Vegas, baby!

I guess I'm breaking the rule of "what happens in vegas, stays in vegas", but oh, well. M and I went to Vegas for 5 days, 4 nights, with 2 buddies from college (N and Y), my cousin (S), a guy from work (B) and Y's bro (E). We left on Wednesday and had a layover in Saltlake City (which I thought was odd). I prepared myself with dramamine and ginger chews and made it through the flights just fine, except for some head spininess when we went up and down and made some turns, but no nausea. I even managed to crochet part of my mom's sweater that I'm making her for Christmas. At the airport we were met by a limo driver (btw, this service is awesome, especially for groups). After checking in, we got a quick drink at the Breeze bar, then went to Cravings for dinner. The boys then went out to gamble and drink, so S and I had some drinks at the Breeze again, then went to the Isla Tequila Bar.

Thursday S, Y, M and I ate lunch at the Deli and then did some shopping at the Fashion Show Mall. Later, S and I ate at Tao (which is amazingly yummy and well worth the price), and then went to the Christian Audigier nightclub Yay for being a girl and getting free drinks! Only problem with free drinks (and the bottle of wine we split at dinner) is that I got totally smashed and had a horrible hangover the next morning.
After I got over my hangover on Friday (mainly thanks to S bringing me pretzels), I went with B, E, N and Y to Denny's to eat breakfast. N met up with a British girl that he had met the night before, and we found out that even in Vegas you can't bring beer into a Denny's :) Later, S, Y, M, and I went to the car museum while N went off with his new-found friend. We weren't even halfway thru when M got a call that we had gotten rodeo ticket. Gold Buckle tickets, none-the-less. While waiting for M's mom at the hotel, I stuck a dollar in a penny slot machine (called "Kitty Glitter", lol) and cashed out $3.20. The rodeo was awesome, of course. Got to see world record of 3.3 seconds for team roping set. I had a drink with the guys in their room because S had gone out with M's cousin (T) and brother (mt) who had arrived while we were at the rodeo.
Saturday was a fairly busy day. The guys had stayed up pretty late and drank, but B, T, S and I took the monorail and saw the lion exhibit at MGM and the Shark Reef Aquarium at Mandalay Bay, then B went to go see KA and T, S and I went to go see the Bodies exhibit at the Luxor(which was really cool, and well worth the money) before catching a cab back to Treasure Island to see Mystere. I had never seen a Cirque du Soleil show before and it was AMAZING. We had gotten 2 for 1 tickets since we were staying at TI, but I would have willingly paid full price because it was really, just, WOW!. T, S, and I met back up with B to eat at the coffee shop and then T, S, and I went to the Lavo nightclub at the Palazzo(once again, getting in for free and not having to pay for drinks).

Sunday we all got up, checked out, took the limo back to the airport and flew home. All was fairly uneventful, except we were stuck at the Salt Lake City airport for 2 hours longer than we were supposed to. I kinda napped at the airport and again on the plane to Austin, so I was great for the drive back home after we got there. As fun as it was in Vegas, I was so glad to be able to sleep in my own bed and eat food that didn't cost me an arm and a leg. And to see my kitty and puppy again.

It started AND ended badly...

This day sucked from the moment I opened my eyes. Well, actually before my eyes were all the way open or before I was even completely awake. Heres a timeline:
10:17: (AM) Sound asleep, warm and snuggly in my nice comfy bed next to my honey.
10:18: Phone rings, wakes me up and I scramble out of bed to answer it. I somehow manage to realize that it is my brother before I realize something much more important, and the phone is suddenly second priority to the wet squishy carpet under my feet. For a split second I am HOPING the dog peed in the house, because the alternative is much worse.
10:19: My brain is pretty much fully functional at this point, and I am almost able to focus my eyes. I walk into the kitchen (carpet squishing water up between my toes the entire time), turn on the light, kitchen has water covering part of the floor as well. For the second time since living here, our bedroom and part of the kitchen have flooded after extended periods of rain (except this is twice as bad as the first time).
10:20: I inform my husband about the flooding and set about calling our landlord. Was told the maintenance people were already on the street at another house (it is a huge row of duplexes), and they would come by.
10:22: I get dressed and make breakfast. I also lay a trail of folded up towels so I can kinda walk around the bedroom without really getting my feet wet.
10:30: The landlord himself comes by and brings a big fan, and tells us the guy is coming by with a wet-vac. He also takes a brief look at the ocean (wait, I mean, yard) behind the house before leaving.
10:45ish: Fix-it guy is on phone to someone (other fix-it guy?) explaining how bad our house is flooded. Its worse than the one two doors down. Way worse. (This does not make me happy)
11:00: Fix-it dude and husband are moving EVERYTHING out of our bedroom (including our ginormous queen size bed) and into the living room. Fix-it dude then procedes to rip up the carpet and vacuum the padding with the wet-dry vac which has to be emptied multiple times.
12:35: The hubs and I have to leave for work, dude has fans all set up under the carpet, says will come back at 5:00 to turn the off
10:00 (PM): Come home from work. The house smells like something I can't quite describe. Kind a like mildew, kinda like a wet animal, kinda like wet carpet that has had air forced over it all day, but is still not really dry yet. So, we decide order a pizza, and I face the fact that yeah, we're gonna be sleeping on the futon in the guest room/office.
11:00 (NOW): Pizza's here, I'm gonna eat and play some WoW. Bye.

More funnies from work

Me: Do you normally leave your receiver on at night, or turn it off?
Customer: Yes.
Me: ?? . . . Ok.
***thinking "that wasn't really a yes or no question..." ***

Customer (apologizing for being distracted): "I was just reading my daughter's text messages"
*** there was no response on my part, I really was not sure what to say ***

Customer: I don't have an account. I had (insert cable company name here), but then I moved. I have an old receiver from when I used to have yall. Will the receiver work without a dish.
Me: Um, no. You do have to have a dish. The receiver can't get a signal without a dish. ***thinking "thats why its called a RECEIVER, because it RECEIVES the signal... from the DISH!! ***

Another one that I get on a regular basis is people mis-pronouncing "signal" as "single". Now, if English was not their primary language, I would understand, but most of the people who do this, its pretty obvious that American English is their primary language... but here is a similar, but here is a new one I heard:
Customer reading message that said "Acquiring satellite signal", except she pronounced "Acquiring" as "Aack air in"

More Quotes from work

"I'm on the phone with a white lady; shut the fuck up!"
(a customer talking to someone else on his end, apparently thinking I can't hear him)

"Thank you for being helpful and a cute-sounding person."
(said by a customer after I solved his problem)

"She's like a child ferret; she hides things."
(a customer referring to his kid, who apparently has hidden the remote so that no one else can find it)

Addition to the family

So, we may be getting another dog. My FIL was gonna get his border collie bred, but a breeder recently died and there are apparently 100+ dogs that need a home now, so we may be getting one of them. We're gonna get a female, and I joked to M that he is getting outnumbered (the dog and cat we have are female as well). Just for fun, I think I will name it something with an "ee" sound on the end. Why? Because currently we have Amy (me), Jody (dog), and Susie (cat).

Random quotes from work

Trendy Coworker: You look cute today!
Me: Thanks!
**thinking to myself: do I normally not look cute??**

Customer: Does the receiver need to be on?
Me: Yes. Yes it does. *headesk*

Customer: There's a lot of bugs and critters out there!
(someone from Wyoming referring to Tennessee)
**thinking to myself: do they not have "bugs and critters" in Wyoming??**

Customer: I want to connect my playstation 3 to my receiver!
Me: Uh... I don't think you can do that...
(A discussion takes place between the customer and myself, he says a previous agent told him he could. I advise that only external hard drives with certain qualifications can be used, and if he sets it up the way he wants, I cannot guarantee that it will not harm the receiver or the playstation)
Customer: What do you mean "harm"?
Me: As in, fry it.
Customer: Oh. Well, I already have it hooked up.
(Turns out it won't fry it, but the two items won't recognize each other either. The customer then kept me on the phone for an additional 20 minutes while he and two other guys tried to hook up his dvd player to the receiver, which is simple, unless you are technically challenged.)

(Customer having signal loss issue that I am trying to get her to troubleshoot with me)
Me: Press menu please.
Customer: You want me to just press menu?
Me: Yes.
Customer: Not turn it on?
Me. Oh. Yes. We need it to be on.
**thinking to myself: Duh, lady!!!**

Oh, noes!!

I went to Stephenville for an orthodontist appointment and drove through campus on the way out. They tore down the Oscar P building!! Seems like every time I go there, they've changed something else.

Knitting at work...

People crack me up sometimes. I was making a sweater for knitforkids.org, and got several comments (what are you making? is that knitting/crochet? the usual...), but the best comment of all was at the end of the day when I was sitting at the front knitting waiting for the hubs to be ready to go. Since the sweater is made of two identical front/back pieces, and I was almost finished with one half it was pretty easy to see what it was. Mandy (a very sweet nice girl who can occasionally be a tiny bit dizty) walks up and says "Oh, are you sewing a sweater? Can you sew a sweater for my doggie!?" My response was a smile and "Well, I can sew, but this is actually knitting." She just got this kinda disappointed look on her face, said "Oh", and walked away. I almost lol'd at that.

Update..

So here's whats going on in my life right now:
On the work front, I've been helping out in the on the job training dept, which basically means the people who have just gotten out of training and are taking their first 4 weeks of phone calls. You can really tell who was paying attention during class. Upside to this is that I am not on the phones, bad news is if they need a supervisor to take over a call, I'm one of the people who get called on. Also, a while ago we implemented a system in which the customers can rate the service they recieved on their call to our company. Its a 1-10 scale thing with the option of leaving a recorded message. I was the first person in our call center to get a message left about them (and yes, it was a positive message!).
On the home front, I have two sweaters going, one for myself and one for charity. On mine, I've gotten the back, and approx. 3/4 of the front done. On the other, I've gotten almost half done (instead of being done in seperate pieces, it has a front and a back, and thats it - not the most attractive sweater, but it will keep some kid warm). The hubs recently bought me a "Journey" diamond necklace to make up for the fact that he didn't really get me anything for our anniversary, and the promise that he is going to "try harder". This is slow coming, but he has stopped raiding, so perhaps there is progress. Our musician friend has a concert next month, so we are going to that and visiting his parents while we are in area. Hubs also wants to go to Shlitterbahn, which I don't really have an objection to, even though its not exactly cheap (I am easily lured thru the promise of water activities), but I would really like to go see my parents. The live further away than his and its been awhile since I've gotten to see them, and even longer since he has come with me to their place (last time they came to us, and when I visited them by myself, it wasn't that he did not want to go, but that he could not take time off from work, as he had just started and it was around the holidays). But at the same time here, we have to save up some of our PTO/UTO for our vacation to Vegas during decemeber, which we've already mostly paid for and cannot get refunds. *sigh* Sometimes being a responsible adult is not worth it. Sadly, even if/when I go back to school, it will not be the same as being a college student the first time around.

GGRRRRRR!!!!.....

I cannot figure out how to make that picture bigger and its really annoying!!!

Bored...

So I did this mosaic thing... (instructions below pic)



1. For Amy Nelder, 2. Sunday's supper ~ rotini w/ Italian sausage & simple tomato sauce, 3. Colorful Avery Island Louisanna Camelias - Jungle Park, 4. PURPLE HAZE, 5. david_boreanaz, 6. Dr Pepper, Texas, 7. Sunset Cruise, 8. cheesecake for Lianna!, 9. "You brought me to the vet. I hate you with the fire of a thousand suns.", 10. Journey Diamond Necklace ~ my husband is so good to me!, 11. Crazy kitten, 12. Cupcakes from Amy Sedaris' recipe

The Rules:

a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker.

The Questions:
1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One Word to describe you.
12. Your flickr name.

I won!!

OMG, I actually won something! I got a package in the mail yesterday and could not figure what it was. It was a bag with something soft in it, like when you order clothes off the internet. I couldn't remember ordering anything, and when I opened it, there was a large black article of clothing, and I KNEW that it was nothing I had ordered, yet it was clearly addressed to me. I unfold it... and its a Mtn Dew/WoW hoodie! It's an XL... but who cares?!? I actually won!

WoW and Mountain Dew!

Please help me win cool stuff!

Midsummer Fire Festival (pt 2)

Yeah, so I did all the Outlands ones and wrote them down, but my paper got misplaced, so I need to find it before I can post all the directions and tips.

I'm fit!

...or, at least, I'm getting there. For the past week, I've gotten up almost every single day and exercised using my wii fit every morning before work (I use the term "morning" loosely). It's a last ditch effort to be slightly better in shape before I go to my cousin's birthday party on the lake where I'll spending a good part of the day in a bikini. Yeah, its less than two weeks away, but I am the Queen of Procrastination, plus I work best under pressure. Although, really, I'm not sure if I'm more worried about being in shape or tanned... Both my cousins or super-skinny, and super pale. I am not of the super-skinny variety, even though some people tell me I am. They obviously have not met my cousins. Not that I'd want to look like them, as they have no muscle and are verging on the anorexic look, but I could stand to drop a few pounds, and definately tone up some. I really NEED to tan though, or I'll look like a lobster before the day is half through. I'm procrastinating on that too though, mainly because I hate going to places to go tan. Anyway, my wii fit is awesome! I'm actually feeling more in shape, I get the sore muscle feeling, which I love because it makes me feel like I've accomplished something. The only thing I'm not like is the commentary. It's nice that they feel the need to give you tips, but after a week of hearing the same thing over and over, it gets annoying. I realize I could just mute the tv, but then I wouldn't hear the beeps telling me when to lift an arm or leg or whatever. Plus, at the end of every exercise, the little dude says three scripts, and you have to press "A" twice in order to move on to the next screen. I REALLY wish there was a way around that. *sigh* But anyways, on to other things. I gotta go to the store tonight (or tomorrow morning, however you want to look at it), and get groceries (cuz I want to make a cobbler) and b-day cards for the aforementioned cousin, and also for my hubby who has a birthday later this month. (Oh, why yes, I did mention cobbler. My willpower (and desire for fitness) is not strong enough to make me actually go on a "diet")

Midsummer Fire Festival (pt 1)

I love the world events, and the Midsummer Fire Festival is one of my favorites. I decided to make this little guide on the fastest (I think) way to honor/desecrate the flames in all the towns, as well as stealing the flames in the major cities. This was done on a 70 human mage with all the flightpaths, but the travel paths are such that instead of flying you could run to the next stop, and grab the fp while you are there. I will also include notes for those doing it from the horde perspective as well. As for stealing the flames, it may be easier or more difficult for you depending on your level and class. The quest itself isn’t available until level 50, and even at higher levels (again, depending on class), you may have to die a couple times to get them done. Also, I will include landmarks as well as coords in my description. Here goes:

I started off in Booty Bay (Stranglethorn Vale); both Horde and Alliance fires are on the beach if you turn right out of town (33,73 and 32,75). At this point allys will fly/run to Darkshire (Duskwood), the fire is in a field south of town (74,51). Next run to Stonard (Swamp of Sorrows), fire is north of town (47,47). Then run to Nethergarde Keep (Blasted Lands) the fire is just outside of town (58,17). {Horde would fly to SoS, then go to NK, then Darkshire} From NK, allys would fly to Sentinel Hill (Westfall), the fire is right next to the fp (56,54), then fly to Stormwind and run to Goldshire (Elwynn), the fire is right outside town (43,65). Next, you would run to Lakeshire (Redridge Mountains), the fire is by the lake, near the fp (24,59). {Horde would run from Darkshire to Westfall, the try to steal the flame in Stormwind (it is in the canal district, near the stockades). Then run to Goldshire and then Redridge.} From Lakeshire, fly or run to the Burning Steppes. The alliance fire is right outside Morgan’s Vigil (80,62), and the horde fire is southwest of Flame Crest (62,29). At this point, I ported to Ironforge. Flying would be fine as well. For Hordies, going to Kargath (Badlands) would be your best bet. From IF, run towards Kharanos (Dun Morogh), the fire is on the right side of the road (46,48), then go back to IF and fly (or run) to Thelsamar (Loch Modan), the fire is northwest of town (32,40). From there, run to Kargath (the southern entrance is easier – 4,49). {Horde would do Kargath, Thelsamar, then Loch Modan, and try to steal the flame in IF}. At this point both factions would get to Menethil Harbor (Wetlands), the flame is right outside the city (13,47), then fly/run to Arathi Highlands. The Alliance fire is northeast of Refuge Point (50,44), and the Horde fire is south of Hammerfall (74,41). Nest fly to the Hinterlands, ally fire is at the bottom of the hill south of Arie Peak (14,50), the horde fire is on the beach north of Revantusk Village (76,74). Then fly/run to Hillsbrad Foothills, ally fire is north of Southshore (50,46), and the horde fire is southwest of Tarren Mill (58,25). Next you will run {or fly for hordies} to Silverpine forest, fire is east of the Sepulchur (49,38), then run to Tirisfal Glades, the fire is outside Brill (57,62). At the this point, the Alliance will want to steal the flame of Undercity. It is one of the easier ones. Simply enter the Ruins of Loredaron, and the flame will be on the left. Next, run to the Western Plaguelands and grab the flame at Chillwind camp (43,82), and then allies will want to fly to ZA, and hordies to the closest town to Tranquillin (Ghostlands). For allies, the fire is on the right side of the road after you run through town (48,26). Even though these are lower level towns up here, be careful as there are a lot of level 75 guards around. After getting this flame, I advise traveling north through the scar until you get to Eversong Woods. The flame here is west of the scar near the entrance to the ruined side of the city (48,50). Now you will attempt to steal the flame of Silver moon city. This is quite a bit more difficult that Undercity. After coming through the entrance, you will run straight until you hit a dead end, then turn right, then left through Murder Row, then straight down the hallway to the Court of the Sun. The flame is on the left once you enter. The hardest part is getting through the main entrance. If you use invisibility (potion or ability) or stealth to enter, once you are in the main hallways, it is easy enough to avoid the guards that patrol (if you notice the curtained area to the right once you have started going down the first hallway, this is a safe area, you can hide in here until patrols pass).
Congratulations! You have completed the Eastern Kingdoms!

Now, on to Kalimdor. I started off in Darnassus. There is a flame in Dolanaar (55,60), and the flame for the horde to steal for Darnassus is outside the city in Rut’heran Village (this is the easiest one for the Horde). Then catch a flight to Auberdine (Darkshore), the flame is southwest of town (37,46), then take the boat to Azuremyst Isle. The flame is southwest of Azurewatch (44,53). Next, run to Bloodmyst, the flame is south of Bloodwatch (55,69). {This is also an opportunity for the Horde to steal the flame of the Exodar}. Then take the boat back to Auberdine and fly to Winterspring, the flames for both sides are next to each flightpath (62,35 & 59,35). Then, fly to Ashenvale, the alliance flame is southeast of Astranaar (38,54), and the horde flame is south of Splintertree Post (70,69). From there it is easiest for allies to run to Forestsong, then fly to Stonetalon Mountains. The Horde flame is near Sunrise Retreat (50,60), from there run south to the Barrens {the Horde will be able to fly to these next few stops, obviously}. The first flame we want to grab is north of the Crossroads (52,28), the we ride to Durotar and grab the flame south of Razor Hill. Now is the opportunity for the Alliance to grab the Orgrimmar flame. This is another difficult one. The best way to enter is through the western entrance by the river (because if you enter through the front, A. there’s more people and B. its not on the right level, and if you aren’t super familiar with Org, you will probably die just trying to get up to the correct place). Once inside, you basically just follow the path around until you get to the Valley of Wisdom, the flame will be on the right by a bunch of buildings. Next, you will ride to Mulgore, the flame is east of Bloodhoof Village (51,60), and of course we can steal the Thunderbluff flame. This is not quite as easy as Undercity, but it is much easier than the other two. I suggest taking the northern-most of the two elevators, simply because it is slightly closer to our objective. Once off the elevator at the top, there are a couple of guards, but they aren’t too close (they did not see my level 70 as she stepped off the elevator, only once I ran past them), we want to take an immediate left (go north), hugging the cliff edge, once you hit the edge of a building that you can’t go around, go in this building, and across the bridge to Spirit Rise, then up the hill to the left, that is where the flame will be. To escape, you can go back the way you came, or simply jump off the cliff (assuming you have slowfall, or a parachute or something similar). If you are trying to escape and don’t think you will make it, go ahead a jump anyway, so at least you won’t have to go back up to retrieve your body. Now for allies, run to Dustwallow Marsh {hordies can fly}. The horde flame is west of Brackenwall Village (33,30), and the alliance one is outside of Theramore (62,40). Now, fly to Silithus, both flames are down the hill, Alliance to the east (57,34), and Horde to the west (46,44). Then fly to Gadgetzan (Tanaris), once again, allies to the east (52,29) and horde to the west (49,27). From here, {Horde can fly} Alliance will have to run. We are going to Freewind Post (Thousand Needles), the flame is to the west (41,52). Then ride {fly} to Feralas, the horde flame is west of Camp Mojache (72,47), the ride and take the boat to Feathermoon Stronghold, the flame is to the west (28,44). Now, fly {or run} to Desolace, ally flame is (65,17) down the hill from town, horde flame is (26,76) near the beach. Congratulations! You have finished Kalimdor! Now (if you’re high enough level to) its time to move on to Outlands.

Projects

I am a crafter. And I'm not monogamous about it either. As a result, I often have multiple projects going on at once. Right now, I am knitting a sweater coat for myself out of 50/50 wool/alpaca yarn in a lovely dark purple color. Right now I'm about halfway through with the back portion. I am also working on a cross stitch quilt, which has been hibernating for several years (by several years, I mean since I was 17). I am actually using three different quilt block patterns, a butterfly surrounded with flowers, a flower wreath in the shape of a heart, and a parasol girl holding a flower. There are 12 of each pattern (which is probably more than I'll need, since they are 9" blocks), and I've done about 6. When I started this as a teenager, it was with the intent of making it for myself, and as a result all the patterns are quite girly. Now, I figure by the time I'm done with this thing, it will probably go to my little girl (assuming I have a girl and not all boys or something). The coat, however is a project I'd like to finish a little faster, perhaps in time to wear this fall/winter. I also have a couple of planned projects that need to be done by November (a wedding present), and December (a Christmas preset), so as the time gets closer, the first two projects may fall by the wayside. I also have a 2x3 ft counted cross-stitch project, but that is something that has no deadline, and I haven't worked on it for several years either.

Chopsticks, Converter boxes and the Elderly

…or How my day went and what I’d REALLY love to say to my customers.

So, I may have mentioned that I work at a call center for a major satellite tv company. My days are monotonous and yet occasionally interesting. A vast majority of the people I talk to are not that bright (obviously the smarter ones don’t need to call me for stupid issues).

My dumb move of the day was to pack myself some homemade spaghetti for lunch… but no silverware. Most the time they provide some craptastic sporks, but having the latest shift means that the sporks aren’t always there when I take my lunch. Today they were out, but for some odd reason there were about a dozen plastic knives, so I grabbed two and used them as chopsticks. It was … interesting … to say the least, but it was (slightly) better than using my fingers. My spaghetti sure was good though!

So, on to the other part of my post (the ranting part, lol). These are just a few things I would love to be able to say/explain to my customers (and things that would get me fired if I did).

1. There is no “magic button” that I can press to fix your problem, sorry, I wish there was.
2. Yes, part of what we say is scripted. I hate it as much as you do, but I have to say it. It’s just as much a part of my job as actually fixing your problem.
3. Don’t lie about anything regarding changes to equipment, programming, or anything regarding money. I can see everything on your account. I can see those “special” pay-per-views that you order every week, the credits you got for making a fuss when you called in last month, and the fact that you are late paying your bill almost every month.
4. As much as I can see about hard facts and changes on your account, I can’t see every little thing that the last guy told you, unless s/he actually wrote it in the notes on the account.
5. Yelling, cursing and threatening me gets you nowhere. I am limited in what I can do in regards to money. You really want to get somewhere with getting money off your bill? Here’s a little tip: either ask for a supervisor, or better yet, threaten to cancel.
6. If you can’t work the basic functions of your equipment, (such as understanding what I mean when I say “select number six” or “press six on your remote”), then PLEASE get someone (family member, friend, neighbor, paper boy, I don’t care) who actually understands a little bit about technology and can work your equipment (generally, this means someone 1 – 2 decades younger than you). This will make it easier and quicker for everyone concerned.

Long time no see...

It's been a while since I've updated, mainly because my life is boring and there is not much to talk about. I did dye a streak of purple in my hair and it looks pretty cool. (there will be no pics posted here, but if you know me, just look at my facebook). Tomorrow I will be bridesmaid-dress-shopping with my bestest fried for her wedding as she has changed her mind from the first ones we picked out. Which is fine with me, as long as she doesn't change her mind after I finally buy the dress :) Let's see... what else is new... we moved into a duplex, so the doggy has a yard (thank goodness!) and we have more room (in general terms, although the bedrooms and bathrooms are smaller, but there are two of each!). Its just us right now, but one of our friends may be moving in with us temporarily/semi-permanently as her lease is up next month and she hasn't been able to find/afford another place. This will be one of the better roommate situations that I've lived in though as, A) she's a girl, and therefore less likely to be messy and more likely to help clean, and B) there will be no sharing of bathrooms! I will call her K. for the purposes of this; she is a friend met through a friend of my hubs at work (who was also my immediate supervisor at work for a while, and while he was nice and all that, it was mildly weird going out to the bars and stuff w/ a sup from work, and even more weird when I got sick and his girlfriend (K.) had to take care of me when I was sick from an over-indulgence of alcohol, so its better now that he is not my supervisor).

Also, since moving in here we have acquired a Tivo, which means the hubs can use the cable dvr in the living room, and I get the tivo in the bedroom. Not only have been catching up on episodes of shows I missed, but I've also been getting into some new shows. My current "Season tickets" list has: HawthoRNe, Moonlight, Angel, NCIS, House, and Ace of Cakes. The first two are totally new to me, and all the others I'm just catching up on re-runs of episodes I missed. Also, this has given me a lot more knitting/crocheting time, and I finally finished an afghan that almost covers my queen-size bed! (pics to come!)

New place

Well, after looking around, semi-deciding on a place, and then looking around some more, we finally settled on moving into the duplexes that are on the street behind our apt. It's a 2-bedroom, so it has more space, plus it has a yard for the doggie. We are still trying to figure out how to do the beer-barn thing in S-ville, but hubs enthusiasm has waned a little bit, I think. It would be nice to go back there next year; I could getting my teaching certificate and not have to work at my present job...

Just a warning...

Now that I have figured out how to post pictures, I'm gonna do it a lot on my posts (until I get tired of it, or lazy) ;) So, enjoy the pics!

More flowers!

So, now all of my flowers are blooming! Aren't they pretty?!

Oh, and while I was fooling around with my camera, I took a picture of my doggy. Isn't she a cutie? :)

Spring has sprung!

 

Well, after a search of several stores I finally managed to find some daffodils! They are my favorite flower and back home they grow in masses out in the pasture, and along our fenceline in some areas. They are the first thing that blooms, the first thing that lets me know that winter is finally officially over. So, I bought a yellow daffodil, and yellow and white daffodil, and a red tulip (for additional color - my grandma always had a flowerbed full of tulips), to fill the three flowerpots that were empty. I am still looking for mint seeds, but anyways... The white one was blooming when I bought it the other day, and today it looks like the yellow one is going to bloom any second now. I decided to take pictures of them and was cropping the pics on my laptop (because even though lappy has been abandoned for gaming purposes, it still holds all my pictures and stuff) when it told me Picassa (my free, came-with-the-computer photo editing software) needed to update. Well after it did, I noticed something that I'm pretty sure wasn't there before, and icon that said "Blog this" so I thought, OK!

Dear Apartment Complex,

Seriously? I know that you are renovating, and I appreciated that. But when you passed around the pamphlets telling me that you are going to paint the outside of the building, I didn't expect to get woken up at 8am because there is a horrible racket going on outside and my walls are shaking. I understand that you have to pressure-wash the brick before you can paint it, and that's fine, but what are earth are you doing that requires sawing and pounding and making my walls shake. Now, I know that at 8am most people will be at work or in school, but there are some of us who work the late shift. When you get off of work at midnight an rarely go to bed before 1am, you don't tend to see 8am very often. All I'm saying is that you could have left us a note on the door or something.

PS: My front door must not be sealed well, because there is a small puddle of muddy water coming in under the door where y'all are spraying all that water. Just sayin', you might want to look into that.

Work Rant

This is to all the people that I have talked to over the phone in the past few weeks. I may have to be sickeningly sweet and polite at work, but not here! Its sad that tv is your main/only form of entertainment. Seriously? Get a life. There are other things to do. Go for a walk. Ride a bike. Play with your dog. Knit. Crochet. Spin yarn. Talk to friends (in person!). Go OUT of your house and just DO something. You are missing one television channel? You are subscribed to almost all the channels we offer!! Surely there must be something else you can watch until this channel is up and running again. Oh, you want to be reimbursed for the time you were without this channel? Hmmm.. well, lets see... you pay about $50 for 100 channels per month.... 1 channel, for 2 days... thats about 3 cents!!! Oh, and you are gonna go to the Better Business Bureau because you called at 11pm and expect us to send someone out there tomorrow to fix your dish!?!? Really?? I'm sorry, there are other people ahead of you in line. You are just gonna have to suffer and wait and (OMG!!) miss your show!! That's what reruns are for. Oh, and you are gonna get ticked off because your receiver died and you lost all your recorded shows? I'm sorry, but thats not really the purpose of a DVR. You want to record something and keep it long term? Buy a VCR or DVD player that can record. Or, better yet, go out and actually buy the stupid movie/tv series from Walmart(or wherever)!! Expecting your recordings to stay on your DVR forever is like saving important documents to your computer and never making a hard copy. Sooner or later, you are gonna be sorely disappointed. Also, why do you think that yelling and cussing at the poor person on the phone who is only trying to do her job and help you is going to expedite the process. Do YOU work better/faster/harder/with more enthusiasm if someone is screaming and cussing at you? Cuz thats not really a motivator for me.

Good dog!

Some of the apartment people came by today to tell us that they would be painting the building soon. The one guy (who is always in the office) told the other guy that I have the best dog on the property. Whenever I go into the office, I tell her to sit and stay outside and she does. Jody is such a good doggy!

Job!!

So, today I finally got to actually work! I've been double-jacking (listening to other people take phone calls) for two weeks. Here's the breakdown of how things are supposed to work:
1: 3 weeks on classroom training - (check!)
2: 1 week of on-the-job training with a partner - (nope- doublejacking instead)
3: 1 week of on-the-job training, solo - (nope - double jacking instead)
4: Production (aka real work) - (still double jacking for 1 week, 1 & a half days, then, finally, today, real work!)

The 2 weeks of on-the-job training are called Edge, and you are more closely monitored by the supervisors, so you can more easily get help when needed (plus the first week you have a partner, to share brain-power with). My class did not get that. Today we were thrown out into production with everybody else. *sigh* Granted, it wasn't until about 9:00, and my shift is from 3:30 to midnight, but still. Wow. I thought I knew a lot more than I actually do, but a lot of it you really have to learn from doing. I'm glad that tomorrow is my day off so my brain can recuperate a little bit.

Oh, and tomorrow, while my brain is recuperating, I will be cleaning house, and in the afternoon, looking at a duplex.

Nummies!

Tonight the hubs and I decided we wanted an actual dinner when we got off of work, since we didn't really eat anything before work. He wanted pancakes, and I wanted an omelette, so I made both, plus some bacon. I learned a few things:
1. Sauteed fresh mushrooms and mozzarella are better than canned mushrooms and velveeta.
2. Pancakes are extra yummy if you add cinnamon.
3. If you sprinkle cinnamon SUGAR instead of plain cinnamon on the pancakes before you flip them, it causes a sticky mess which then can mess up the rest of your pancakes unless you scrape the skillet REALLY good before you pour the next one.

Visit from mama

For Christmas my mom got me some yarn, a Wii Fit, a jacket, a calendar and a Blake Shelton CD. The Wii fit is awesome! And yay for yarn! 5 skeins of some Lion brand homespun, which I already have an afghan planned for, SIX skeins of elastic sock yarn (all the same color, though), and 3 skeins of lion brand suede yarn, which I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do with - maybe a scarf or something.

When she brought all that stuff down, she also brought marcus's presents (CD, wii game). She also took me shopping for work clothes. I got khakis, brown slacks, 2 button-up shirts, and 2 pairs of nice shoes (1 black, 1 brown). Plus, she brought a freezer full of meat, yay!

Fucking Bullshit!!!!

Ok, so I've liked my job and my trainer so far. Today, however, ticked me off a little bit. The Fiesta bowl, Ohio v Texas was on TV today. Of course, a large majority of the class wanted to watch it, including the trainer. So, we ended up watching pretty much the whole thing. During part of it we were supposed to be doing worksheets, which I did, because I wasn't really interested in the TV, and not everyone else did them, because they were jumping around and screaming at the TV. After a while, we didn't have anything to do, it was awhile before our break and all we were doing was watching TV with no attempt at looking like we were doing anything. So, I brought out, which I keep in my bag to work on during breaks and after I eat lunch. I did it for a while, and I figured the trainer didn't care, because I made no attempt to hide it and he hadn't said anything. Someone behind me started talking to him, and because he has some hearing problems, he came closer to talk to him. That's when he noticed my knitting. He said "Amy, PLEEASSE put that away right now." I said "Y'all are watching FOOTBALL but I can't knit??" He said something to the effect of we deal with programming as Dish network techs, and we could pretend we were doing something useful if someone in charge walked in. I thought that I think I could probably hide my knitting quicker than they could pretend that a room full of jumping, screaming people were actually doing something useful, but whatever. I just said ok and left it at that. A minute later (while I was staring blindly into space waiting for the break) he comes by and asks if I want another worksheet. I am sure I looked at him with the most dumbfounded look ever. Did I want a fucking worksheet????? WTf?!?! I just said "No, I'll just watch the TV" and then proceeded to stare in the general direction of the TV. Seriously?? Ask me if I want to do more work while pretty much everyone else watches a stupid football game??? What kind of moronic question is that?!?! And the only reason that we were watching football was that he and most of the class like football. If a small portion of the class had wanted to watch it (or probably, more accurately, if he didn't want to watch it) then I doubt we would have watched it. I really don't see why I couldn't knit. No one else was doing anything useful. Like the title says, it was just fucking bullshit.