Not Computer Sick

Believe it or not! I'm not sore like I was last week, and I just spent hours on the computer updating my website. Look for new images in Meet My Dolls, 3D Landscapes, 3D Figures, and a ton of stuff in Capital Treasures, not even half of the pictures I took last weekend. I haven't taken pictures of my purchases yet. By the way, I found out that a lot of the things usually housed at the Museum of American History (like the Ruby Slippers and Kermit) are on temporary display at the Air and Space Museum (while their original location is under renovations). Isn't that great news?! If you want to see the Ruby Slippers, you can! They're just in a temporary home right now!

WAM didn't show up for work today. THANK YOU!! But the bosses won't be too happy about it. That's a blessing too, I think!

That's really all I have to say for today!

Oh, Fox, I'm sorry you didn't get to see the dolls like you had asked. We just managed to not get together before I had to have them in the mail!

Urge to Kick

And that urge is completely directed at someone we all know and love and WAM.

So, remember yesterday when WAM was giving me orders? At that time, our acting supervisor was not there (they had left in the morning for health reasons). Acting Sup was in today, took a look at the Remedy queue and sent my group an e-mail.

First off, my group consists of 5 people including myself and WAM. There were three of us working on the 89+ Remedy queue yesterday, including myself and WAM, and the person who has been 'responsible' for Remedy for years. 89 jobs is a lot. One person can do about 20-25 a day, give or take, depending on the nature of each job. Some take hours, some take seconds. And at 1330, the day was mostly over for most of us.

Ok, the e-mail. This was sent to the entire group (even the two who don't generally work Remedy and Boss²). Acting Sup said, "Remedy down to 34. EXCELLENT WORK!!!!" Any kind of praise is so very nice to be getting.

Just as I was ready to say something along the lines of 'thank you, any time, we worked hard,' WAM sent this e-mail to the group in reply, "It was at 83 yesterday afternoon before I jumped in there to get it down to 40 this morning." If anyone ever deserved a boot to the head, WAM became that anyone.

I was livid. I was not sitting at my desk all day with my thumbs up my arse. I went through several very unladylike and unprofessional responses to the group before I settled on something just to Acting Sup. "Yes, they did it all theirself of their own accord. And worked all through the night." Acting Sup sent me an "lol."

My acting supervisor is not an idiot. I know that they knew that WAM didn't do the work alone, and they saw the e-mail that Boss² sent yesterday telling WAM to help out, so the implication that WAM took some initiative can also be proven false. Didn't we just have a meeting a month or two ago about how we are all part of a team and we all work as a team and get jobs done as a team? What WAM had the nerve to say to the group was not team-oriented. I'm still fuming over this. All day today, I've felt like kicking something. And that feeling always came over me as I approached my desk, with WAM's cube right behind.

I shouldn't have let it go, but WAM is a very confrontational individual. If I had pressed Acting Sup or Boss² to pull them aside and explain that wasn't an accurate representation of what happened, they would have done. But WAM would have run up to HR crying about it. I really wish I didn't have to deal with that person. I can usually take it, but I guess I'm extra annoyable this week.

In other news, the new dress I ordered for next week's office party came in today. It's perfect! Light and airy and ethereal. I can dance in it and it will flow and I will not roast. I'm looking forward to next week. I'll probably be working overtime through the week and Saturday too (still), so I can just go to the hotel from work. Take a nap. Play on the laptop. Whatever!

On that note, I am going in to work tomorrow, 0600 to noon. Please please please don't let me forget to turn on my mp3 player before WAM gets there at 1000. Not that I really believe that will prevent them from talking to me, but it's worth a try!

More WAM Bashing

WAM, my good friend WAM. Yesterday, WAM told me that I was needed to work a certain job (time-sensitive, needs to be done before 0800 and there was a lot of work to do) as I was coming in to cubeland. I hadn't even looked at my computer before I'm given instructions by someone who is not a higher level then myself.

Today, WAM has been up talking to me about the phone calls all day. Around 1330, WAM told me to get into this one program, Remedy, and start working those jobs. I said, "I've been in Remedy all day, thankyouverymuch." I had, after all, it's my primary function, which seems to be second to everything else they want me to do. Then WAM said "well you were in that other program this morning." The same as yesterday's time-sensitive critical work that takes precedence over everything else. And we're so behind in this work, that's why I've been working overtime.

I do not need someone like WAM telling me what to do during the course of my day. I know my job, I know what's expected of me, and I know who to ask if I need guidance. That person is not WAM.

So, there's an opening in one of the other groups in our department. Apparently, I'm a shoe-in for the job (I shall have to find out where that expression comes from....), but there's been an opening in this group before and Boss² told me that I wouldn't like it. Nice that they make those decisions on what I like or don't like for me. So, why would I want to apply again when they can just tell me again that I wouldn't like it? Well, I've been talked into applying again. So I'm going to submit my resume probably tomorrow. And this time, I'm going to tell them that I don't care if they think I won't like it. I'll never know until I try, and I really want to move on from the position that I'm in.

How about that? We'll see!

Maybe Not Tomorrow

Thank goodness!

WAM still thinks we're best friends. They were telling me today about how our acting supervisor is wrong and doesn't know how the system works. I said WAM was second guessing someone who's higher in the corporate food chain (not my exact words, but you get the idea), and WAM said "Yes, I am!"

I don't understand why, if I always disagree, WAM keeps coming to me like a dog that wants praise after rolling in a pile of another dog's dung. "Look at me!" they say, "Don't I smell nice! And I'm covered in the excretions of another dog, who will know that I rolled around in his territory! Yay me!" I know you're laughing, but it's really true. We used to have a dog who did exactly that.

Except tell us in English about it. But he would prance up proudly, covered in shit (this doesn't count as a swear, it's a noun, and there's no other way to describe it), happy as a clam. Usually right after a bath. The last thing he wanted to do was smell like a clean dog. He had to smell like some other dog's shit (still a noun, still doesn't count).

I do miss Buttons. I'll have to see if I have a dung-less picture of him somewhere.

So, a cold front came in yesterday, and we were actually facing some below-average temperatures. After weeks of 60-70 degree days, and all these people wondering where winter is. Are you happy now, people? They're calling for snow tomorrow and it's all your fault! More like a wintry mix, but I'm not staying at work late if the weather's going icky!

By the way, I ordered a new dress from the same place. It should be here by the end of the week or so. This one is spaghetti-strapped and angular, handkerchief cut. Should dance very well, and on the really good side of things, I may not have to wear my corset! It's a small possibility, but maybe.

Celebrate with me for a moment on that.

Not Today

Had something to say. Know I only feel that way because OBC sucks the life out of me. There will be a better day to say it anyway. Nothing to report today.

In the meantime, shoot me. Please. WAM thinks working overtime means it's time to talk to me. *groan* Anyone? Please???

Still Going

Working overtime, that is. And dreaming about my day yesterday. And the cache of rocks that I get to look through again. Despite the headaches, and that my back is tech-neck sore, I had a great weekend!

It's going to get colder, they say tonight. Still no snow in our future. I hope they have some at Snowshoe Mountain next month (that's where a few friends and I are going to snowboard on the last weekend). There's plenty of time for it to get cold though. I'm worried about the Sakura in all this warm weather, though.

That's it, nothing else to say. How can I be on the computer at work for ten hours and then be on the computer at home? Easy. I'M DONE!

Day at the Museum

First, the rest of yesterday.

I had a migraine, but went hiking with Fox and my mother anyway. There are a lot of walking, horse, and bike trails in Patuxent River Park, which we normally just use for the boat landing. We decided we wanted to see what else we could do when weather wasn't favorable for kayaking. We only covered a tiny bit of the trails available before it started to rain, but there are definitely more things we can do there. Yippie! My headache didn't go away until got up from bed at 0300 to take something and hope it allowed me to sleep. Too much overtime. And I'm going to do it all again.

Today, Fox and his wife and my mother and I were going to head into town and check out a museum or two. We had lunch at the Old Post Office (pictures of the Congressional Bells are on my website from the last time we were there) and then went to the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History (that's a mouthful!). I wanted to see the dinosaur bones and and the geology, gem, and mineral section. It had been a very long time since I was last there. The dinosaur bones were, well, meager. I did get a great shot of the T-Rex, and I had to explain to my companions that I didn't know why the Brontosaurus was now called an Apatosaurus. (Which, by the way, the Smithsonian does not have. They have a Diplodocus.) The answer is that the person who discovered the Apatosaurus discovered the Brontosaurus a few years later. Then further examination concluded they were the bones of the same species, therefore regulations dictate the first name to be the official name. Apatosaurus has been official since at least 1974. It's probably the anthropologist in me that likes the dinosaurs. :)

We wandered through the mammal section, which was pretty neat. Then we went up the stairs to the Hall of Geology, Gems, and Minerals, featuring the Hope Diamond and a 127 lbs quartz crystal ball. I should have timed how long we were here. I know it was a long time! Two hours maybe. And then we spent at least half that in the exhibit gift shop. I spent more money than I should have, I admit, but I got a lot of rocks! I love rocks!

I'm going to try to go from memory here about what I bought. I will have pictures of some of the exhibit and probably what I bought too on my website shortly. Like, say, after all the overtime is over! ok, let's see. I got a mortar and pestle made of travertine (which is mostly calcite and aragonite, in some really beautiful orange shades), a raw dark opal, one piece each of blue, green, and orange calcite (the blue I've been wanted for ages, but I seem to be really drawn to the green one right now), a piece of smithsonite (discovered by the Smithsonian's founder), a couple ammonite fossil shells (not a mineral, but equally as nifty), a really beautify quartz cluster, an amethyst necklace, a small bag of tumbled stones (still working on identifying some of them), and a tiny Venus of Willendorf in goldstone (which isn't actually a stone, it's a man-made blend of copper and glass, other things can be added to make more colors). I feel like there was more, but...maybe not. Anyway, pictures soon™.

Then we went outside (it was about 75 degrees! In January!!!) and walked through the Smithsonian Castle, into the Ripley Center (poesy holders were pretty cool, but other than that, not much to see), and over to the Freer Gallery, which didn't have much to speak of except the Peacock Room and some Japanese screens. We didn't make it to the National Gallery of Art, which is what my mother wanted to see, because we had chosen the wrong museum (NGofA is not part of the Smithsonian's museums, for the record). That's ok, we're already making plans to go back next month, and that will be the first place we go (and maybe pop in to the NMNH mineral gift shop for some more rocks).

And that was my day! And then I have to work tomorrow. Nuts.

Hunky Dorey

Or something.

So, last night, I went out with my coworker-friend. We each bought a copy of Uno Spin and he had some other things to buy and we had dinner and then I started off for home. We were both working today so we didn't want to stay out too late, me in particular because I don't live 5 minutes from the office like he does.

It was going great, I pointed myself towards home around 1920ish, there were no problems on the road, I should have been home by 2015 or so. But NOOOOOO! Not 10 miles from home they closed the Beltway in both directions because a tractor trailer was on fire. Of course, I learned about it after I had already passed the only bail-out exit.

And there I sat for a solid hour. Bored. Tired. And having to get up at 0430 the next morning. I called Fox to talk about weekend plans. I called another friend to talk about two weekends from now plans. I called back another friend to talk about cancelled weekend plans. And I bothered Willow for 30 minutes, who I'm sure had plenty of work to do. I don't talk to Willow much (mostly because I know she's got a lot of work all the time!), so that wasn't bad, really. And she got to listen to me yelling at the road morons once we finally were moving.

I slept like the dead.

The dress I ordered for our office party at the end of the month came in yesterday. It's a royal purple Regency-style velvet gown. I've been wanting this ever since I saw it in the catalogue, so here was a great time to get it. It is gorgeous, thick, heavy, good-quality velvet. I'm disappointed. Not in the dress, mind you, I love it! But the problem is that it's going to be way too hot for 3+ hours of dancing. Usually the things you get from catalogues are not the best quality (though I guess it depends on the catalogue) so I was anticipating it to be much less substantial and so doable. I've got two weeks to find something else to wear! And I get to think up what to do with this dress now that I have it.

Here's to not much rain today! I've got plans that the rain can put a stop to!

Oh Dear

One of my co-workers, let's call them Dot, came up to WAM and myself this morning asking if we had any extra stickies (that's office slang for a pad of Post-it note paper). I only have the one I'm using, but WAM and I examined our drawers anyway (that's funny when said like that). Then I started to list off what I did have extra, binder clips, staples, and a stress ball in the shape of a brain. "I have a brain!" I say to Dot.

WAM found some mini stickies, and produced a brain also. WAM has had that brain for 2 years. My brain came from someone who no longer works with us, but didn't take the brain when they left, so I claimed it. We giggled about our brains for a good 20 minutes. I know Dot and I were getting the full meaning of WAM only getting a brain two years ago.

Then we added that they were stress balls (shaped like brains) and WAM said that they have a lot of FedEx balls. This set Dot and I off again! And I went rooting through my drawers again, because I knew I had a squishy football somewhere. Found it!

Then WAM dropped the brain! I told WAM to make sure it was clean before they tried to use it again.

It was a tear-producing giggle fest! Good thing no supervisors were nearby!

Thinking of Money

Today's entry is proof that OBC sucks the life out of me. That is all I have to say.