Thursday, April 27, 2006

ANOTHER Quote of the Day

I'm not devoting this blog entirely to quotes of the day or anything, but my computer is jacked-up today & moving slower than the 4'6" blue-haired grandma trying to see over her steering wheel, who is inevitably taking her Sunday drive at 15 mph in front of you while you're on your 30-minute Monday lunch break. AND, the quote of the day IS --
"Imagine if every Thursday your shoes exploded if you tied them the usual way. This happens to us all the time with computers, and nobody thinks of complaining."
- Jef Raskin, interviewed in Doctor Dobb's Journal

Which isn't entirely true - I complain every day! But, it's Thursday...guess I shoulda expected it.

Wednesday, April 26, 2006

Quote of the Day

Don't know if this struck me as a great quote due to the fact that I work for lawyers, or because the current state of our great country is a shameful disgrace, but I had to post it today...just suits my mood.

"In my many years I have come to a conclusion that one useless man is a shame, two is a law firm, and three or more is a congress." - John Adams

BTW - Happy "Administrative Professional's Day" to all the other hard-working gals (& guys) working for useless men! Get three of more of US together, bet we could bring ol' Mr. Adams to a different conclusion! Have a great one!

Monday, November 21, 2005

Andrea's End of the Day Comments (Holiday Version)

As this is only a 2 1/2 day work "week" for me (Praise God!) I feel inclined to take a few minutes here at the end of the day to post some observations I have made:
1. If a holiday, such as Thanksgiving, should fall on a weekday, employers should give their employees the entire week off, 'cause no one does jack shit anyways.
2. Lionel Ritchie has an incredible body of work. I've heard 4 of his songs while at work today. I wonder if he has a Christmas album out.
3. Aside from most every other time of the year, it is cool to work in a small office where your boss must go out of state in order to visit relatives, for this allows the "staff" to wear jeans to work every day. Who's here to rat us out? Well, there is ONE chick, but that's another post, so screw it, we've ALL got our Levi's on!
4. If you stare long enough at pictures, maps, certificate of achievements, blah blah blah,hanging on the wall directly in front of you, you can rearrange them WITH YOUR MIND.
5. Once you begin thinking about ingesting a wonderful, creamy, luscious slice of pumpkin pie, say, on Thanksgiving day, it is a given you will stop by a grocery store on your way home from work and buy one...and eat the whole thing that very evening.
6. It still sucks to be at work on a Monday, even though you may have only approximately 11 hours left of it until next Monday. EMPLOYERS: Please refer to Observation No. 1.

Valle-JO (Vallejo)

In an effort to make my big city relatives’ trip to our fair(ly sad) city a tad more interesting, Michael and I have invited them to go out with us Wednesday night to see one of our favorite local bands play downtown on Crockett Street. The event – Thanksfest. Yes, an incredible stretch of a name just to be able to clarify that it’s around Thanksgiving, but whaddya expect, it’s Boremont, er, Beaumont. The band is Vallejo and they are incredible...they're kind of a mix between Matchbox 20 & Santana. Vallejo is a Spanish name and they incorporate cool salsa rythyms & riffs in their music...in addition to your drums and guitars, one guy plays the bongos and another plays the trumpet, so it's a pretty good show. At least once during the night, each instrument will have its solo and they’re always bad ass jams. Anyways, just thought I'd put it out there for any poor sap who actually reads this blog, ‘cuz it really is a good time and I strongly believe in supporting our local talent. (And if anyone from the band should just happen to read this, I would like to just TAP a bongo ONE time! ‘K, maybe twice, but just to get the whole effect!) Y’all come out now, hear?!?

Monday, October 17, 2005

Speakerphone

Speakerphone

I hate speakerphone!  I hate being put on speakerphone.  In the legal profession, as I am in, attorneys LOVE to use speakerphone.  In my opinion, it is yet another way they utilize something, in this case, a telephone, that will allow them to exert the least amount of effort as possible…this “something” is usually their staff, but I’ll blog on that another day.  You just never know who is within earshot of these contraptions.  Plus, have you ever actually heard yourself, as on a tape recording?  I prefer the computerized non-gendered voice to leave my “I’m not here” recording on the answering machine at home over the sound of my own voice.  (Maybe this is another reason why my husband gets a pinched look on his face when I’m speaking sometimes….NYAH, can’t be!!)
I was “put on,” put UPON, if you ask me, to speak on this infernal thing today, to yes, an attorney.  I was speaking to both he and his secretary over the damned thing.  As soon as I heard the tunnel-like sound of his voice to know the speakerphone was in full effect, I felt like starting off with “We will now the recite the Pledge of Allegiance…”   Or start singing The Star-Spangled Banner…ya know, the way that song sounds when you heard it sung at the ol’ Friday night high school football games?!?   Ah ha!  THAT’S what I’ll do next time I’m to “speak” on the friggin’ speakerphone – just start singing The Star-Spangled Banner at the top of my voice…imagine Roseanne when she did it, yet even slightly more off-key.  That’ll teach ‘em…

Friday, October 14, 2005

Rules Re: Men (and Women) Wearing Cologne in the Workplace

(Before I begin this rant, let me preface it by saying that I myself am a lowly peon at my place of employment, exist only to serve my boss' most self-centered and lazy demands, and have no more place to talk about "contract workers" than the man-in-the-moon) Therefore, I begin: If your profession entails you entering other people's places of business to perform work in the aforementioned people's personal space, please please PLEASE oh please smell nice! I am currently being assaulted by a very nice, very helpful phone workman, who is quickly & quietly attempting to vamp up our terribly old phone system, and only hesitantly interrupts me in a very professional & courteous manner. However, when he does get close to me to pick up my phone receiver, the smell of his cologne (and yes he IS wearing some) promotes a yucky, weird feeling to occur in my tummy. Granted, it is not a nasty smell, like boiled cabbage or Frito-feet, but it's an offending smell nonetheless. And truly, I mean nothing against this kind man who is just here doing his job, helping us, and who probably has no idea nor reason to be embarrassed or harangued about his cologne. But pew-wee!
It's such a shame, too, because cologne can do so many good things on men, when properly applied and worn. I mean, when my husband gets ready for an evening out and walks with me out of the house, and I get one of those heavenly whiffs, it's all I can do not to drag him back into the house by his you-know-what. (I apologize for the lewdness, but DAMN, does he smell good!)
And in all actuality, I myself should be grouped into this category myself. I am an avid perfume lover, as well as wearer....I believe one of the highest compliments you can be paid is "Mmmm, you smell nice." However, just the other morning, while my sister & brother-in-law were bunking with us, thanks to Rita the B*&$%, my little niece saw me spray myself with my perfume (Rapture by Victoria's Secret, just so ya know I do try to smell nice) and hollered "Spray me, spray me!" So, in an attempt to oblige her and enjoin her in big-girl's ways, I did. She then ran to her father and said "Smell me, Daddy," which he did, and to which he replied very matter-of-factly, "Mmmmm, you smell just like a French whore." Now, was it an appropriate thing to say to your 3-year old daughter? No. (An appropriate, or nice, thing to say about me? Absolutely not! I know he doesn't know I heard him - "But I DID, Jeff!") Was it a reference to an old, pleasant memory from when he still lived in Canada? Possibly. :) Yet, a good reason for me to rethink MY "smell-good" habits. YES.
But see?!? Constructive critiscm is helpful AND appreciated....now would anyone like to let my lil' phone man in on the news?

Weezer

Has anyone heard the newest song from Weezer? I love it....it's got a funky little beat, "and it's fun to dance to."

Thursday, January 06, 2005

Would you like some more hot sauce? Hell YES!

I've just heard on the radio that they have now determined (they being a team of expert scientists, I'm sure) that eating 5 whole tomatoes a day greatly decreases your risk of cancer. Now, anyone who knows me knows that I am a professed, and unrecovering, hot sauce-aholic. I can eat it at any time, day or night, rain or shine, even if I've just gorged myself with a 5 course meal and will not be hungry again for 3 days...if there are chips & hot sauce in front of me, I'm going to eat it. (And for those of you call it "salsa", that's what hot sauce is, 'K?) So as you can see, this comes as fantastic news for me, for what else is hot sauce BUT tomatoes? I now consider myself to have carte blanche to continue, possibly even upgrade, my hot sauce addiction. Sometimes my wonderful soon-to-be-husband, Michael, admonishes me about eating hot sauce...especially when I bust it out after we just got home from eating, or when I sit down with it in front of the T.V. at 10:30 p.m. Now with this wonderous news under my belt, I need only reply to him, "You don't want me to get cancer, now do you, Honey?"
Now if they announce that eating chips actually REDUCES your risk of gaining weight, I'm golden. Come ON team-of-expert-scientists, come on.

Where Am I?

I just overheard my boss say something, so appropriate for us all, and I just have to comment on it. Mind you, now, that my boss is 65 years old, approximately 5 years ago left the big, safe firm he had been with for a good 15 years or more to open his own practice, always stays late, arrives early, comes to work sick, and on weekends, and calls the office when he's out, every 30 minutes, even when he's on vacation. The man is due some credit, okay. And I know he didn't realize I could hear him just now, but when he fell down into the chair in his office, he said, to no one in particular, "(sigh) Where am I?" Amen, Mr. ********, amen.

Thursday, December 16, 2004

The Reason for THIS Season

As I sit here at work, debating the suspicious absence of funds in my checking account just one day after pay day, it has dawned on me that even after my proclamation to skip gift-buying this year (due to upcoming wedding dues), I am still stressing over how I'm to buy this and how am I to buy that. And I'm asking myself "why?" I had come to the conclusion (novel as it may be) that Christmas is not about gifts disguised in sparkly paper & bags; yet I've still been feeling wrong for not buying MORE gifts. Will everyone understand? Will they think badly of me when they don't get something from me? Would someone please shake me! What exactly am I worried about? The reason for THIS season did not come about because one day, thousands of years ago, two people happened to buy gifts for one another on the same day during the wintertime and decided to make it a yearly deal. And yet, strangely enough, it IS about a gift...a gift from heaven, a gift from God, a gift more precious than I think you or I can truly comprehend. Sure, this gift may have actually been given in the springtime, or the summertime, but we today celebrate it in this season. And while I think we're all a little guilty of letting this slip our overworked & overstressed minds, we know in our hearts and in our souls what the reason for this season is. So if you too are sitting somewhere, pondering what you have left to buy and how exactly you're going to buy it, ask somebody to shake you, too. Sadly, today's hustle-bustle world can skew our "reasoning" so easily...so stop, shake the cobwebs loose, relax for a bit and just gladly accept the most wonderous gift you'll ever receive. What other reason do you need? God bless you all, today and every day.