how much of that we end up accomplishing... JLM, 1.3.05, 7:06pm | Date:3 January, 2005 Time:1:28am Subject:Princesses and Porn First tonight, an IQ test: Scenario:You are an elderly couple on your way to your vacation destination. You're almost there after almost 2 days in the car, but you've made a wrong turn. You find yourself on the bad side of town. You see a man sitting in front of a store. Do you: a) Stop and ask for directions to your exact hotel? b) Stop and ask for directions to your exact hotel, and then take the man up on his offer to get in the car with you and help you get there ok? c) Stop and ask for directions to your exact hotel, take the man up on his offer to get in the car with you and help you get there ok, and then give him $80 to get a cab back to the store where you picked him up? d) Call the hotel and ask for directions? BONUS: The store the man was sitting in front of was an "adult book store." Does this change your answer? Of course, this really happened. And somehow "Mr. Helpful" knew the last name of the kind elderly couple and was therefore able to leave multiple messages on their hotel voicemail saying that he has something for them and that he hoped to get in touch with them soon. So I guess that solves the mystery - when people come to Florida on vacation they obviously leave their brains at the state line. And all this time we thought they were leaving their brains at our front gates! Moving on, I have found a new favorite website: disneyprincess.com. How could I have not learned of this site sooner? There are games and desktop themes and even a princess wake-up service where the princess of your choice calls you! (click here for a sample of this groovy service!) Anyway, it's lots of sunshine and happy thoughts and little songs...just the thing to occupy you on a long night at work when you only have old-people trauma to get you through the day! You know, I nearly forgot to mention that tonight was my FRIDAY!!! And I have nothing officially planned for the weekend. I should get my hair cut, go have some pictures taken at the parks to use up our free photo certificates (we have 6 total) before the end of the month, clean, do some grocery shopping (and some random-stuff shopping), and read a few hundred pages of the Bill Clinton book. Maybe I'll do some of those things, but no promises. It's my weekend and I'm beholden to no one but myself! By the way, I may have something big in the works. We shall soon see. JLM, 1.3.05, 1:52am | Date:2 January, 2005 Time:2:10am Subject:So very sleepy...again...or is it still? I guess I just didn't get enough sleep last night. Although I know I did better than some of my co-workers who wore sunglasses through their shifts today! Maybe I was getting energy vibes from my super-cool SpongeBob socks (Christmas gifts from mom):   Conner and Autumn...they're so precious at that age, aren't they? I guess the biggest news of the day is that you can now leave me comments. Of course, this just leaves more lines of code that need to be cut & pasted and updated with each entry...I guess that's what I get for not letting someone else host this monstrosity. It'll get easier...right? Since the "comment lobby" has gotten its way, I'm expecting comments regularly. Well, that's it for today. G'night! JLM, 1.1.05, 2:21am | Date:1 January, 2005 Time:2:14am Subject:2005 is Here I have some random pictures, and not too much to say after this afternoon's mammoth entry. I guess they even eachother out!  Rob with Brandon and Logan...some time in the past week   These pictures are dedicated to Janette per her request for pics of my workplace. This is the wall I was staring at at work tonight. Thrilling, isn't it?  Here is Christina, aka 'Brooklyn' hard at work learning how to use the call center's digital camera  And here's me...the first picture of the New Year...taken around 12:10. Don't I look enthused? (by the way, I love my nose from this angle!) Scott is still at work now. I feel bad for him, because all this overtime is inevitably going to cause him stress and more illness. Better start popping the Airborne again now!! I thought I'd be able to wait up for him, but I'm getting verry sleeepy. And considering I have to babysit tomorrow, I know I won't be able to sleep all day. I s'pose I can stay up 'til 3. Hopefully. JLM, 1.1.05, 2:21am | |
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