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September 29, 2005

Valium, anyone? I just spend

Valium, anyone? I just spend an hour on a WebEx meeting with 10 other people and was the only one who is even slightly technologically competent. I want to bash my head on the desk or go on a killing spree. Plus - PLUS - no one in but me had their phone on mute, so the conference call was muddled with background noise from NINE OTHER PEOPLE, which is freaking annoying : nails on chalkboard.
 
Example from the DQ&A* :
 
DQ : well, can't you change the database so that when I download it into excel, it automatically sorts itself alphabetically?
A : it already does that
DQ : oh. well... I guess you're right. I was thinking alphabetically by street name.
A: you can do that easily in excel, if you need to. just sort the info and you're all set.
DQ : then can you make it so that when I download the report, I don't get the phone number field, because sometimes I don't need the phone numbers?
A : it's better to leave the phone number field in there, and you can delete the column in excel after you download it.
DQ : can't you just re-write the database?
A : yes, but that would take hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars and in any case everyone else uses the phone number field. the best course of action is for you to delete the column in excel.
DQ : oh, ok. how do I delete in excel? and what's a column?
 
 
 
 
 
*DQ= Dumb Questions
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Posted by giddygirlie at 12:10 PM |

September 28, 2005

It's that magical time of

It's that magical time of year again for the CHOC "Walk in the Park", which is the annual charity event to raise money for Children's Hospital of Orange County (CHOC)! This year's event is Sunday, October 2nd at 7am inside Disneyland Park. Last year, your generous donations helped me to personally raise over $350 for CHOC, contributing to the first-ever $1 million fund raiser for CHOC!!!  My goal for 2005 is to raise $500!
 
I would once again like to extend an invitation to everyone to join me - and Ryan too! - to participate. The walk is a LOT of fun and is a relaxed pace stroll through the Disneyland and California Adventure theme parks before they open! Around every turn is another magical scene, including all of your favorite Disney Characters! This event is great for everyone - even children! If you're interested in walking with us, click here to sign up and start collecting your own funds.
 
If you're interested in donating money to CHOC and would like to sponsor me, donations of $1 or more are graciously accepted. All money donated is tax-deductible. If you would like, click here for the credit card payment option and checks are welcome [please note that I cannot give individual receipts for cash donations].
Thank you in advance for your love and support and for helping Orange County's children! I'll see you at the CHOC Walk!!
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Posted by giddygirlie at 4:32 PM |

September 27, 2005

by Charles Bukowski the wind

by Charles Bukowski the wind blows hard tonight and it's a cold wind and I think about the boys on the row. I hope some of them have a bottle of red. it's when you're on the row that you notice that everything is owned and that there are locks on everything. this is the way a democracy : works : you get what you can, try to keep that and add to it if possible. this is the way a dictatorship works too only they either enslave or destroy their derelicts. we just forget ours. in either case it's a hard cold wind.
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Posted by giddygirlie at 8:44 PM |

September 25, 2005

Ryan and I spent

Ryan and I spent Saturday with our dear friend Reuben, who updated our tattoos and let us watch "Anchorman" which we hadn't seen yet -- hilarious.

I was glad that I was first in the tattoo chair. I needed to hurry up and get it over with... I was a little nervous. It's been a few years since I got a tattoo, and even though Tink is 8 years old, I can still remember how bad it FRICKIN HURT (they dig in the color, especially green - FYI), so I wanted to get in and out a.s.a.p. Reuben decided that he would touch up everything (the star and virgo symbol are nearly 10 years old) and he added in the pixie dust swirls, which are very red in the picture (swelling and my own blood...eeeew) but will calm down to be yellow in a day or two.

It took about 45 minutes to do everything, which was pretty quick, considering, but it was the longest 45 of my life. There are certain spots on the spine and shoulder that are hotbeds of nerves and when it gets hit with the needle, your back convulses whether you want it to or not. There were some of the little spots - just dots or asterisks - that were so incredibly painful, they made my legs twitch. I had such an adrenaline rush when it was done, I could have run a marathon.

Ryan had his arm embellished -- the clouds are all new -- and his only took maybe 30 minutes. He weathered it much better than I. I was constantly contorting and gritting my teeth, he was carrying a conversation. Tough guy. The only part where I saw him clench his jaw was on the inner arm, which -- dude, my hat is off to you. That's a bitch.

I was a little bit proud of myself last night on our drive home, when Ryan told me that he was telling Reuben that I was a little nervous and he hoped that I kept my compsoure (he ran to pick up lunch while I was getting work done) and Reuben told him that 1) I didn't scream or cry, which is cool enough and 2) my tattoos are in the most painful part of the body and that even he won't get more tattoos on his back, especially the shoulder blade (and he's covered neck to toe!) -- he said I have balls, that I'm a tough chick. Yay Mia!!


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Posted by giddygirlie at 5:17 PM |

September 23, 2005

I love my optometrist. Sure,

I love my optometrist. Sure, I only see him once a year... I'm not like stalking him or anything, but he's a really funny guy. He's like "you can see me? even when I stand way over here [2 feet away]? well then, you're better off then most of my patients -- are you sure there's something that I can do for you?"
 
My prescription is the same as it's been -- 3 years running, hooray for computer glasses! -- so I basically went just to get my pupils dilated (hot look for me, BTW) and pick out new frames. I chose some cutie Nicole Miller frames, but I got them in their 'black emerald' model, which I can't find on the internet, but are very cute. They're kind of see-through plastic with black and green and white and little stripes and... you know, I am useless as a Glasses Describer. I resign from the Lenscrafters Catalog Department. I apologize.
 
When they come in next week, I'll post some pictures. Although you will probably be able to hear my co-workers laughing all the way from where ever you live.
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Posted by giddygirlie at 3:00 PM |

September 22, 2005

What did I tell you

What did I tell you about Tank Dwelling Creatures? They will break your heart every time and yet it's never any easier.
 
On Tuesday morning, I turned on the light for David's* tank (my tree frog) and he hopped off the rock to the glass, as usual. Tuesday night when I came home he was laying on the rock with his legs stretched behind him. I called Ryan to look, because he looked funny, like he was sunning himself or something. Then when he saw us both looking, he turned to move away and we realized... his legs weren't moving. He dragged them behind him and headed back for the plants. I was shocked - what could have happened?
 
I freaked out and searched the internet, to no avail. I got one piece of email advice from a Frog Doc who suggested giving him vitamins. So yesterday I went and bought the vitamin powder and dusted all of his crickets, which he couldn't hunt (seeing as how he couldn't jump), so I ended up feeding him the crickets, by holding them with tweezers in front of him. He ate 2 that way, and I was starting to feel hopeful -- if he was eating, he couldn't be that bad off, right? Even if his legs never worked again, he'd still have a life and we could adapt his tank for a paraplegic frog.
 
Then, about 11pm last night, he gave up the ghost. Poor David was dead on the bottom of the tank. I don't know if he was too injured to eat and now I have killed him, by feeding him, or what exactly. I did shine bright lights through his body and could see that there was no heart beat. I was so sad... how could this happen? Nothing seems to explain it. Poor froggie.
 
 
*originally there were 3 : Michael, Michael, & David. Michael 1 died as soon as he grew legs, Michael 2 escaped.
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Posted by giddygirlie at 9:46 AM |

September 21, 2005

Fall fell and the sudden rain

Fall fell and the sudden rain and the moon wobbles have severly fucked with my head. I am extremely exhausted, but I have fitful, interrupted sleep. I dream about craziness and monsters, but also about lovely things like babies and Dane Cook. Oh, how I wanted him to kiss my hand like he did all the other women in the audience. I also wanted to squeeze Erika's baby -- I saw her face in my dream! -- and to meet the baby that I was fatly pregnant with. Then I would be chased by a demon after my soul and wake up in a cold panic. Only to find myself alone and the wind outside howling. I crept into the living room, where Ryan was still up working and The Kid was watching TV -- what was it, 4am? No, 11:30pm, but thanks for playing.
 
I crawled back in bed - wash, rinse, repeat. [except add : "geez, you scared me - why are you up again?" when I came out the 2nd and 3rd times]
 
*sigh* Also, I feel bad, because The Kid is kinda low right now and I want to corner him and force him to talk about it (the only tactic that works with his brother), but I don't know how to begin. Especially since I keep falling asleep so early, while he's out with his friends. I know the situation, because Ryan is up when he gets home and so he relays the information, but I feel even worse about coming to the Kid with "so your brother tells me that you're upset... let's chat! Just pretend that I'm your friend, or even someone that you want to talk to, ok? Ready, go!" It's a whole slew of family crap that's pestering him, which is why I want to be involved -- I am an "insider" that would understand even better than most. Friends mean well, but they can't possibly understand the back-story. Poor guy, his head is full-up with this junk and he's trying his best to muddle through and go to school and work and... poor guy.
 
 
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Posted by giddygirlie at 1:51 PM |

September 19, 2005

This weekend Ryan and I

This weekend Ryan and I went up to Pismo Beach to visit grandma. I took a lotta pictures, because I got a new memory card -- woo hoo! -- so now I can take 800+ pictures in a single session.

I had such fun with Molly, our neice, who draws TONS of pictures. I snapped a few pictures (she was severely embarrassed, so I had to stop) because I just LOVE them.

It is probably one of those you-had-to-be-there things, but Ryan and I were driving after lunch with Shannon and Randy, and at this intersection I whipped out the camera to take a picture of these dinasours made of metal. I clicked and a car blurred through the picture, so I told Ryan to stall a minute longer and let me get the picture - which I did. Then I went to the car picture to delete it and it was Shannon and Randy in the picture!!! She apparently saw us waiting at the light and was waving. We didn't see them at all, until I looked at the picture and we screamed "NO WAY!!" all the way back to the house.

Later we saw this RV parked on the street, which is plastered in science posters and paraphanilia. It looks like it was originally decorated for the bicentennial in 1976 and then the science stuff was added later. The webpage advertised on the side of this thing reads like a schizophrenic diary.

We went down to the beach to collect sand dollars (they're everywhere on Pismo Beach) and we saw a lot of seaweed, including these crazy giant ones and some that look like whale sperm or something. The water was FREEZING but Molly and I waded in to collect shells and dollars. I even got Ryan to wade in a bit for a dorky picture of us.

We also got to look through some of Randy's paintings in person (photographs don't do paintings justice, especially if you're a purist). I didn't have time to photograph them all, but he will have professional ones soon, because he's doing a show in October.

The drive wasn't too bad, the day was beautiful and we listened to Dane Cook and Mitch Hedburg CDs and got cramps in our faces from laughing so much. Did you know that your WHOLE FACE can hurt so much from laughing?? Yeah, it does. And Dane & Mitch do it to me every time.


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Posted by giddygirlie at 1:32 PM |

September 16, 2005

I've made a decision :

I've made a decision : I am going to decide.
 
A lot of you know my challenges with finishing my RN certification, because of school/work conflict (essentially, I can't afford to work 40 hrs. a week for free and that's what I need to do to finish) and that I am beating my face on my desk daily because I can't stand this job anymore. So I am in a pickle -- how do I get enough money to go to school for a year while not impoverishing myself and living in my parent's garage?
 
I'm on the cusp of deciding whether or not to take out a student loan. I've put it off this long, to save myself the expense later, but it's the only realistic way of finishing my education. Since nursing school isn't really that expensive, I can probably only borrow $6k or $7k -- which ain't enough, folks. I need a big ol' handsome sum that will keep me in my apartment and full-up on gas. It's not like I can slum it up in a dorm room or ride my bike -- which is definitely to my disadvantage. I'm too old to be thinking about sacrifices and inconveniences... I'm settled in my ways and cozy in my apartment... I don't really want to pick up and move into the barrio for a couple of years. And I was thinking that if I do borrow money, shouldn't I aim higher? Shouldn't I take advantage of being a full-time student and do something that I have always really really wanted? Yes. So I am meeting with some people next week to discuss my plan to tackle the rest of the classes for my BA. That's right, I'll be a higher education lady now. Bwah ha ha ha.
 
Pop Quiz : guess my major [in the comments section] and if you guess right I will send you a prize. For reals.
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Posted by giddygirlie at 2:05 PM |

September 15, 2005

The biggest danger in blogging

The biggest danger in blogging is _____.
 
For everyone, it's something different. Some fear their boss. Some fear the wife. Far and away, I think most people fear The Past. The Past could be someone who used-to-be-your-friend or an ex or a escaped convict that you'd promised to help rob a bank -- it's very individualized.
 
I wouldn't categorize myself as afraid per se, considering that I know they are here [*waving* hi, how ya doin' in the back row? you, with the dark glasses and the scarf? no sense in hiding, you've been spotted]. I know they're here, but I haven't ditched the blog or moved underground. Fortunately, I haven't had to. I am a realist -- I am confrontational and loud and opinionated and bitchy and I take everything with a grain of salt. It's why I am so endearing. Ha ha ha. I write things that I know that they will read, things they won't like, or things they probably think fondly of too and may want to comment.
 
And although I consider myself brave, I get sooooo pissed off when I see other people being intimidated. People who feel like they have to move or censor themselves or stop writing. I hate it when I hear that people are being bombarded from people from their past, people they hardly knew, people they are trying to forget, people that have evicted them before, people who just re-open the wounds, people who drop in just to be jerks. What the hell is wrong with these people? I want to slap them all. And with the mood I am in, I could do it -- tonight even! So Will Robinson, when that robot yelps 'danger' at you, call me up. You know I got your back.
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Posted by giddygirlie at 4:25 PM |

September 14, 2005

Recently I was browsing Monster.com

Recently I was browsing Monster.com -- never hurts to keep your options open, right? -- and I came across a job for a travel agency that fit with my experience and expertise and the posting had a list of duties, ending with "must be flexible and open minded". Ok, fair enough -- we all know how that goes, right? You get hired as, say, and admin and you end up being the Project Coordinator handling multi-million dollar projects but being paid $12 an hour. Anyway, I'm thinking it can't be all that bad, and I am just about to fire off my resume and then I realized that the recruiter's email address is on the page and gives the web address. Awesome.
 
So I pull up the page and.... oh my god... ok, well it turns out that open minded is a whole other thing, because this agency deals exclusively with 'adult industry' and 'swinger' travel. In a million years, I would never have thought such a place existed!! Not that I am a swing lifestyle expert by any means... but I just never pictured buying a vacation package that included round-trip air, hotel, transfers, free meals, and a portly 50 year old couple in leather chaps in every room. Call me conservative, but I just never imagined it...
 
So I was chatting with my old boss from my Travel Days and I tell her about the job posting that I found and we laugh. And then stop laughing and start wondering about pay... they have to pay well, right? Considering the extrememly confidential nature of the business, they should compensate pretty well, right? She tells me to send a resume, get a line on what the salary is. I chicken out. Then she calls me 2 days ago to tell me that one of her agents (she works somewhere else now) just resigned to take THAT job.   !!!!!!  Sadly, the girl won't share what her new salary will be and asked that the new job be kept on the down-low.
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Posted by giddygirlie at 10:18 AM |

In high school, my dear



In high school, my dear friend Ursula was frantically trying to hook me up with her friend, Jared. We went out a couple of times and had a blast, but there just wasn't that... spark, or whatever. Instead, we remained friends and had fun. Ursula used to always rib me about how I could let him get away -- he really is the sweetest guy -- and how I was wasting my time chasing these other losers. She was right, of course.

But now, 10 years later, she's gone and married Jared herself. Congrats to the newlyweds -- I love you both.

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Posted by giddygirlie at 10:13 AM |

September 13, 2005

I just don't feel like

I just don't feel like it today -- is that so wrong?

If I am rude to you, please forgive me. Unless... well, if you think you need an apology, you probably don't deserve one.


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Posted by giddygirlie at 9:44 AM |

September 9, 2005

I just came back from

I just came back from lunch time birthday celebration (mine) with my co-workers. I always like going out to lunch with them, because you get to catch a glimpse of what they're really like outside of work. Maybe a little more colorful, spunky, rude, etc. I love it.
 
One of my co-workers is this adorable blonde doll who cracks me up. I think she's a lot more free spirited outside of work than she lets on (we're a pretty conservative bunch while in the office -- people actually say things like "goodness gracious" when they really mean "you stupid ass motherfucker"), and I love catching a peek at how she really is. She minds her tongue when around the Office Clan, but I highly suspect that she's no stranger to saying "bullshit" when the need arises.
 
Today at lunch, we were discussing someone who seems to be on the wimpy side and so Blonde says "you know what? He just needs to be a man! Grow some [lean in, whispered hush] b-a-l-l-s."  Needless to say, the whole table fell apart. Such language! From such a lovely girl! I was probably laughing a little too hard. Yes, it was funny. It was fucking hilarious that she spelled it out. But the reaction from the others who burst out in genuine laughter, but who also were probably genuinely shocked, was priceless.
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Posted by giddygirlie at 1:37 PM |

September 8, 2005

My mom found this (thanks

My mom found this (thanks Ma!) promo online -- now you can help the victims of Katrina for free
 
Nick At Nite/TV Land have pledged to donate $1 for each person who signs up for Family Night -- a night to sit down and have dinner with your family.
 
Signing up is SO easy -- just enter your name and city. No email address needed - no registration required! It took me about 10 seconds!
 
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Posted by giddygirlie at 4:30 PM |

In retelling The Kid's story

In retelling The Kid's story of his Mexico trip to a friend recently -- to the heart of the jungle, to the top of rickety pyramid temples, inside the houses of soviet leaders and famous artists, living for a week inside a truly functional commune in an endangered and secretive society, sleeping in bunks, trading for food, riding for 3 hours in the back of a pick-up truck in driving rain and cold wind on an unpaved road until the truck could not take them any further and then walking the last mile or so uphill in the slimy mud and thick vegetation to the camp -- the thing that I could not stop by obssessive mind from thinking about : no toilets.

Ah, to be 20 again.


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Posted by giddygirlie at 12:48 PM |

September 7, 2005

Yesterday at Disneyland, there was

Yesterday at Disneyland, there was a sweet faced little girl waiting in line for Space Mountain ahead of us. She was maybe about 4 years old and had adorable little wispy ringlets and a matchy-datchy tank top and capri pant outfit on and these teensy-weensy low-top Converse. She was clearly bored (as was I, thus the staring) and she started playing with the chains that they use between the stanchions to direct the line. She was twirling it around like a jump rope for a while, then wiggling it like a snake. Eventually she - like all kids do - sat on the chain and started swinging back and forth.
 
In my head, she was my sweet daughter, and I would put my hand on her tiny shoulder and say "sweetie, please get down, I don't want you to fall". I had a pet name for her and everything and I must have replayed the scene three or four times before Ryan saw the girl, furrowed his eyebrows and said "who lets their kid swing on the chain like that? She's going to fall and break her head open!" Then, seeing my startled expression asked "what?" But I couldn't possibly explain that I was standing there daydreaming about being the World's Best Mother and gently coaxing my daughter off the chain...
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Posted by giddygirlie at 3:42 PM |

I'm fresh off my FIVE

I'm fresh off my FIVE DAY WEEKEND and you know what? I am every bit as tired and crabby and sick-of-this-place as I was before I left. Long story short, 5 days off does not create employee bliss. It does, however, fuck up your sleep schedule something horrible.

My fault, really. Taking a "nap" from 10pm - 2am on Thursday was the first domino in the row, and when they were all toppled with the miscellaneous sleep times strewn hither and thither, I was still awake at 2:30am last night, devouring the 6th Harry Potter book. I mean, you know it's bad when The Kid comes home at 2am after hanging out with his friends and shakes off your offers of Reno 911 re-runs and Scrabble to shower and go to bed. Someone clearly needs a bedtime : me. Although there was one person who benefited from my tweaker schedule -- Ryan. He's always up all night working, and now he had company! After being together nearly 24/7 for 5 days, I think we completely exhausted all topics of conversation. Last night we found ourselves yakking it up about the price of notebook paper. That's sad. Really, really sad.

The list of what I did do pales in comparison with what I didn't (no floor mopping, hardly any sewing, etc.), but resting and relaxing was well worth a dirty floor. I also saw The Brothers Grimm and rode the newly re-opened Space Mountain at Disneyland. I ate Hostess Cupcakes from the freezer and re-read David Sedaris and took bubblebaths every day and BBQ'd with friends and listened to some Bosstones and watched crappy TV in my pajamas . But it was still totally worth it.


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Posted by giddygirlie at 11:25 AM |