One of the great things about a nice sunny day like today is that it makes your car nice and toasty. Since it doesn’t usually get above the 70’s here, one rarely has to worry about the in-car temperature crossing the line from toasty to OHMYGODIT’SREALLYHOTTURNONTHEAIRQUICK.

After emerging from my air-conditioned office (which, as far as offices go is actually pretty mild in temperature. My last office was far too cold) it feels so nice to sit in a warm car, letting the non-circulating hot air surround you.

Since my drive to lunch is relatively short, I didn’t open my sunroof since I didn’t want to lose any of the built-up heat. On a longer drive the hot air would become a bit stifling, and the open roof with the sun shining directly on me makes me happy, so it’s almost always open on warm-weather days.

I even sat in my car after parking in my lot, waiting for “Where the Streets Have No Name” to play in its entirety before leaving the warmth and going back inside.

Posted at 12:35 PM | (0)

Did anyone else get any candy for Easter? One of the best reasons for me to go home (besides seeing my family, of course) is to get all the candy!!

This year I got Cadbury Eggs (the best candy in the world), Peeps, and other chocolates.

Did you know that Target makes RED peeps?! I got some this year, and I must say that they are kinda creepy. I get that they are bright red because that is the color of Target’s logo, but I don’t understand what that has to do with Easter. Has anyone else seen these?

I will of course still eat these peeps. After all, food coloring does not take away from any of its sugary, marshmallowy goodness. I think some of them will be taking a swim in a dark sea of hot chocolate in the near future. :)

Posted at 10:54 AM | (0)

Didn’t sleep much last night, and while I was fine when I got up, I think I’d rather be home napping right now. I think that’s what I’ll do when I get home—nap and then catch up on the soaps. :)

On the cool side, this morning I got to breakfast with Steve at Cajun Kitchen, which is always good. Although, my blueberry muffins were a bit stale, which was not so good.

Hmm, maybe I should eat some of the chocolate bunny sitting in my purse in an effort to stay awake. It certainly doesn’t help that today is an exceptionally slow day in terms of work crossing my desk.

*Yawn*

Posted at 12:32 PM | (2)

What’s so good about a Friday where you still have to work your regular 8 hour day?? At least I managed to come in early today, so MAYBE I can pretend that 4:15pm is “leaving early”. I doubt it though. :)

Posted at 12:51 PM | (3)

This afternoon someone in my company decided to perform a helpful public service by sending on a forward from a “reliable” source, warning of a phone scam that could cost the victim thousands of dollars.

Of course, I saw this forward at least 3 years ago and already knew that it was mostly hype. While it is one of the few forwards that has some truth to it, the chances of actually coming in contact with this scam is very, very small. I mean, if this email has been floating around since 2000 and you’re just now hearing about it, I’m guessing it means you’re not in danger of being contacted.

My main point is this: I’d be more careful before I sent out these kinds of emails TO THE ENTIRE COMPANY. Because, one of two things will inevitably happen: you’ll either freak everyone out needlessly; or, more likely, someone will call you on the misinformation and provide you with numerous links to webpages debunking the rumor.

While I do get a certain amount of amusement seeing people worry about a “threat” that is already half a decade old, I find myself shaking my head that people still fall for this stuff. If the story sounds sensational or has a suspicious lack of certain details, it’s probably a hoax. That little girl with cancer is not getting money if you send this to 100 of your closest friends, nor are you getting that free Gap gift certificate or a check from Bill Gates.

But just to be sure, type in a few keywords to any of the myriad urban legend websites before you send it to every member of your company.

Just a thought.

Posted at 3:15 PM | (7)

1. Stink::Skunk
2. Renewal::Driver’s License
3. I remember…::all the way back to preschool
4. Loneliness::Sad
5. Ooooh::Ahhh
6. For real::Like, for sure
7. Titanium::alloy
8. Get down::with your bad self
9. Rupture::spleen
10. Dramatic::over-emotional

Posted at 12:18 PM | (0)

Perhaps someone can explain this to me. When I came into work this morning, I noticed that my voicemail indicator was lit (which almost NEVER happens as I get extremely few phone calls. 99.9% of my interaction takes place via email). I dialed in to check the message(s) and heard a guy start his message as “Hey, Laura”. After he was done, he ended it with “Thanks Laura”.

Ok, MAYBE it’s possible that someone named Laura used to work here and had my phone extension, but I did set up a greeting which says my whole name, in a voice that I am pretty sure does not even remotely match “Laura’s”.

Why is it that people don’t listen to recorded greetings to ensure that they reached the correct person? It just seems that people ignore them and proceed to assume that they not only dialed the correct number (which is not always the case), but also that the desired person will get their message, regardless of whose voice is on the greeting.

I remember this happened a few times back at home too, with the most amusing being some guy speaking Spanish leaving a message for a guy named Jose. Um, we don’t have a Spanish-sounding last name, and our greeting was entirely in English, so I’m not sure why they proceeded to leave a message.

Anyway, Laura and Jose won’t be getting their messages any time soon, so I hope they weren’t important!

Posted at 8:35 AM | (3)

Damn, this sucks. My hope of winning the tournament this year is shot already, in the first game of the second round.

Gonzaga lost by 2 points. Since they were my pick to win the tourney, this means I am now officially out of the running.

Lame. :(

Posted at 12:41 PM | (7)

Once again I have decided to do a bracket, even though I never even come close to winning these things. It’s still fun though—from the coin-flipping used to pick my teams, to watching the scores change on ESPN.com. Sure, I don’t follow these teams during the year, but I’ll cheer with the rest of them when the teams I picked are doing well.

This year I have Gonzaga to go all the way—a move which will ensure my victory…IF they win. Which, because I picked them, they probably won’t. They didn’t exactly blow away their competition yesterday, which had me a little worried.

After Day 1 of the tournament, I am currently 12 for 16, which puts me in 14th place—not exactly a stellar beginning, but the tournament is still young.

Anything can happen!

Posted at 9:41 AM | (1)

So, how many of you are wearing green today? Does anyone even care past the age of 12? Who out there purposely didn’t wear green, hoping that some cute guy/girl would give them a little pinch??

I’m pretty sure I haven’t worn green every St. Patrick’s Day, and I can’t remember the last time I gave or received any pinching. Despite it being a tradition, I think I’d have a problem pinching the CEO if he chose not to dress festively. I’m guessing this is why only elementary school kids dole out the traditional punishment—little kids have no scruples when it comes to such things, and they even derive a bit of sadistic glee from seeking out people to pinch.

Anyway, from my unofficial survey of the like 5 people I’ve paid attention to today, I’d say about half the people have some sort of green on, including myself. Not wanting to be too ridiculous by dressing all in green, I have managed a subdued combination in the form of a lime green and white 3/4 sleeved baseball shirt purchased during my sister’s mandatory stop at the Hard Rock Cafe in Berlin. The sleeves are green, as is the writing, and I feel that this is sufficient.

It’s all so silly when you think about it—I’m not even Irish! :)

Posted at 12:26 PM | (11)

Today we had a birthday party for one of my coworkers. His birthday was….in December.

Needless to say, our attempt at a surprise party was a success, because who would expect a celebration 3 months later? This guy’s birthday gets forgotten every year because it is so close to Christmas that no one is ever in the office. So, my boss decided it would be nice to remember him for once (as well as a good excuse to bring in some banana creme pies!)

Who needs lunch when you can eat pie and sliced apples with caramel?? ;)

Posted at 12:13 PM | (6)

Looking around to see what daily memes are still out there, I came across the Tuesday Twosome. Here is this week’s:

1. Shaved or not shaved? Shaved.

2. Asleep or awake? Asleep—who doesn’t want more sleep?!

3. Above ground or underground? Above ground—underground reminds me of moles, earthworms, and dirty subways.

4. Bath or shower? Shower—taking a bath would mean I’d have to really clean my tub!

5. Fake or real? Real. Oh yeah.

Posted at 11:22 AM | (3)

I can’t think of anything worthwhile to write about right now, so I thought I’d just post a link to an amusing article that Kevin sent me.

http://alternet.org/story/21458/

It’s about how all those kid’s television specials we used to watch cause depression, like when Snoopy runs away from Charlie Brown.

Anyway, check it out if you’re bored, it’s an entertaining read.

Posted at 10:25 AM | (0)

I’m currently a bit bored in class, but I just thought I’d share the latest on my Grandma.

She went into surgery today—although it was delayed by almost 2 hours. It seems that it went just fine, with no complications, so that’s very good news!

I guess now we’ll wait and see how she does in rehab! I’m glad that she’s doing OK. :)

Posted at 6:36 PM | (3)

Last night I had a bunch of crazy dreams. I remembered them at the time they woke me up, but by this morning, many of them were gone. There were just too many!

One involved being back in High School (although it didn’t LOOK like the high school). I was hungry and so had a huge-ass bag from McDonald’s, and an equally large coke. I hadn’t had a chance to eat it yet, so I brought it with me to my physics class (complete with our old Physics teacher). Melany decided to sit down next to me (which apparently she didn’t normally do, since she commented how different it was on this side of the room), but then I knocked my soda over, which the teacher instantly noticed. Melany tried to pick it up without spilling it, but to no avail. So I had to get up and grab a ton of paper towels to mop it up. It was awkward.

The other involved me being in a bedroom and some Asian dude with a long, thin, bendable pole started trying to fight me. He kept trying to beat me with the stick—first he’d try an initial jab, and then if I didn’t block it, he’d go full force. A few times I grabbed the stick away and tried to attack the guy with it, but I didn’t do a very good job. I just couldn’t get the pole to hit the guy as hard as I wanted. Yes, I know that this one could sound sexual or something, but at the time it really just seemed like some martial arts guy trying to injure me! I felt a little panicked when I woke up.

What the heck though?? What does it all mean?? And why did I have so many dreams last night?!

Posted at 9:59 AM | (7)

Well, my wish in person wasn’t belated, but it is here on this blog. Yesterday was Steve’s birthday, so HAPPY BIRTHDAY STEVE!

I still have to take him out for his birthday dinner, although he has already received the birthday brownies I made him (OMG I baked something!). I was kinda sad I didn’t wind up getting to take him out on his actual birthday, but I guess this means he gets to extend the festivities when I take him sometime this week!

Posted at 9:32 AM | (2)

My mom just informed me that my grandma is having another hip surgery next Thursday. She first had one back in January 2003, and now 2 years later she is having one on her other hip.

I hope all goes ok—I’m sure it’s no fun to be in so much pain that you seek out being cut open. Although, it went perfectly last time, so I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about!

Posted at 3:04 PM | (4)

This morning before I went to work, I stopped and picked up the t-shirt I won from Friday’s contest. The two people in the office were very nice, and they had an assortment of different shirts to choose from. I chose a little white tank top. Some of the other styles were cute too—I guess I’ll have to win a couple more contests so I can collect them all! (Not that I have a lot of drawer space to store them in)

They already knew that I wrote about them here in my blog when I walked in, because of their referer logs—so now I know that at least some people click on the links I put in here! I guess they are as obsessed with their stats as I am—maybe even moreso, since their site serves a larger purpose than mine and certainly has a larger audience.

So anyway, free stuff is cool! :)

Posted at 11:07 AM | (9)