Monday, January 31, 2011
Be honest
Who is your cheesiest guilty pleasure musical artist? You know, the one that you're embarrassed to admit that you like because they're so bad. Mine is Phil Collins. No, not the awesome band he was once in called Genesis. But Phil Collins and all his cheesy love ballads. I can never pass up a corny love song. I actually LOVE his cover of Cyndi Lauper's "True Colors" and own it on CD.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Scenes from an Office: Free Breakfast day
My company caters breakfast once a month. For its employees. Not its employees and their families. But there is always that handful of people that think this food is free for the taking. Pun intended.
Now, in my opinion*, it is rude and greedy to be in line at 830 am and grabbing an extra one or two bagels or cookies to bring home for the family "later" knowing that half the company isn't even in yet to get their food. There could potentially be an employee that doesn't get their once-a-month free breakfast because you are bringing food home for your family. And that annoys the crap out of me.
How do I know that they're bringing food home for their family and they're not actually going to eat the 3 bagels, 2 cookies and 4 Krispy Kremes on their plate, you may be wondering? Because some people have just come out and told me. Once I saw a woman walking out with an overflowing plate. So of course I had to make the obligatory joke/comment "Are you really going to eat all that?" Her reply, "Oh, the cookies are for my son, he just loves them!" Really? And btw, her son is like 16. Not some cutey patootey toddler that you can imagine eating chocolate chip cookies like he's the Cookie Monster.
It is perfectly acceptable to wait until breakfast is over then grab some leftovers. Hell, I am always the first one in line for free leftovers! And, yes, I have even brought home leftover catering food home to the fam. One time they catered a lunch for us and there must have been 20 leftover pizzas in the kitchen so of course I grabbed one. Who says no to free pizza?
What's your opinion? Am I being too harsh here?
*This opinion is assuming the rude employee(s) is NOT homeless and NOT living on food stamps and is, indeed, a greedy individual. If they are homeless and living on food stamps then this opinion is null and void.
Now, in my opinion*, it is rude and greedy to be in line at 830 am and grabbing an extra one or two bagels or cookies to bring home for the family "later" knowing that half the company isn't even in yet to get their food. There could potentially be an employee that doesn't get their once-a-month free breakfast because you are bringing food home for your family. And that annoys the crap out of me.
How do I know that they're bringing food home for their family and they're not actually going to eat the 3 bagels, 2 cookies and 4 Krispy Kremes on their plate, you may be wondering? Because some people have just come out and told me. Once I saw a woman walking out with an overflowing plate. So of course I had to make the obligatory joke/comment "Are you really going to eat all that?" Her reply, "Oh, the cookies are for my son, he just loves them!" Really? And btw, her son is like 16. Not some cutey patootey toddler that you can imagine eating chocolate chip cookies like he's the Cookie Monster.
It is perfectly acceptable to wait until breakfast is over then grab some leftovers. Hell, I am always the first one in line for free leftovers! And, yes, I have even brought home leftover catering food home to the fam. One time they catered a lunch for us and there must have been 20 leftover pizzas in the kitchen so of course I grabbed one. Who says no to free pizza?
What's your opinion? Am I being too harsh here?
*This opinion is assuming the rude employee(s) is NOT homeless and NOT living on food stamps and is, indeed, a greedy individual. If they are homeless and living on food stamps then this opinion is null and void.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
First love.
Do you guys remember your first love? I do. I was about 12 years old. I don't really remember how I met him. I remember admiring him from afar for a long time. He was "older". I was a pest to him.
I was still living in NJ. Everyone from my neighborhood hung out at the park by the basketball courts. Technically he was from a neighboring neighborhood. But once in a while him and his friends would come play basketball at our park. When I would see him and his friends round the corner of the park my heart would just stop. Sometimes to the point where I just had to leave. Especially after I knew that someone (I don't really remember who) had told him I had a crush on him. This was really the only time I ever saw him, at the park. Like I said, he was older and we didn't go to the same school. But he did literally live one block away from me but there was really no reason we would ever interact.
I don't know how but I got his phone number. And I would actually build up the nerve to call him sometimes. We kind of became friends. He even called me once in a while. This went on for a while and just when I thought it could actually become something my parents announced to my sister and I that we were moving to FL! OMG, life was over. I would never find another cute boy to like ever again! For months, my heart ached just thinking we would never be anything. I would be a thousand miles away. There was one particular song on the radio at the time that expressed perfectly my heart ache of having to move away from the biggest crush of my young life. I don't know the name or the artist but I heard it on the radio the other day and it brought me right back there. I love how music does that.
After I moved to FL it was absolutely painful. Literally, my body ached from missing him so much. But seriously, I was 13 at this time. What the heck did I know about being in love? I wrote all over my school folders "I heart (name omitted to protect the innocent)" After a few years we somehow became penpals. We wrote to each other for years, getting to know each other. He was in college, fell in love with a girl and they were going to live happily ever after. I was 19 and an aimless high school dropout. It just wasn't meant to be. Then we stopped writing to each other.
But, of course, everything happens for a reason. I think I turned out to be a pretty damn good catch. Too bad he missed out.
Who was your first love?
I was still living in NJ. Everyone from my neighborhood hung out at the park by the basketball courts. Technically he was from a neighboring neighborhood. But once in a while him and his friends would come play basketball at our park. When I would see him and his friends round the corner of the park my heart would just stop. Sometimes to the point where I just had to leave. Especially after I knew that someone (I don't really remember who) had told him I had a crush on him. This was really the only time I ever saw him, at the park. Like I said, he was older and we didn't go to the same school. But he did literally live one block away from me but there was really no reason we would ever interact.
I don't know how but I got his phone number. And I would actually build up the nerve to call him sometimes. We kind of became friends. He even called me once in a while. This went on for a while and just when I thought it could actually become something my parents announced to my sister and I that we were moving to FL! OMG, life was over. I would never find another cute boy to like ever again! For months, my heart ached just thinking we would never be anything. I would be a thousand miles away. There was one particular song on the radio at the time that expressed perfectly my heart ache of having to move away from the biggest crush of my young life. I don't know the name or the artist but I heard it on the radio the other day and it brought me right back there. I love how music does that.
After I moved to FL it was absolutely painful. Literally, my body ached from missing him so much. But seriously, I was 13 at this time. What the heck did I know about being in love? I wrote all over my school folders "I heart (name omitted to protect the innocent)" After a few years we somehow became penpals. We wrote to each other for years, getting to know each other. He was in college, fell in love with a girl and they were going to live happily ever after. I was 19 and an aimless high school dropout. It just wasn't meant to be. Then we stopped writing to each other.
But, of course, everything happens for a reason. I think I turned out to be a pretty damn good catch. Too bad he missed out.
Who was your first love?
Thursday, January 20, 2011
A Letter to the Tooth Fairy
Dear Tooth Fairy,
I have a bone to pick with you. Please explain to me why my daughter's tooth fell out on a Monday and you didn't show up until Thursday? Two mornings in a row I had to see that heart broken little face that you didn't show up and put $1 under her pillow. What's your deal lady? I don't want to hear any lame excuses like you were laid up in the hospital or you were stuck in traffic or a billion other kids lost their tooth the same day.
Come on TF, a little girl is 5 only once in her life. Please get your act together. You're making me look bad.
Sincerely,
Jill's mom
I have a bone to pick with you. Please explain to me why my daughter's tooth fell out on a Monday and you didn't show up until Thursday? Two mornings in a row I had to see that heart broken little face that you didn't show up and put $1 under her pillow. What's your deal lady? I don't want to hear any lame excuses like you were laid up in the hospital or you were stuck in traffic or a billion other kids lost their tooth the same day.
Come on TF, a little girl is 5 only once in her life. Please get your act together. You're making me look bad.
Sincerely,
Jill's mom
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Mom
BTW, today is the 8th anniversary of my mom's death. RIP Mom. You are missed everyday. And not just by me.
The over-explainer
I was in Publix the other day and the cashier asks the woman in front of me "Would you like to donate a dollar to the Special Olympics today?" "Oh, I was just here yesterday and I gave then." What is the need for this explanation? A simple "no thank you" would have sufficed. Do you think the cashier even believes you?, I think to myself. Do you think the cashier is judging you for not helping disabled people? Do you think the cashier thinks that you hate disabled people? I feel like when you try to over explain things it just makes you look unbelievable, insincere.
Now, I'm not talking about lying. I'm talking about the too-much-explanation-in-your-answer answer. When the cashier asked me if I'd like to donate a dollar to the Special Olympics I simply said "Not today, thank you." Done. No explanation given. End of story. No judgements. Maybe I already donated that day or even that week. She doesn't know and quite honestly she doesn't need to know. It's her job to simply ask me the question not judge me for my answer. I, personally, don't care if she thinks I hate disabled people.
Now, I will admit that once in a while when I get invited to do something I simply don't want to do my first reaction is usually to go into some overly explained story of why I cannot go or participate or whatever. But then I think to myself "You're allowed to say NO just because you want to." In my selfish thinking I really don't feel like I owe anyone an explanation in life. Well that's not entirely true. I answer to my husband and my children, that's about it.
Most people won't question you if you simply say "I'm not going to be able to make it to your sister's BFF's daughter's boyfriend's barmitzvah." No reason given. Especially someone that doesn't know you very well. But if they do happen to have the nerve to ask you "Oh yeah, why not?" you can always tell them that it's your sister's BFF's daughter's boyfriend's barmitzvah the very same day. What are the odds?
Now, I'm not talking about lying. I'm talking about the too-much-explanation-in-your-answer answer. When the cashier asked me if I'd like to donate a dollar to the Special Olympics I simply said "Not today, thank you." Done. No explanation given. End of story. No judgements. Maybe I already donated that day or even that week. She doesn't know and quite honestly she doesn't need to know. It's her job to simply ask me the question not judge me for my answer. I, personally, don't care if she thinks I hate disabled people.
Now, I will admit that once in a while when I get invited to do something I simply don't want to do my first reaction is usually to go into some overly explained story of why I cannot go or participate or whatever. But then I think to myself "You're allowed to say NO just because you want to." In my selfish thinking I really don't feel like I owe anyone an explanation in life. Well that's not entirely true. I answer to my husband and my children, that's about it.
Most people won't question you if you simply say "I'm not going to be able to make it to your sister's BFF's daughter's boyfriend's barmitzvah." No reason given. Especially someone that doesn't know you very well. But if they do happen to have the nerve to ask you "Oh yeah, why not?" you can always tell them that it's your sister's BFF's daughter's boyfriend's barmitzvah the very same day. What are the odds?
Monday, January 10, 2011
Scenes from an Office: Refrigerator clean out day
My company posts signs on the 3 refrigerators in the kitchen about once a month about when the refrigerators will be cleaned out. They always go up at least a week before the scheduled date. And it's ALWAYS over a weekend. But inevitably, I ALWAYS hear people bitching Monday morning.
"Ugh, why did they throw out my butter?"
"Did they really have to throw out my syrup?"
One girl even complained once that they threw out her milk that she had just bought two days prior.
Because, obviously, it is the cleaning crews responsibility to check every single condiment in the fridge and compare/evaluate the expiration dates and make their own judgments on what should be thrown out and what could be thrown out. They get paid to do that. No they don't. They get paid to clean and that's what they're doing.
People! What is unclear about this sign? It clearly indicates that EVERYTHING WILL BE THROWN AWAY!! EVERYTHING!! ON THIS DATE IN RED!! I tried to take a picture for you guys but they have already been taken down. But I can tell you there a bunch of capital letters and underlined words and lots of exclamation points. Even RED text!! All indications that this sign is URGENT! READ IT!
I guess it's just easier for people to bitch after the fact then to just take their effing butter home w/ them on Friday. And this is one of the gajillion reasons why I hate people.
"Ugh, why did they throw out my butter?"
"Did they really have to throw out my syrup?"
One girl even complained once that they threw out her milk that she had just bought two days prior.
Because, obviously, it is the cleaning crews responsibility to check every single condiment in the fridge and compare/evaluate the expiration dates and make their own judgments on what should be thrown out and what could be thrown out. They get paid to do that. No they don't. They get paid to clean and that's what they're doing.
People! What is unclear about this sign? It clearly indicates that EVERYTHING WILL BE THROWN AWAY!! EVERYTHING!! ON THIS DATE IN RED!! I tried to take a picture for you guys but they have already been taken down. But I can tell you there a bunch of capital letters and underlined words and lots of exclamation points. Even RED text!! All indications that this sign is URGENT! READ IT!
I guess it's just easier for people to bitch after the fact then to just take their effing butter home w/ them on Friday. And this is one of the gajillion reasons why I hate people.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
The working man is a sucka
This is my husbands FB status at least once a month. I used to think it was just cute and witty but now I'm really starting to feel it. Believe it's true.
I opened up my end of year mortgage statement to find my mortgage is going up by $340 a month for 2011. A MONTH! It was like a punch in the gut. My house is 35 years old. Almost everything in it is 35 years old. When I look at the number that is our yearly salary and I look at the number that is my mortgage, I don't understand how I am not living in a 2 year old 4BR 2BA condo overlooking Ft Lauderale beach w/ valet and a live in chef. Because at this point, I could actually move out of my 35 yr old house and rent a 2 year old 4BR 2BA condo overlooking Ft Lauderale beach w/ valet and a live in chef for LESS than what my mortgage is. It just doesn't seem fair. It just doesn't seem like it's worth it.
My husband and I have been saving to remodel the kitchen. And we've been doing really good. It really is amazing how much more money I have when I stay away from Target and Kohl's. But then of course, Joe breaks a tooth and he needs to get it fixed. I need 4 new tires on my car. Liam started Phase 1 orthodontics. It just never ends.
I remember the days when we lived in the condo and my mortgage was $485 a month. But then we had a kid and outgrew the place. Those damn kids!
I feel so selfish for even complaining. I should be (and believe me I am) grateful to even have a house to live in. But really, this life is turning into a rat race. I stay at a job that I hate b/c I know I can't make as much money anywhere else. I save money to fix up a house that is putting me in the poorhouse. Does it make any sense?
But then my brother and his family come down to visit and they get to stay at my house. Not a hotel. And everybody actually gets a bed. Not the couch or the living room floor. And like how on NYE we had family, friends and neighbor kids running around our front yard playing football and shooting hoops. And that makes me feel good. That makes me feel like it's worth it. Maybe I should just start charging rent?
I opened up my end of year mortgage statement to find my mortgage is going up by $340 a month for 2011. A MONTH! It was like a punch in the gut. My house is 35 years old. Almost everything in it is 35 years old. When I look at the number that is our yearly salary and I look at the number that is my mortgage, I don't understand how I am not living in a 2 year old 4BR 2BA condo overlooking Ft Lauderale beach w/ valet and a live in chef. Because at this point, I could actually move out of my 35 yr old house and rent a 2 year old 4BR 2BA condo overlooking Ft Lauderale beach w/ valet and a live in chef for LESS than what my mortgage is. It just doesn't seem fair. It just doesn't seem like it's worth it.
My husband and I have been saving to remodel the kitchen. And we've been doing really good. It really is amazing how much more money I have when I stay away from Target and Kohl's. But then of course, Joe breaks a tooth and he needs to get it fixed. I need 4 new tires on my car. Liam started Phase 1 orthodontics. It just never ends.
I remember the days when we lived in the condo and my mortgage was $485 a month. But then we had a kid and outgrew the place. Those damn kids!
I feel so selfish for even complaining. I should be (and believe me I am) grateful to even have a house to live in. But really, this life is turning into a rat race. I stay at a job that I hate b/c I know I can't make as much money anywhere else. I save money to fix up a house that is putting me in the poorhouse. Does it make any sense?
But then my brother and his family come down to visit and they get to stay at my house. Not a hotel. And everybody actually gets a bed. Not the couch or the living room floor. And like how on NYE we had family, friends and neighbor kids running around our front yard playing football and shooting hoops. And that makes me feel good. That makes me feel like it's worth it. Maybe I should just start charging rent?
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