Friday, July 31, 2009

Meow.

Have you heard of Maru?



I love Maru.

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Atlanta

So, I'm back from Atlanta. And in a nutshell, it sucked. I did, however, get to have dinner with one of my nearest and dearest as he passed through to go to Ranger school in Fort Benning, GA.

On a different note, who has two thumbs and got a promotion today?

This guy.

I even tried to negotiate a higher salary. What?! WHO AM I!? Of course, they shot me down, but I did get an extra 5 paid days off per year. YEEEAH. The HR lady, who I LOVE, told me that she was glad I asked, which made me smile a little bit bigger. So no more ridiculous ineffective managers, no more working on the most Sisyphean account known to man, and HOLYSHIT no more working in sales OHMYGOD.

My commute still consists of two hours in the car though...I'll work on addressing that eventually. Maybe now Mike and I can get cable in our future-house? HAH, I doubt it.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Cajones

Alright!
I grew a pair today!


So - my boss informed me yesterday that I need to spend the weekend in Atlanta working a trade show. Originally, another assistant was supposed to go, but was no longer able because her on again/off again boyfriend's grandma died and she needed to go to the funeral. Very unfortunate for her...or him, as it wasn't her grandma. I'm totally covering for her, putting $600 on my credit card (to be expensed, but inconvenient, nonetheless) and working over the weekend. I mean, things come up, but I'm still cheesed about it...mainly because she's ahugegoddamnslacker, and actually faces NO repercussions for shoddy work, missed days, and falling asleep with her head down on her keyboard.

Fortunately I get to stay in a sweet looking hotel


Regardless, we have Sales Conference on Tuesday and Wednesday of last week, and originally I was going to miss 1/3 of it because I was going to cover the office (which I was already pissed about, but whatever...), but since I had to go to Atlanta, my boss asked me to cover the office the afternoon I return. Which meant that I would only actually attend 1/3 of it. This was infuriating for a variety of reasons, but mainly because Sales Conference is useful to me, whereas the goddamn slacker girl doesn't need it, nor does she WANT to go.

SO, the point of my story is...I grew a pair, marched into my boss' office and LET HIM KNOW that I would really like to attend Sales Conference, I find it helpful to do my job, and as I am ALREADY covering this girl's Atlanta trip, would it be possible for me to go on Tuesday. He gave me the thumbs up, and slacker girl is stuck in the office all day on Tuesday. Justice was (almost) served!!

Additionally, I was told by a little bird that I was being considered for an open position (which is actually a promotion) So, I talked to both my bosses, and they were SUPER supportive, and I submitted my application. Huzzah!

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Summary!

Wow. I've been terrible about blogging lately. I don't know what is wrong with me. I've got the time...but not the drive. Maybe I need to choose a topic daily and blog about that? I still feel like my writing has no direction. Regardless!

Mike and I put an offer on a townhouse! Hooray! It's a cute little three bedroom, 2.5 bathroom townhouse in a nice neighborhood (actually, it's my parents' neighborhood). I feel a little strange about the proximity to my parents, but let's be real, it's a NICE area, and our resale value will go up a LOT. It's in awesome condition, barring a few stains on the newish carpet. Since it is bank owned, we put in an offer that was significantly lower than the asking price...but what's the worst that can happen? I'll just cry and cry and cry. No big.

I saw the Harry Potter movie on Saturday. I'm a huge Harry Potter buff, and this film has left me the most conflicted.

As far as the film - I liked it A LOT, in the sense that it was a very entertaining movie. Standing alone, independent of the books, the film was compelling, and exciting and funny - all the things that would make it a good cinematic experience.

In respect to the books...I...just don't understand.
They added a scene that doesn't further the plot, and that will need to be explained in some way in the next film (therefore taking up precious time). They left out scenes and flashbacks that I found to be very important to Voldemort's history and to the plot as a whole. The ending of the book was completely truncated! However, the thing that I find most offensive is that Dumbledore wasn't given the respect he was due. The ending of the movie, compared with the ending of the book was completely unsatisfying.

In summary - It was a great stand-alone movie.
I'm sorry that was so vague, but if you want to see the movie, I don't want to ruin parts of it. Seriously though, if you want to talk it over - email me (aj.peders@gmail.com). I have some really strong feelings about this.

Also! I've been "selected" or considered for another position at work. I'm also conflicted about this. At first I was all thrilled and tickled because I was being considered, and recognized. But now...I'm not so sure. My commute remains exhaustingly long, and my salary may well stay the same, and my long term plans don't include this. I was also given a rundown of what the duties are, and it sounds like a LOT of working in Excel. And running reports. And analyzing stock. Which is what I do now. I. Just. Don't. Know.

Life isn't bad. We're pretty much coasting along. Mike's in a rut right now, but I think he'll pull out of it really soon.

I've been working on my 101 Things in 1001 Days list...I still have 25 to add, but that should be up soon, and hopefully that will give me something exciting to write about.

Wow - this was therapeutic. Maybe I'll write more. I'll definitely write more.
kisses!

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Future Car!

I. Love. This.

I've fantasized about self-driving cars for years! What if it becomes a reality, like in The Minority Report? I'm tickled that someone started to design and dream..

Now, the Xbox is creating something called Project Natal that takes what the Wii has done with sensors, but gets rid of the remote. With Project Natal your body is the remote, and it employs facial and voice recognition.

After seeing and reading about Xbox's development, it makes you relatize that these self-driving cars aren't that science fiction-y. If a video game sensor can identify where you are in a room, and detect your motion in order to translate it onto a screen, why can't a car utilize similar technology.

I probably sound ridiculous and make little sense. But, hey, I'm amped at the possibility!

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

House Hunting

House hunting is really sad when you're poor.

Monday, Mike and I went to go look at houses for the first time, and I was tickled pink. Nervous, but excited. But once we got through two houses and realized what we could afford, I became really depressed, dudes.

It's not to say that these houses are complete dumps or anything, it's just that they aren't what I expected. I sound like a brat, but it has been truly difficult to pretend that the house we're viewing isn't a hideous shade of brown, or the kitchen counter is less then perfect. I need to make sure I focus on the "bones" of the house - furnace, air conditioning, roof, basement - because all the cosmetic stuff can be changed. So far that has been hard for me, but I'm sure it will get easier.

Mike has been the bastion of optimism, and I'm been the abyss of pessimism. I think it is starting to take a toll on him. I really need to buck up.

We're going again tonight. We plan to see 6 houses, most of them are in a lower price bracket, and are foreclosed. Maybe we'll get lucky?

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