Kids these days

I like to think I have a pretty good work ethic. I saw how hard my parents worked when I was a kid and I like to think I learned by example.
Which is why I really do not understand people who don't work that same way.
Granted, maybe you don't love your job and maybe it is not what you hope for in a long-term career sort of way. But it is your job.
You made a commitment to be there and when you are not, you can really fuck up someone else's day.
This is especially true if you work at a place that turns out a product every day. Every day that you are not there, someone else has to pick up your work and finish it.
No, I am not just rambling. Yes, I do have a specific example.

There was this young woman at my office who was basically on the level of a clerk. She was employed part time doing various work for various departments. The work itself is not particularly difficult, nor is it particularly interesting.
But it is time-consuming. And it is the type of work that, if you word it right, can sound pretty good on a resume.

So last week, Thanksgiving week, she was supposed to come in Monday to get some work done in advance in order to have Thanksgiving off.
But she didn't show.
And she didn't return repeated phone calls.
She was off Tuesday, but still no call back.
Wednesday, when she was again scheduled to work, no show and no call.
By this point her work is at a point where it cannot wait.
So guess who gets to do it?
Yeah. I was thrilled.
But that is fine. I get paid the same whether I do the challenging stuff or the mindless stuff.

Anyway...
Thursday; No show, no call.
Friday: No show, no call.
Saturday: eh... you get the idea.

By now we all have gone through the "Man, I sure hope she is OK" bit. We have called her and called her and someone even tracked down her mom's number and called her.
"No, nothing is wrong. Sorry, I don't know where she is, but she is fine."

I even checked her MySpace page to see when she last logged on. It was within a day. So she must be fine. You can't very well log on to MySpace if you are face down in a ditch someplace, right?

So we figure she just ditched the job. She had another one, so maybe it was all too much trying to work two jobs.
Or maybe by about Wednesday she figured she was fired anyway, so why come in for the reaming.

Whatever the case, I just really do not understand that mentality.
Is that just how people fresh from college think? Do they think that is OK and professional?
I know this was not her dream job, but it was work in the field of her choice at a very respected company. Maybe it was not what she wanted to do forever, but a good reference from there might carry some weight going forward.
I guess I just don't get why you would toss that away like garbage.

Who does that and feels like that is right?

When did I get old?

I know we all ask ourselves this question.
But I was really feeling it last night.
I spent half the day grouting in the kitchen and was just totally worn out by it.
Half. Not even the whole day.
Of course, it was that funky angled part above the hood which required standing on the countertop to get to the highest spots.
And let me tell you, at 6' tall, it is not comfortable standing on the countertop.
I am too short to reach the top from the step ladder, but too tall when I am up on the counter.
So it was either teeter on my tippy toes on the step ladder or do the Quasi Modo standing on the counter.
I tried a bit of each and ended up with sore calves and stiff shoulders.
Yay.
At about 6:30, the manfriend and I went and grabbed a quick dinner then headed over to the condo complex where his dad owns rental property.
We like to go over there to use the spa. It's only about 5 miles from my house, so it is not a bad deal.
That felt great.
But it meant that when I got home at about 8:30, I was ready to doze off.
I forced myself to stay awake for a while lest I fall asleep too early and wake up at 4 a.m. not being able to get back to sleep.
I think I made it until about 10. Then I passed out.
On the couch.
I woke up around midnight and had to force myself to get up and go to my bed. It was nice and warm where I was and I had cats sleeping all over me.
But I knew the bed would be more comfortable in the long run.
So there I was, the old, crazy cat lady stumbling to bed after passing out on the sofa, shedding cats as I went.
Yeah. That's just sad.

Mmmm... cranberry glop

Happy Thanksgiving, bitches!

(Thanks Nataliee Dee for the funny.)

One step closer to a reality

For those of you who read my other blog, you know I have been remodeling my kitchen for what seems like months.
It is getting so close to being done. Finally.
To save money, I decided to do all the tile myself. The floor was done weeks ago, but the walls still needed to be done.
Well, now they are. Mostly. There is some finish work left to do.
But please, take a look at it on the other blog. I am so proud of my handiwork.

Where you been anyway?

Me? At home, doing chores.
I found this fun little site to map all the places I have been.
I have been to 15% of the countries in the world. Cool.
Of course, many of them are tiny little island countries in the Caribbean.
Which also is cool.

So, where YOU been?

These things just come flying out of my mouth

So I get home a couple nights ago to find a notice from the DMV.
Fuck.
Before I even open it, I know what it is.
I forgot to pay my registration.
My registration that was due in September.
It wasn't that I don't have the money. I had simply misplaced the first notice in all the chaos of the remodel.
I had simply forgotten.
Stupid. I know.
So I think about going online then and there and paying it. But that will still mean waiting for it to be processed and for the tags to come in the mail.
Then I decide that I will just take advantage of one of the services I get for paying to be an Auto Club member.
I will go down there before work and get the tags there.
Sweet.

Cut to the next morning...

I get to Auto Club and I am right: There is no line.
I tell the woman at the counter that I need to renew my registration, which is late.
As I start to write the check, she says "Wait. Just wait. This is REALLY late. I need to check to make sure this amount is right."
Um. OK.
I tell her that since I just got that notice the day before, I am pretty sure it is correct. But OK, sure, check it out.
Of course, it was the right amount. Late fees and all.
Damn.
So I go back to writing the check.
"You know," Ms. Auto Club says snarkily, "You know, this is REALLY late. You are REALLY lucky you didn't get a ticket."

What the ...?

OK. I pay for Auto Club for various reasons. One of those reasons is so that I do not have to go to the DMV to get the attitude there.

So I look up from my check writing. You know, that look where you don't actually raise your head, just your eyes.

I look up from my check writing and I say "You know, I REALLY don't need a lecture from you. It's late. I get that. The late fees are a good reminder of that. Things get forgotten. It happens. Can I please just have my tags now?"

"Here you go," she says as she handed me the tags.

I find that as I am getting older I have less patience for people in general. And I find that I am more likely to just say whatever is on my mind without stopping to check myself.

But was I out of line? I mean, it's not like I called her a cunt or anything.

What a way with words

I like to read a Web site called LAObserved.
Basically the guy picks up on stories and issues about media and politics in the L.A. area and puts them in one easy to use place.
And every once in a while the comments he makes on something just make me laugh.
Like this one:
Heidi Klum tries to appear charmed at the gift of pumpkin bread from Councilman Tom LaBonge, but most of the Victoria's Secret Angels seem — let's call it wary. Perhaps doubtful. I recognize the look. My wife wouldn't touch the stuff either the time LaBonge laid a loaf on us.

"... laid a loaf on us." Classic.

Wait for it...

Sorry for my absence.
But I have been having too much fun the past few days (great dinners, seeing friends, hot-tubbing with the manfriend) to get all ranty about shit.

Today is my Monday though. So I am sure that will change.

Especially since the week hadn't even started for me when my boss was calling me at home on my Sunday about schedule changes.

My thought then was, "Eh. Whatev."
My thought now is "I could have been on my way to work by now, which means I would be leaving at about 8. Instead I will be there until 11.)

I'm sure it will be fine. As long as they don't close the freeway early tonight for construction. I guess I will just have to wait and see.

And it did mean more time online this morning.

Oh Mickey, you're so not fine...

Not that I have ever been a big Mickey Rourke fan, but when did this guy...









become this guy?









Oh yeah, and he was arrested today, too. Shocking. I have to say, it is always nice to see a celebrity smile for the mugshot camera.

Actor Mickey Rourke was arrested Thursday in Miami Beach after police said he was driving a new Vespa scooter down the road while intoxicated.

According to a police report, authorities said they observed Rourke, 53, driving a green 2007 Vespa scooter erratically down Washington Avenue in Miami Beach around 4:20 a.m. Thursday.
Police said that an officer directed Rourke off to the side of the road, at which point Rourke allegedly asked the officer, "What the (expletive) did I do?," according to the report.

Investigators said Rourke was observed having bloodshot eyes, slurred speech and emitting a strong odor of alcohol on his breath. Police said Rourke failed an road-side coordination test and was taken into custody.

Rourke was taken to the Miami Beach Police Department for further processing. Rourke allegedly told police at the station, "I'm not drunk, I didn't even drink that much," according to the report.

Is that a kielbasa in your pants or...

From an AP story I read today:

In his 22 years on the bench in this town 50 miles southwest of Jacksonville, Miller has seen some strange thefts. One of the most unusual was a man who left a store with a kielbasa in his pants and a bottle of Pepto Bismol in his pocket. The man explained that he stole the sausage because he was hungry and the stomach medication because kielbasa gave him heartburn.

OK. That is just freaking awesome.

And the world as we know it grinds to a halt

The writers strike will enter its third day tomorrow.
Already taping has been stopped on stellar shows such as "Til Death" and "Rules of Engagement."
Oh no. What will we do?

Here's a thought: Turn off the TV and pick up a fucking book.

I hate to think this is true

But I am sure some guys do have this experience.

I think it is funny that one of the heinous characters in here is named Jill. But, of course, I am nothing like that.

Unless you try to steal my parking space or run into me with your shopping cart.

Mostly I just find this amusing.

Over on the other blog...

I'm taking an informal poll on the other blog (the one my mom reads, so there is no boob talk there) about what color skirt I should wear to a wedding this weekend.
Same style, different colors.
Feel free to weigh in.
I might even take it into consideration.