There are people out there who arrive at their respective jobs and make a conscious effort to do as little work as possible in a given workday—hell, this type of behavior is rampant in government funded institutions. However, what happens when you are not ALLOWED to do any work??

Such is the question one must face every year here in my office as one fiscal year ends and a new one begins. The systems people shut down all of our accounts on Friday, and no one is allowed to touch anything having to do with ordering, paying, or receiving material. This basically means that 99.9% of the people in the building are unable to perform some, or most likely all of their job duties—myself included.

I will have you know that there are only so many webpages a person can look at in a given day. When spaced out throughout the work day, these pages are enough to break up the monotony of one’s job duties. However, when these pages comprise the only tasks you are performing for 8 hours, the novelty quickly wanes.

This “wonderful” mandated work break is not scheduled to end until Wednesday—and that is only if all goes well. So basically I still have to keep myself occupied for 2 1/2 more days. If this were a normal workplace, they’d probably pay the employees to stay home, since they obviously can’t be productive when they have no access to their tasks. However, this being a state-funded university, we are paid to sit here and surf the web—which is pretty much what we do anyway, but generally not for entire days on end. If I were to stay home, I’d have to waste a vacation or sick day—lame!

So anyway, if any of you out there have anything interesting to share, please please entertain me! Pretty please….. :)

Posted at 1:05 PM | (5)

Last night I attended a martini party, thrown by one of my coworkers and her husband. It was the inaugural gathering, and contained a mix of her friends from various activities.

I had one vodka martini and two glasses of some red wine which I forget the name of. I don’t think I’ve really had a vodka martini before, and while it was ok, it was a little strong—definitely not something you could drink fast. Whatever the wine was, it was pretty good. Normally I can’t tell if stuff is good or not, but this one was very easy to drink.

Anyway, it was more fun than I thought it would be, what with being mingled with grad students I didn’t know. There were other people from work there to talk to, and I also spent some of the evening talking English with a guy who is a grad student in English and was even a TA for some of the classes I took (although he was not MY TA).

Overall it was nice, and I think it’s something she wants to become a regular weekly occurence. Maybe next time we’ll even play Trivial Pursuit, woohoo! :)

Posted at 9:46 AM | (4)

The theme of this week’s Friday Five seems to deal with summer vacation (or winter, if you’re in the southern hemisphere).

Posted at 8:27 AM | (1)

I noticed that the last 3 posts I’ve done have all been memes of some sort. I don’t really have anything noteworthy to mention at the moment, so I thought I’d post the rest of my pics from my walks along the bikepath.

While walking along this part of the Coast Route…

I came across this sign, which I thought seemed funny for a beach town.

I also saw this house, which seems rather rustic, considering it is not far from the ocean. If you look carefully, you can see a dog in the window.

Here is a butterfly I saw on the ground. I think it was attracted to that purple petal underneath it, because every time it got afraid and flew away, it would come back and land in that exact spot. I waited patiently for it to return, although it refused to open its wings all the way while on the ground. Oh well.

That’s it for the pictures, until I take more, which probably won’t be until the next Photo Friday theme is announced.

Posted at 6:57 PM | (3)

This week’s theme deals with web surfing practices.

Posted at 8:22 AM | (7)

This week’s theme deals with web surfing practices.

Posted at 8:22 AM | (7)

1. Tumbler::Decanter
2. Recital ::Performance
3. Reform::Rehabilitate
4. Nipple::Breast
5. Jackal::Hyena
6. Mailtruck::Mailman
7. Merchandise::Wares
8. Comma::Punctuation
9. Erotica::Porn
10. Ferment::Wine

Even though it wasn’t quite as sunny, I decided to take another walk today. I found the bike path access that is right near my house and went the opposite direction from where I ventured last week. I found some pretty flowers, a creek, and a dirt path for people to jog or walk their dogs (Steve, you are right. I saw 3 people walking their dogs without leashes, but I didn’t kick them.)

Some middle aged man said “Hello, hello, hello” (yes, he really did say it 3 times) to me as he jogged past, but that was about the extent of my interaction with other people. I brought my camera along, and so took a few pictures.

Here is a picture I think is pretty, taken before I got to the bike path. It is some flowers and trees against a wall that faces a street.

A duck takes a swim in the creek.

This picture isn’t from today’s walk, but rather a photo I took at the campus lagoon.

Part of the reason I am taking so many pictures is that I decided I want to start doing Photo Friday. This week’s theme is “Critters”, but so far I haven’t found any cool critters—just a bunch of flowers and birds. I better find some before the week is up, but in the meantime I thought I would post these pics because I like them.

Posted at 5:44 PM | (2)

Every week I look at the Friday Five and decide not to do it, because the questions are too open-ended. A lot of the questions are too hypothetical and goal-oriented for me to comfortably answer. (This is why I do This-or-That Tuesday. I only have to pick between two items and not come up with something all on my own.) Anyway, this week’s Friday Five is not so open-ended, and also involves a topic I can actually talk about, so this week I will participate.

Posted at 8:34 AM | (1)

The theme for this week’s This-or-That Tuesday is:

Reading

Posted at 8:21 AM | (2)

Since I am desperately trying to keep myself from doing actual work, I stumbled across this and thought I would give it a try. Basically I am given the first word, and I am supposed to fill in the right side with my word association.

1. Arbitrary:: Random
2. Sweatshop :: Gap
3. Cotton ball:: Nail-polish remover
4. Intimate:: Sexy
5. Forgotten:: Memories
6. Photography:: Snapshots
7. Secretary:: Administrative Assistant
8. Stadium:: Seating
9. Purpose:: Reason
10. Shoe box:: Storage

OK, so I doubt that it’s very deep or profound, but if any of you find something cool in my responses, more power to you!

Posted at 3:20 PM | (1)

Ok, so I just quoted cheesy Brady Bunch lyrics, but I think they epitomize my day quite nicely. I just got back from an hour-long walk. Although I am not exactly sure how far I ventured, I’d say it was at least 3 miles.

It’s a beautiful, warm, sunny day with blue skies, and it seemed like the perfect time to walk around my neighborhood and see exactly what’s around. I pretty much only drive one way, so I decided to walk to the end of the street and back around, to see what’s nearby. That didn’t take very long though, so I ventured down the next street and kept walking past some pretty nice houses, properties with horses, and gated communities.

Part of the impetus for my journey was to see how close I could get to the beach from my neighborhood. I also wanted to take advantage of this nice weather, since I am usually either trapped indoors all day at work, or waste the beautiful weekends lounging around the house. After walking about a mile toward the ocean but still not getting anywhere close (as well as hitting a dead-end of sorts), I turned back.

Overall it was pretty cool—I got exercise for an hour, got to be outside and get some color, scouted out the neighborhood, and got honked at by a biker and some college kids in an SUV. ;)

Posted at 3:37 PM | (2)

Ahh, memories. This time of year, many things around town can cause one to reminisce, from the overcrowded bar scene as seniors celebrate their graduation after 4, 5, or even 6 years, to the students changing residence at the close of another school year. The past two days I have had to park my car closer to the freshman dorms, since the usually available parking spaces right next to my office have for some reason been full at an earlier time. As I walked to my car after work yesterday afternoon, I was struck by the scene of dads loading computers and other heavy items into the family minivan, while mom and daughter pack up the linens.

It’s been 2 years since anyone has helped me pack or unpack my belongings, and the last time I moved I did it all on my own. I did have my parents to help me during all 4 years of college though, so that was definitely a plus. Even though I am much more independent than I was back then (at least financially!), I still felt a wave of nostalgia watching kids packing up their lives from their first year of college. I don’t wish I was a freshman again, but I guess I am a bit envious of the carefree time that the simple act of moving out of the dorms represents.

Posted at 9:56 AM | (3)

The trial is over, and although I did not have to testify, I find myself pondering some of the facts of the case. The incident involves a formerly married couple who were married at the time, but have since divorced. The wife lived in my house during the week while attending graduate school, and on the weekends went home to LA to be with her husband. I am not sure if they had any marital problems at this time, but it was not a “separation”—it was merely having a separate residence for the convenience of going to school.

The husband hired a Private Investigator to stalk her wherever she went, and he found out that she was hanging out a lot with another male. For whatever reason—be it to take what he feels is his, or just to assert his dominance over her in a fit of jealousy—he decided to take all her cash (a few thousand dollars), her wedding ring, and some photo negatives that contained images of the wife and her new male friend, whom she is now seeing.

The method of obtaining these items was a bit underhanded—he did not enter through the front door, nor did he discuss the idea of taking this items from her beforehand. He instead pried open her window, took the items, and fled. She realized immediately upon coming home that these items were missing and, freaking out, she told our landlady that she had been robbed. She just assumed it was someone random, never thinking it might be someone she knew—especially not someone to whom she was married.

I am not sure how much of the money was hers; I do not know if they shared all money, if she earned all of it herself, or any other specifics. I am not sure under what terms this wedding ring was given or why she wasn’t wearing it. As far as the negatives, they were pictures taken on her camera, with her film, separate from him, and containing images of events he did not attend.

My question is: How much of a right did he have to this stuff? How much property in a marriage is communal? Does this apply if one of the individuals resides in two locations? If the wife decided to put the money in a bank instead of leaving it all in her room, would it have been in a separate or a joint account? What crimes have actually been committed? Was it just breaking and entering, or also burglary?

I kind of think that since the stuff was in a room in another residence and that the money was probably earned by her, that it was more hers than his. At the very least, I think that if he wanted to take it, he should’ve talked to her about it first and not broken in.

This married couple is Chinese and our other Chinese housemate has pointed out in China, none of this would be against the law. The husband has a right to take any of his wife’s possessions, wherever they may reside. This housemate was actually appalled that we reported the incident to the police, since he did not feel that any crime had been committed. Obviously these are the views of people that have been born and raised in China. I am curious though, as to what people born and raised in the United States think. Did the husband break the law? If so, which laws were broken?

I am not sure exactly what the outcome of the trial was, but he was found guilty. If he had agreed to pay restitution, the charges would have been dropped. He was sentenced to 6 months, but of course could get out sooner. The part I am uncertain about is what charges he was found guilty of—or even what charges were against him in the first place. If I find out, I will amend this entry, but I think that regardless, it’s an interesting topic. It seems some people feel this is a crime, and others not. Anyone who would like to express their opinion is encouraged to post a comment.

Not sure if this necessarily describes me, but Cliche Kitty is just so darn cute that I had to post it. :)

Take the “Which FARK Cliche Are You” quiz!

BTW, I didn’t have to testify today, so that makes my Tuesday extra Tuesday-rrific, as Kev might say.

Posted at 4:20 PM | (2)

This week’s This-or-That Tuesday is TV Shows/Movies.

Let’s begin, shall we?

Posted at 8:54 AM | (2)

I just talked to the defense attorney again, returning his call from Saturday. After hearing what I had to say—namely that I wasn’t home for much of the weekend, was almost never home at that time, used the room primarily for sleeping, and can’t remember many specifics of something I only had a vague account of in the first place—he told me that he probably wasn’t going to need me after all.

He told me to assume that he doesn’t need me tomorrow unless he says otherwise. I guess he’ll call me at work first thing tomorrow morning if he wants me to come in, but a non-call would mean I don’t have to testify. I thought it was a bit ridiculous that he thought my testimony could make a difference. Apparently, the ex-husband had been in the house before, but I had never seen him, and so couldn’t recognize him if my life depended on it. My other roommate, Zu, still has to go in because, in his original statement a year ago, he told the police that he was home most of the weekend, although he didn’t see or hear anything.

It’s getting to be a bit ridiculous how much this has gone back and forth with the lawyer saying he doesn’t need me, now he does, now he doesn’t, etc. This guy is almost more indecisive than ME!! Let’s see if he sticks to his latest decision…

Posted at 1:56 PM | (2)

Got back not too long ago from a last-minute trip to Vegas. Steve invited me to go with him not too long before he was scheduled to leave—he was going to compete in a BJ tournament. After giving it a bit of thought, I decided to take him up on the offer. I had a nice time, and even got to play some Blackjack at Mandalay Bay and Tropicana.

Oh my goodness, it was sooo hot there! Not at all like the icky June gloom that’s hanging around SB lately. I wasn’t really prepared for the temperature difference, as it wasn’t that warm when I went in April, and I only had like 10 minutes to pack. Luckily I packed 1 tank top, although sadly, no shorts. I also wish I would’ve brought my bathing suit, as it was perfect weather to go swimming and attempt to put some much-needed color on my blindingly pale body.

Oh, and in court-related news, I got a voicemail from the creepy defense attorney. It seems he DOES require my testimony after all, and would like for me to go in Tuesday. Ugh. He also wants to brief me or something for 5 minutes or so before my testimony. I can only hope that he doesn’t try to pull anything shady during my time on the stand; I think I won’t be able to just sit there and take it if he does. I already have this urge to give him a piece of my mind, and he hasn’t even technically done anything to me yet. But, if he so much as accuses me of being a party girl or even of commiting some sort of crime, I’ll let him have it. Don’t mess with me!

Posted at 7:26 PM | (6)

The recorded message just told me that “[my] services are no longer needed, but [they] may call upon [me] in the future. Thank you.”

That was pretty painless, I suppose. I think I may also be in the clear regarding the trial thing; I still haven’t gotten a phone call. My landlady testified yesterday and the sleazy defense attorney tried to insinuate that our house is a PARTY HOUSE!! Oh yea, everyone who has ever been to my house knows that it is just teeming with wild partiers. I mean, there were 3 grad students in the house, for heaven’s sake—TWO of which are engineering students, an area of study notorious for their wild recklessness. Spare me! I haven’t seen a party since I’ve been there, although I think a bash of the birthday variety has been known to occur from time to time.

Speaking of parties, I just finished eating stuff here at work. We had a goodbye party for one of the girls, as she got a full-time job at another department on campus. Hopefully she’ll come visit sometimes, because she is one of the few females I talk to. Amazing, I know, but I have been known to converse with SOME females on a semi-regular basis.

Posted at 11:27 AM | (3)

I got off the hook this afternoon, but will the same hold true tomorrow? The recorded message told me that I am once again tentatively scheduled to report at 12:45 pm, but must call to confirm tomorrow…..deja vu!

I’m pretty sure tomorrow is the last day of being on call, which, based on the experiences of everyone else, means I’m probably gonna have to go in….

Posted at 9:58 PM | (2)

I just called the Jury Duty recording as instructed, to get an update on reporting today. It turns out that all groups tentatively scheduled to report today are now told to call again tonight for further instruction. That means I don’t have to go in today, woohoo! Of course, on the down side, it means that I am now semi-dressed up for nothing! ;) C’est la vie!

Posted at 11:42 AM | (5)

I called the number to see if I have to report for Jury Duty, and I am tentatively scheduled to go in tomorrow at 12:45 pm. I have to call again tomorrow between 11-11:30 am to confirm—I’m not sure what the odds are that they’ll say I DON’T have to go in after all. Blah.

Still no word on whether I have to testify in my ex-roommate’s case—I’m really hoping that I don’t, or that it at least doesn’t conflict with the Jury Duty tomorrow; it seems my landlady has to testify though.

As far as the case goes, I was a bit confused as to what it was all about. I thought the theft was by someone random, and then I heard something about the ex-husband. It turns out the guy on trial IS the ex-husband, and he is suspected of stealing from the girl.

I guess he is pretty unstable and wanted to teach her some sort of lesson (or something). He only took stuff from her room and knew exactly where to look, so that makes this scenario more likely. Since the house is usually locked and he’d be more likely to be seen coming through the front, the girl’s window was pried open. The guy’s fingerprints were found on the window, although I guess he says they were there from a long time ago. My landlady has proof though that she had the windows cleaned a very short time before the event took place, which would make it highly unlikely the fingerprints would still be there.

My landlady says that if my other housemate and I have to testify, that the defense attorney will probably try to accuse US of committing the crime—despite the fact that we were never questioned further or fingerprinted or ANYTHING. I hope that is just hearsay though, and bears no actual merit. Can you imagine??

Anyway, I hope it all works out. From what it sounds like, this guy is an unstable jerk and somewhat stalkerish. The girl seemed very nice and not deserving of this kind of trouble. If the ex did do it, then he deserves to serve time—especially since he is trying to fight it to the bitter end.

Posted at 6:57 PM | (1)

This week’s topic for This-or-That Tuesday is Animals:

Posted at 8:17 AM | (6)

Well, it seems that I am in high demand these days with the Santa Barbara court system. This weekend I was served a subpoena for an incident that happened a little over a year ago. The incident in question is the theft of some money and perhaps other stuff from one of my former roommates. When it happened, I had to give a statement that I didn’t think was terribly helpful, because I wasn’t around much and didn’t see anything suspicious.

I talked to the attorney who issued the subpoena and he told me that I may not have to come in at all or, if so, that it would probably be no longer than 10 minutes. I signed some paper that says that I don’t have to come in on the date and time listed on the subpoena if I promise to come in within 30 minutes of receiving a phone call saying that they are ready for my testimony.

It’s pretty ridiculous if they use the testimonies of me and my other housemate. We didn’t see anything, and as vague as our statements were a year ago, we remember even less about the situation now! I mean, I barely even spoke to the girl while she lived here, and I never did find out if they got her stuff back or caught who did it. It would seem they at least caught the person, or else we wouldn’t be having this trial.

What’s even worse is that the trial has apparently been postponed a few times already and it may happen again—it depends on if the judge wants to hear the case that day. To complicate things even further, of course, is my jury duty. I called the automated system and, while I don’t have to go in tomorrow, who knows if I will be called in on the day of the trial. The lawyer tells me that I will not have to go in for jury duty if it conflicts with the trial, but still that’s a hassle I don’t want to deal with. I am sure it would involve making all sorts of phone calls, so I will just hope that the two events don’t conflict.

I feel so dirty somehow, being involved in TWO court related events at the same time—especially since how many people have to be witnesses in a trial?? It’s almost a bit ironic if you think about it, and even the lawyer had to laugh at the timing of it all. Anyway, the trial date is set for Tuesday, so I’ll just have to wait and see what happens. More on this later…

Posted at 1:45 PM | (2)