Lesson Learned

I went to the gym this morning (down 4 lbs total since we started going 3 weeksish ago) and was wearing my new orthotics. They warned me that I shouldn't wear them the whole workout when I start wearing them during working out. (The first week I shouldn't wear them at all while working out. I think, though, I've adjusted to them pretty well. I haven't had too much leg soreness or feet tiredness.) I wore them my whole 35 minute workout today. I thought about 1/2 way through I should take them out, but you can't just pause the elliptical machine while you do that. After I took my shoes off I discovered I totally should have taken them off. I have two rather large blisters now on the arch of each foot. This is more a result of wearing crappy thin socks while working out instead of proper thick soled ones but whatever. Both my feet are killing me and I am orthotic free today.

This is similar to my orthotic. It is only 3/4ths foot - it stops just before the balls of my feet. It is made from hard plastic so it does not bend at all.

I had another topic to talk about but I've now totally forgotten it. Sometimes I might suck.

Oh. I remember now. Mishka asked what tests I was taking. I am on my way to becoming a Certified Employee Benefits Specialist. (Or as my father says, a certified benefits weenie - I don't know he is just odd.) According to their site: "CEBS— The premier designation in total compensation, considered the standard of excellence in the industry" Yeah, it is odd to self promote your own tests like that but it is true. CEBS Certification is frequently a 'preferred' trait on job listings and the like. Plus even though I currently don't work with comp, I can say at least I'm certified in it (which is what this week's and two weeks ago's test was - peon comp and exec comp.) so that when I apply for comp & benefit manager positions I can at least take that tactic with regards to the comp half. It seems to be that's a pretty common combination and yet it seems there aren't a lot of us with experience in both.

Slacker Rewarded

I took another test today. As I was riding the bus and trying to read the study guide all I could think was that I was going to flunk this. There was no doubt in my mind I was going to fail this test. I hadn't studied and about 1/2 of the material I didn't really think I understood. I passed. It was probably the most satisfying pass that I've gotten on my tests. Also it is the 7th test of 8. I have one more! YAY! The last one is on Health Economics. I'm interested in Health Economics (much moreso than executive compensation) so this one should be the best one. And then I'm done. Go me!

I dropped off the cookie paperwork after running Tess to the vet. I had to turn the mom in. I feel badly about it, but I'm done. I realized that I had tried to contact the woman 19 times in 15 days. That's ridiculous. RIDICULOUS! I am a bit sad that this means a guarantee I won't see her daughter back. I like her kid. And I think we were good for her daughter. That's a bummer.

Snow!

I wish I had my camera with me. It is snowing outside right now and it is AWESOME!

Paranoia Unfounded

THIS* is what someone sent me. An edible bouquet from Edible Arrangements. It came from a coworker I've been helping with an L&I claim. It was so sweet I almost cried. :)

*Just like this but not in a 1/2 basketball. Actually in a pretty green basket.

Paranoid and distrustful

So I just got a phone call about someone making a surprise delivery to me and wanting to confirm my location. I did so. Now I'm burning with curiosity (y'all know I almost always read the last couple of pages in a book when I'm about 1/3rd of the way in right??). BUT I'm also a little wary. My first thought, could this be a process server? (I know there's NO logic.. I don't even know what I could be served for, but you never know...) I hope it is not and it is actually something good. I'll keep you posted.

Cookie Standoff Day 2

The problem with this whole thing is that the mom's excuses seem so vaguely plausible - a family member died, she's changing cell phone providers and she's been in training meetings. Yet, at the same time, they are so shady. No word from her at all today. I called the home and her daughter's father said she brought the money with her to work. I called work and she wasn't there. I called work a second time and she had left for the day. I called her home and said I expect to see the money at tomorrow night's meeting. I feel awful being so naggy about it, but we're talking $570. That's 1/3rd of all the cookie money we owe. I just called the service unit cookie manager and I'm still fine with not turning all my stuff in. Clearly it is a good thing I didn't trust her with all the money. I feel so frustrated with this, though.

Deadbeat

I spent the entire day today waiting around to see if I would hear from a mom in my troop. She still has cookie funds outstanding. Almost $600 in cookie funds. I have to make the deposit tomorrow. I've tried calling her several times. I've emailed her 3 times this weekend alone. This is not counting the reminder email earlier this week that money was due Wednesday and one on Thursday where I said I had to get the money from her I'm free all day Friday and Saturday and Sunday and just give me a time dammit! I did not hear from her. Her phone is temporarily out of service. I've emailed her 3 times since Saturday... each email getting more desperate. I've never had to turn in a deadbeat cookie mom before. I don't like this feeling. ALSO She wasn't supposed to be my cookie mom because I hadn't turned her paperwork in when the cookie sales started and yet I trusted her to be it. Now my ass could be on the line since I don't have the necessary paperwork for her. Clearly I have learned a lesson here. Oh so many lessons here.

(Of course I could hear from her tomorrow and I could end up not having to turn her in as a deadbeat, but I'm no longer holding my breath.)

Sooo sleepy

The neighboring building had the fire alarm going off several times during the night. As if the beeping wasn't bad enough, the fire trucks came a blazing each time with sirens and all that jazz.

Yesterday was awesome! I lounged around in bed for quite a while and then went and picked up my custom orthotics. I did have a minor panic attack when I logged in to my work email to check on the time of the appointment and discovered I put 9:00 AM into Outlook. It was 9:02 AM and I called apologetic for being late and turns out I had set it for 10:00. (I thought I had but I couldn't remember 10:00 or 10:30 which is why I checked Outlook). On the plus side, I think they might actually help. On the minus side, since I'm having to relearn walking properly, my muscles are going to get sore since they're being used differently than they're used to.

I also had awesome bus luck yesterday. As I was getting to the bus stop the bus had just pulled up. I trotted down the stairs quickly in hopes it wouldn't leave and there were enough people getting on and off that I totally managed to catch it. THEN on the way home I could see it sitting at the bus terminal across the street. I figured I'd be missing that, but hadn't counted on bus driver change over time and so I caught that one too! It was nice. :)

I had to stop into work for a minute to email a headhunter our benefits guide in some form other than Publisher. It took me 3 computers in my department to find the one that had Adobe so that I could convert it. Then I took myself out to brunch at IHOP. I love IHOP. Nobody else I eat with here loves IHOP. That's sad for them. :)

Took a nap. Played some DS. Watched TV. All in all the best type of Friday. :)

End of the world as I know it.

I not only watched Dancing With the Stars tonight, but I actually went online and voted. I only watched because I wanted to see Marlee Matlin dance.

Mmmm... Waffley

Remember how I said I was indecisive. And then I alleged I was decisive. Ha! We all knew that wasn't true, right? So here's the thing. I know I said I wanted a new cat and my cat is disregarded and unloved, and in reality that hasn't changed. And in reality that probably won't change. But here's the thing. I'm now having pangs of maybe I shouldn't go seeking a new cat yet. (I say this like there's tons of cats out there and I'm going to get offered them all.) I have a misguided sense of loyalty. I'll be the first to admit that. A tiny part of me feels like I shouldn't go cat seeking right now because it would be disloyal to the current cat. And not so much that, but that with so much turmoil the cat is currently undergoing it wouldn't be fair to add something else to the list. You know? You don't I can tell already. You dear reader are thinking "Joanne, why are you a freak and just go and find a new cat already or don't but don't be wishy washy and don't bitch about the current cat if you are unwilling to do anything about it" and you'd be right. Maybe I'm just nervous. There's a cat at the ultimate ideal shelter. Well, there is one in CA at my house of worship. There's one in New Hampshire (kind of near Kate & Dave) and there's one here with the best possible shelter one could want to know about. I need to just buck up and do it and not waffle. Don't I? :)

I can be decisive

I've just decided I'm looking for a new cat. (Michelle will know what that means). My current cat is disrespected. My cat's entire department is looked down upon and is in the process of having my cat's boss's cat demoted two levels. This is fucking ridiculous. The most recent slap in the cat's face... an email from someone about how he would rather ask someone who knows (translate that to: has no idea about anything) rather than trust my cat's opinion. Fuck off fucker.

Indecisive

I'm like 10 hours away from 34. Shouldn't I have the ability to make decisions by now??? I've waffled about 3 different things today.

Sometimes things are sad

I just sent the email to set up the PCN (personnel change notice) to terminate my big boss's employment effective April 4th. (Technically he isn't my big boss anymore since I became the manager, but for ease blogging he's still big boss. He is not the toolman who is still and forevermore a tool.) I feel really sad about this. I liked him a lot and he was a great boss. It encourages my anxiety about the next step and who or what the toolman will hire in his place.

Related... Even though I've been working in benefits for 9 years now, I still giggle in my head like a 12 year old kid whenever I have to talk about STD. That's short term disability, folks.

Definitely

Down two lbs. I weighed myself this morning before the elliptical trainer and after. Same weight. I don't sweat that much apparently. :) I'm going to try to not be obsessed about the scale and only weigh myself once a week. Yay.

I think I had more to say but I've forgotten it. I'm tired.

Camera Fun!

For my birthday my mom gave me a new camera. I'm very excited. And I'm obsessed with it. It is awesome. It can go up to 10 feet under water. It can get cold to 14 degrees and I can drop it from 5 feet. I'm rather impressed because she tends to be a bit odd about things she gets me.

She got me an Olympus Stylus 850SW in hot pink. How awesome!

This is a house across the street from the Northwest Puppet Center. I played with Photoshop to make it look old and weathered. It is a gorgeous house and I covet it.

The camera also has super macro. How cool!

This purple flower was at the PCC when I was selling cookies with the girls. So cool. I lurve it.

A Whole Lotta Stuff

1 - I may or may not be down 3 lbs now that I've started exercising regularly. I say may or may not since I am going by the weight I was the last time I went to the doctor's office about a month ago. Also since I weighed myself AFTER I was on the elliptical trainer for 1/2 hour it could be 100% water weight I've lost. (Although I drank quite a bit during and after working out so who knows.) I'm choosing to think I am down 3 lbs because that's the way I roll.

2 - I had a really fun and filled weekend. I sold cookies on Saturday. I am soooo over cookie sales. Like I could not be more over it if I tried and yet I still have 1 more site sale to do. And then I have an assful of cookie money to deposit. Sigh. I wonder if other leaders get as bogged down by cookies as I do.

3 - I went to a puppet show at Northwest Puppet Center. It was really fun. They didn't dumb down the science which I appreciate.

Workout Endorphins

Lyday and I have started working out in the morning. Well, by started I mean we went yesterday and today. Wahoo! So far it has been good. I've done the elliptical trainer for 30 minutes. Both days I did that. My strides average in the high 140s (I have to almost stop to drink water though, I do not have the skills needed to keep going at a high speed and not spill water all over myself so that brings down the average.) Also, my average heart rate gets skewed because sometimes I go too high and into the redzone which then loops around as though I was barely working. So that throws off my heart rate. I'll get that figured out sooner or later, though.

The reason we're doing this, besides the fact that it is good for us, is we want to do the Big Climb next year. I know I said last year I want to do it and then never did anything, but this year I have a buddy to train with. I think that'll make all the difference. Hmmm... maybe I need an exercise label.

Be my Netflix Friend!

In reality, I have no idea how to make people my Netflix friends, BUT they did give me a link you can click on to be my Netflix Friend. So be my Netflix friend and tell me what to watch!

Also be my Shelfari friend and tell me what to read.

I hate movies??

I was on Netflix today trying to update my queue since I FINALLY watched the latest Titus DVD I had at home. (I watched it over the weekend. It arrived in my box in December... Early December.) I wanted to see what was next and what was on my list. I don't have a lot on the list. It is a bit sad actually. I know there are movies I want to see. I sit in the theater for other movies and think "Oh I want to see that..." over and over again. Yet when I sit down and look at Netflix, I either have seen the movie or totally lost interest in seeing the movie or it has been so long that the movie is now on HBO. Am I too picky, or are all movies made these days total crap? (And could this be an exact parallel to my love life??) :) What do you all recommend I watch? Tell me and I'll watch it. No matter how much I can't stand it. (Unless it is horror. Here I am offering y'all the chance to totally tell me what to do and I'm putting qualifiers on it. But really. I can't watch something like Saw. I really really really can't. I'm a big baby. Really. I am.)

Update: So as I'm going through my recommendations from Netflix, I discover several things: 1 - I seem to only watch movies I'm pretty certain I'm going to like. This means I never see anything that different. 2 - I seem to like gay movies. 3 - In Dramas I seem to like "black" movies. 4 - Netflix also seems to think I want to see churchy movies. Netflix seems to use the ambiguous "Because you rated this, you might like this" method of telling me what I might like. Because I don't bother rating movies I know I've seen but can't remember liking or not liking, I may have to start doing that to get more suggestions. But, if y'all tell me what to watch I'll probably watch it. I'm desperate for entertainment. TV just isn't cutting it and it is still a month before new shows start. I'm dying here...

Naptime

I've just woken up from a nice nap. Now I'm freezing. FREEZING.

This morning I volunteered at the Firefighter Stairclimb. Lyday and I volunteered in the Rehab section which was a lot of fun. More fun than I originally thought it would be. My voice is still a little hoarse from my cheering and yelling. We were at a station that had cookies and water and fresh oranges. The guys who had finished the race would come by and get snacks. It was a lot of fun. I was also near where they go by at the start of the race so we watched that. There was this teeny tiny girl, no older than 3 or 4, who was giving out cards with her picture on them to certain fighters. I think they were running for her. She was really cute. Which makes it really sad. There was another kid who was cheering for someone named Ryan. It was really a fun time.

Yesterday I sold cookies with the girls. I spent 4 hours outside a grocery store. It was good. We sold about 40 boxes per 2 hour block. Only 3 more site sales to go.