1. At least three times a week you are too caught up in your work to realize that you should have eaten lunch, you know, three hours ago.
2. You wake up in the middle of the night for whatever reason and feel compelled to check your Blackberry so that the inbox can be “clean,” when you start the work day.
3. At least once a month you can’t fall asleep because you are too busy making a to-do list for the next business day.
4. For the simple fact that you haven’t had a completely disconnected vacation from work in over three years. One of the downsides to working for the family business, I suppose.
5. You’ve flipped off the computer or the telephone on more than one occasion in the last month out of stress and frustration.
6. Your idea of taking a break during the day is checking to make sure the office is straightened up and leaving notes for the cleaning crew.
7. The only “funny” stories you have to tell are about that one time your co-worker spilled coffee on himself. Until you realize that it’s not funny and it happened four months ago.
8. Everyone at the office knows to ask you if they need something done. Sure, a sign that they trust you and you’re good at what you do but also proves that maybe you’re a tad too reliable.
9. Your hands are permanently in the poised-to-type position even on a Friday afternoon.
10. To get through all your work projects you listen to Pandora, quietly of course so as to not disturb your colleagues, which means you’ve used your 40 allotted hours within the first five days of the month.
(First of all, I’ve been scouring the darn interwebs for an embeddable version of this video and I just can’t find it, so you’ll have to click through. Really. You should.)
I think I mentioned that last weekend I watched the Saturday Night Live Halloween Special which was maybe 90 minutes of absolute hilarity considering most of the skits were pre-1998 meaning they were really flippin’ funny.
One of my favorites? The LandShark. You can view it here. (Sorry, couldn’t find an embeddable one!) I don’t know why but it cracks me up every time.
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I have no idea why I remember this but one year my best friend and I decided to audition for the school talent show by doing a dance/lip synching routine to The Time Warp from The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Actually, I have no idea why we thought that was a good idea. (Confession: I’ve never seen the entire film, either.)
Could you picture me doing any of this?
I don’t think we actually made it to the audition once our parents realized what we had chosen to do. Ah, to be young and innocent!
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So it’s Halloween tomorrow which means I have to be on my guard because, um, well I’m terrified of people in masks. It’s amazing to me how a mask can transform someone you know and love into a scary, freaky specimen of a person that you suddenly don’t recognize. The maintenance man at our building scares me every year (yes, every year, even though I know it’s him) by creeping up to my desk in one of his freaky masks. Uncool.
I think it all started when I was in high school, driving home from a Halloween party and a masked/face painted dude showed up out of NOWHERE and jumped onto my car and just stared at me. My friend and I screamed and just stared at the guy. He disappeared just as quickly as he showed up. My nerves were rattled for a few hours!
Here’s hoping that the kids who come to the house don’t scare me!
Do you have a Halloween fear/phobia or conversely are you the type of person who enjoys scaring the crap out of the rest of us?
Before I gave up my apartment I lived a mere two miles from my office. Two miles. No highways required to get from Point A to Point B.
Since moving home: It’s about 25 miles door-to-door. Doesn’t seem super terrible does it? Ah, but MoDOT decided two years ago to close our main highway, the artery of StL as it runs East/West right down the middle of the City & County for extensive construction. It is still closed. Because of this the other innerbelts, highways and outer roads are jampacked everyday from 7am-9am with the exception of holidays.
When I sit in traffic because people are rubbernecking or staring into the sun rather than wearing sunglasses or just being stupid drivers in my mind I’m doing this:
I’m not really a road-rage kind of person but after I’ve been sitting in traffic all morning, no breakfast, still tired, and also ready to get to work and get it done, traffic + bad drivers + slow drivers = annoying. So I’ve been experimenting with routes.
Route #1: Involves three highways, lots of weird drivers, bottlenecking for no reason and can take anywhere from 45 minutes to 70 minutes. Downside: Waste of time, waste of gas, very bad for my sanity.
Route # 2: Little traffic. One side road, two highways. Total time about 25-30 minutes. Downside: I have to leave by 6:55 am and get to work by 7:20-7:30ish which is incredibly early for a night owl like me.
Route # 3: One Outer Road and one highway. Total travel time varies but getting to the outer road is kind of a pain in the butt not to mention more bottlenecking.
Route #2 is the forerunner, assuming I can get my rear-end out of bed early enough to get on the road. The benefits of living at home far outweigh the commute I have to endure. Until StL adapts better public transporation that involves StL County as much as the city, this will be me from time to time:
Back from a week-long work trip. It was a whirlwind working triple duty (all day meetings, working remotely at night and trying to be a good girlfriend to Irish who came along for the journey).
Was it great? Yes.
Stressful? Hell yes.
Did I manage to really see NOLA? Double check.
I’m rather swamped this week with more catch-up work, family coming to town, a garage sale and a final sweep of my apartment (my landlord has someone who wants to lease it before mine is up which means a money back in my pocket!) and oh, that pesky thing called school.
But I’m sure you are dying to hear about some of my trip to NOLA, so please check out the post I wrote for Mandy.
I will likely and shamefully be marking my reader “READ,” so please let me know what’s new with you, what posts I must read and know that I missed all of you much more than I thought possible.
(I have some great posts coming soon, I promise, so don’t abandon me yet, dear readers.)
So it’s no suprirse that the decision I made over the weekend, the one to withdraw from my Graduate Level Finance course was extremely difficult for me. Since the class started three weeks ago I’ve been spending 20-25 hours a week just on the reading and homework plus another hour or two on the weekly quiz, discussion boards and other random assignments.
Math isn’t my strong suit and so I worked my butt off to pull off the A- I had earned up to this point which my professor told me via email (as this is an online course) that I wasn’t trying hard enough and that I needed to work harder.
I was having nightmares about not completing my Finance homework on time and correctly.
I was stressed all day, every day, felt like a giant weight was pushing my chest, and dreaded leaving the office for a ” date,” with my Finance book and notes.
I hardly had time to talk to Irish, let alone my other friends.
On Saturday, after a lovely day of (much-needed) shopping with Darling, I came to a few conclusions:
* Life is short. I shouldn’t be so stressed out over school.
* No one is telling me I need to graduate by December of this year; I brought that on myself.
* If I had my way, I’d switch gears and work torwards my MA in International Affairs, which is what I’m truly passionate about.
* There was no way I could take two courses, work and be “me,” this summer without going certifiably insane.
After a Cherry Slush at Sonic, a hefty purchase at Ann Taylor Loft (oh, the sales and cute, cute clothes I bought!) and some heart-to-heart time with Darling (who is my mom, for those of you don’t know), we went home to talk to my dad.
I didn’t want to drop my class and seem like a quitter or a weak person but I knew that if I continued on this path of little sleep, intense stress and supreme grouchiness that it would only get worse.
After talking to my dad calmly, and okay, with a few tears here and there as is he my go-to (besides Irish) for big life decisions, he said to me that my happiness is more important than a graduate degree. That most kids don’t finish a masters in two years like I had planned on doing. And he left me with a quote from his grandfather that certainly resonates: ”Don’t pick up a box unless you want to carry the load. And if you do pick it up? You can put it back down.”
I went online and emailed my professor my “thanks for assistance but that due to my professional workload and other course commitments that I am withdrawing from his course as I can’t complete it to my personal standards at this time.”
Then I officially withdrew from the course and suddenly I could breathe again.
(I am still taking one course this summer and while it’s demanding it’s not 20-hours-a-week demanding.)
I have a few other things to figure out with respect to my graduate studies but I learned a few things over the weekend: * That I have choices.
* That my family & Irish will always be there for me as counselors and for emotional support. (Okay, I already knew that but it’s nice to have it reinforced on occasion).
* That it’s okay to admit that you’ve taken on too much and to tone it down and that if the people you surround yourself with are your friends, they will understand.
* That sometimes it’s necessary to re-evaluate our choices and the path we have chosen and in doing so, we can make ourselves happier/less stressed/better off than we thought possible.
* You know you made the right decision when you are instantly happy.
* I already feel more like “me,” and that is really all that matters.
* SURPRISE! My Aunt & Uncle are flying in today to give my Gram an (early) birthday surprise. I’m looking forward to the weekend of wine, beer, BBQ and nostalgia with my family. Also? I am excited for Irish to meet them. (I met all of his main friends & family within the first four months of us dating. Since my family is spread out he gets to meet them in pieces.)
* May has been an insane month and it’s not even half over. Over 11 birthdays (some are friends/family of Irish, others are mine), some of which snuck up on me so I have some back-pedaling, cards to send and presents to wrap. And of course the ones that are in-town require birthday parties, baking, presents, family time and parties. I don’t remember the last time I was at home, in my sweatpants, lounging around. As of right now all signs point to Nora Relaxation time taking place after Vegas. Exciting to be busy and seeing my friends, yes but also exhausting. Which brings me to…
* I’m tired. I’m tired of: saying yes to everything and feeling guilty if I say no; of overextending myself; people who don’t call me back; friends who complain we don’t talk or hang out yet NEVER call me; rude people; arrogance; the desire to eat chocolate; 10-hour work days; poor Irish having to work late; not getting enough time with Jack; my work clothes ; my hair hair; corporate America.
* Plantsvs Zombies. Sounds crazy, right? Courtesy of Irish I’m now hooked on a completely silly puzzle game. I plant flowers that have powers to kill zombies. Zombies try to get through the flowers and etc while shouting “BRAINS!” in a very eerie voice. But did you know that there are zombies who ride dolphins, are on bobsled teams and impersonate Michael Jackson? The game has some very awesome comedic qualities and as Irish says “like a zombie bite I have infected you.” He’s also excited becuase he’s slowly turning me into a nerd. Awesome.
* School, glorious school. Two weeks from Monday I’m diving back into graduate school classes. In the next 27 weeks I’m taking five classes and will graduate in December with my MBA. I’m dreading the return a little bit but I need to forge on, push through and finish it up! (At least that’s what I keep telling myself.)
* In Livin’ Color. (Anyone remember that show? I wasn’t really allowed to watch it as a kid but I saw glimpses on occasion.) It looks like I’ll be leaving my lovely apartment in August to move home/continue the faux-cohabitation with Irish. The debate over the living situation is enough material for another post but suffice to say Irish and I want to live together but there are some things that are kind of standing in our way. We’re trying to place nice and not piss anyone off so I’ll move home, save up mad money, and continue to more or less live with Irish a few days a week. Should be a win/win.
Since Irish and I have been dating we have been to approximately six or seven weddings and receptions.
Each time we have been seated at the table with the odd couples/persons out. Our friends tell us this is because we are such a dynamic and versatile couple that we can clearly handle anything. Most of the time we make the best of the situation sharing sneaky glances and winks with each other, supressing our laughter and of course, doing a post-mortem of the event on the way home and possibly the day after, depending on how interesting/weird/wacky the stories are.
Saturday night we had yet another wedding reception to attend for a couple that we have been getting to know more of; they live in MWood just a few blocks from me, same age, a lot of fun, etc etc. We were both looking forward to the party as it was at M&K’s house, outside, low-key, beer on tap and really, what could be better?
As soon as we arrived the only people we knew (Irish’s co-workers) left.
We scanned the crowd for other people we may know and this being the StL I of course knew several people from my Mizzou days but not necessarily people who would remember me and/or people I felt like talking too. (I have my reasons, I promise.)
We wandered from room to room, making idle small talk with a few people here and there. And then we were cornered.
Girl: Excuse me, may I ask you two a question?
Irish: Sure. Girl: Are you guys from somewhere other than StL, like another country? Irish: What were you thinking? Girl: Um, Korea? Nora & Irish in unison: KOREA?
(Side Note: Irish occasionally is asked if he is from Spain. I don’t really see it but it happens. I’m usually asked if I’m from Italy/Greece if this comes up.) Girl (smacking hand to head): No, I meant California. Are you guys from California? Irish: No, I’m born and raised St. L. Nora: Can’t say that I am. Born in NYC and moved around. Girl: New York? If I could visit one country I would love to visit New York. Are you two engaged? I love weddings! (Yes, the girl really did say country, not state.) Irish (shifting uncomfortably): No, we aren’t engaged. Nora (nervous laughter): Haha, no. Not at this time. Girl: Oh, I thought you were. I love your dress! So pretty. So how did you two meet?
Irish looks to me for help. Nora: Through a friend/blind date situation. Girl: That’s what everyone says. So much better than going online. Why would you do that? Go online to meet crazy people? Nora/Irish: I don’t know. It’s probably not a smart idea! Girl: Hey, why don’t you (points at Irish) take her to New York and go skinny dipping or something? Irish: Well that’s an idea. We’ll have to keep that in mind. We were on our way to grab some food, do you need anything? Girl: Oh, no. Thank you! You two have a great evening. Great to meet you.
The rest of the party went on in the same fashion. We talked to the strange cousin who looked like Frank from 30-rock, a really sweet Aunt of M’s who had one eye that wandered around while you were talking to her (I never know where to look!), and K’s mom who told us about her very random and unsuccessful blind dates.
As much as I’m a proponent of weddings and parties I’m really glad we don’t have another wedding to attend until October.
(Actual conversation I had with a not-so-potential client last week)
Walk-In-Lady: I’m interested in a new career. Do I have to tell you my blood type to take classes here? It seems like everywhere I go I have to tell people what my blood type is and I have no interest in doing that.
(Nora’s mind: As much as I respect individuals trying to start over for themselves, wow, are they a little bit on the wacky side.)
Me: No, we certainly do not need to know what your blood type is. What may I do for you?
(Nora’s Mind: Please be a normal answer, please be a normal answer. Not related to blood types.)
Walk-In-Lady: I also want to make $100k per year. Where can I go to do that?
(Nora’s mind: $100k per year, eh? You aren’t going to like the answer I have for you if you aren’t a fan of blood and blood types. Let’s give it a try anyway since it’s the truth.)
Me: Well the best careers for IT in that case would be in the network administration area, though currently that kind of salary is usually for those who are interested in working second shift or third shift hours. As of late health care, government, defense and education are in need of skilled, certified IT professionals. Do you have any certifications at this point or do we need to start from the beginning?
Walk-In-Lady: NO! No health care. I’m afraid of needles. And they ask about your blood type there, too. Plus I’d have to get a lot of shots and tests to work there. And I don’t want to work third shift. And I don’t want to answer phones and help people. I just want to know what my job is and do it. And not have to tell people my blood type.
(Nora’s Mind: So glad career students aren’t my jurisdiction at the office. And if you want to make $100k in IT unless you magically become the director, yes, you’ll have to work third shift. If you mention blood one more time I’m going to tell you that we do ask for blood types just so you’ll leave me alone.)
(The conversation went on for another five minutes, all of the information I provided her with was not what she wanted. Fortunately she only mentioned blood types one more time.)
I’m back on Facebook and frankly, my dears, I’m not loving it. No, I’m not talking the new layout or anything like that but I’m talking about feeling like I need to respond to people, to reconnect with folks I haven’t talked to in a long time and of course seeing info on people you just don’t want to hear/see about. It’s not that I don’t want to reconncect but it seems I’m the one always doing the reconnecting. Why can’t other people reach out to me? (I’m cleansing my friend list again). It was also, as I mentioned, a great social experiment. Some of my friends refuse to talk to me in any form BUT facebook. Others don’t email (oh, I wish they would. I know this is terrible but I am not a big phone person anymore). Others don’t do phone calls or email. I’m keeping it for now, I’m not going to obsess over it anymore, but I’m not sure I like it. It feels like another intrusion/interruption. And yes, I realize I can make it all go away with a click of a button.
Wedding season! Irish and I attended a lovely ceremony and reception Saturday afternoon for one of his long time buddies. The bridesmaid dresses were not pretty… at all. But the bride was amazingly gorgeous. I still don’t know why she’s not a model. It turns out I went to high school with her brother (it’s a small world after all, it’s a small, small world!). The reception was good boasting some pasta that I could indeed eat, albeit at the pace of someone with dentures, a decent DJ, yummy cake, and a full dance floor. Oh, and a photobooth! (I scanned the pictures in and they aren’t super fantastic, but thought you’d like to see anyway. In the third picture I have my head down as we thought we had gone through all four flashes already. It’s quite artistic so I’ll have to find a better way to share them with you. The fourth one is bad so I cropped it out. Editor’s rights!) Random Side Note: We only have one other reception and one other full wedding to attend for all of 2009 so far. I’m kind of excited about that… perhaps a little too excited.
Easter. Irish and I did a marathon day. My parents, then his. Food and dessert at both. I did manage to eat a little bit though my jaws/sockets/other teeth hate me today. I’m back on my mush diet for a few more days as per my doc’s orders. Darling gave us both awesome, unexpected Easter baskets, my Gram only asked me twice what foods I’m allergic to (I’ve told her at least six times) and we all laughed a lot. At his folks house we watched the end of The Masters, made a fire, and then I tuned out the talk about politics (I have to keep my mouth firmly closed when there) until we called his sister who lives in Australia and talked to her for a few minutes. Now? I want to go to Australia.
The rest of the weekend: Wii, sleep, read. Walk Jack, grocery shop, drive to my house to pick up clothes I forgot for wedding and then on Sunday for the dessert I forgot to pick up on Saturday, questioned myself for being so forgetful lately, quality family time, quality Irish and Nora time, Tumblr time, enjoyed a day off, wished I had more days off, and stared at a few episodes of Friends Season Five before I drifted off to a blissful sleep while Mother Nature pounded StL with rain on Sunday evening.
(Thanks again to all of you for your lovely thoughts, support and get well wishes on all accounts the last several days. My family and I are still struggling but we will get through!)
I’m back to work today.
I wish I could say everything is going smoothly but in fact life without pain killers just plain sucks. Dealing with idiotic coworkers on top of pain and lack of food, which translates into lack of energy is doubly sucktastic. (The pain killers I have are so fabulous that basic social functions are near impossible so forget driving, working, being professional.)
Life without real food? Totally stinks.
Sure the first few days of pudding, jello, dreamsicles and mashed potatoes sounds appealing but after three days? Um, someone pass the bread, or cheese or chicken. I’m Italian and I love real food. I’m not afraid to admit.
I will take the weight loss (three pounds and counting) since it gives me an edge and leg-up as to where I want to be. I’ll even take the hugs from my parents and Irish because who doesn’t love hugs?
But the rest of it I’m ready to leave. I’m an impatient patient. I want to be at the gym, I want regular dinners (I’m craving broccoloi.), I want my regular social life back, my energy to return and no more pain!
I wish I had a more exciting, upbeat, positive outlook for this snowy, cold, blustery morning. And yes, I said SNOW. It’s April and we have dustings of snow.
So in order to not be a total debbie-downer, please leave a comment with one happy thing you enjoyed over the weekend.
My top three happy things: Going to the grocery store with Irish yesterday (domestic things make me happy), starting over with Season One of Friends, the fact that Darling texts.
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