Me, In That Pool, T-Minus 1 Day

It's 19 degrees here this morning!!! I've been wearing my heavy winter coat for about a week now and already I'm sick of it. No worries, though, because WE'RE GOING TO CANCUN TOMORROW!!!!!

Oh yea, I can't wait.

See ya in a week! Stay warm, friends.

Thinking On Your Feet: You've Either Got It, Or You Don't

Unfortunately I am the latter – I am terrible at thinking on my feet when someone throws me a remark which I am unsure of how to respond. Honestly, I really believe this is not a skill you can acquire. It’s a natural talent – some people can roll with the punches where others need time to digest what they’ve just heard.

I’ve run into this situation with the same person—my boss—twice over the past month, the most recent occurrence happening this morning. We had a conference call in her office, and the person we were calling asked us to call back in 15 minutes. So we proceeded to sit and chat about the hot topic of the day…one of my co-workers gave her notice yesterday. My boss wanted to know how I was feeling about the situation, and was reassuring me that everything was going to be fine and that we would “divide and conquer” the workload. She seemed to have a preconceived notion that I was probably freaking out and worrying, when in fact I’m not. (And this is another issue that irritates me…where is she getting these ideas?)

So anyway, out of the blue, without me prompting her at all, she was like, “Well, you know, if you are feeling like you need to, we could look at other arrangements if you’re, like, missing Boca Raton, or, like if there are other reasons for you to possibly have a different work arrangement we could make something work.”

HUH????? [Me: Blank stare]

Had I known this from the start, would I have packed up and moved from Florida to the Midwest? What does this mean? Should we be thinking about moving? My husband is still looking for a job and so that has been top-of-mind since we moved—and could be a driving factor in us relocating again.

Seriously, I am so distracted by this and I can’t concentrate.

The other time I was force to think on my feet occurred during my “Goals and Development” meeting. You know, that one where you talk with your manager about what you want to strive for in 2010, what are your aspirations, how do you see yourself growing with the company…yada, yada, yada.

One of the things that my company likes to do, and one of the reasons I found the job so attractive, is that they like to advance their internal talent on a regular basis. My boss has been asking me from Day One where I want to go in the Company and all along I’ve been like, “uh…I’ve been here two months…I’m good where I’m at right now, thanks” (well, not really, but you get the idea). So, suddenly as we’re talking about my development during this meeting, she asks me, “Do you want to move into my job? Do you want to be leading this team?”

Again…HUH???? [Me: blank stare, again]

I mean, isn’t that a loaded question? If I say yes, I want your job, it seems threatening. If I say no, I don’t want your job, it appears that I don’t have aspirations and goals. I really didn’t know how to answer her and I think I just sort of fumbled like, “Oh, that is nice of you to ask, well, who knows, we’ll see…” or something like that. Hello, embarrassment!

After that meeting, I must have gone over in my head a dozen different ways I could have—and should have—responded. But instead, I am like a deer in the headlights. I wish I had that talent to respond in a precise and thoughtful manner. So tell me, how do you think on your feet? What are your tricks? This girl could use some help!

Dude, I Don't Even Know

Today I am stealing a line that Jen Lancaster uses as one of the categories on her blog. Dude...I don't even know where to start. Last night, my husband was telling me that a winter storm was a-brewin’ in our area and I found myself just speechless. He was like, “What? What is it?” And I was like….”Ugh…there are no words.”

I knew this time would come but I put it at the back of my mind. I reassured myself that it wouldn’t be a big deal. But you know what? It IS a big deal: I HATE WINTER!

I moved to Florida in 2005 to get AWAY from snow. I will never forget the winter of 2004 in Chicago. I was living in an apartment and spent the weekend cooped up in my 800 square-foot box (but oh how I loved that space) riding out a massive snowstorm. When it finally stopped snowing on Sunday morning and the sun came out, I went to the parking lot to begin digging out my car. I remember being up to my knees in snow, swearing up a storm, singing Jimmy Buffett songs in my head and swearing to myself that I would not be in Chicago the following winter. I finally had enough.

And now here I am, back to where I started and feeling like I am going out of my mind. I wish I was one of those people who loved snow. If I was, I’d surely be talking about something else right now. But no, instead, I am one of those people who hates the entire process of winter. I loathe the extra time it takes to look out the window to determine if I need to wear boots. Should I put my heels for work in a bag and change at work? Do I need to wear my light coat or my heavy coat? What about a scarf? Will I need my stupid ear muffs since my coat doesn’t have a hood?? And don’t even get me started about driving to work wearing a nice pants suit with a heavy coat, scarf and gloves. I can barely turn my head left and right to see the oncoming traffic. I can’t MOVE wearing all that shit!

My husband Jeff, on the other hand, LOVES winter. He gets excited when it’s about to snow. He even bought a [STUPID LOOKING] hat that he plans to wear while shoveling snow! God help me, all I need now is for him to start wearing this when we go out to dinner! It’s just like this guy’s hat, but red and black checkered.

Creepy Face!

So, tell me what is so fun about this whole thing called winter? Because...Dude, I don't even know.

Blogoversary!

One year ago today, I was living in Florida and sitting in my house feeling down about being unemployed. I decided I needed to stay productive and have an outlet. What resulted was far beyond what I ever imagined. I’ve connected with some amazing people through this blog and it’s been such a great experience to become part of the greater blogging community. There are a ton of people out there who make blogging look so easy and I greatly admire them!

Who knew when I started this blog how much would change in just a few short months. In late October 2008, I got married and my husband and I went on a honeymoon cruise through the Caribbean. I spent my honeymoon trying to forget the fact that I had been laid off just a few weeks prior, and that when I returned home I would have quite a challenge ahead of me–finding a job in a recession market in South Florida, one of the worst-hit areas in the country. I remember spending November and December thinking really hard about what I wanted to do – did I want to own a business? Freelance? Go back into the corporate world? It felt like I had endless possibilities, but one fact kept creeping to the surface as time continued to pass—with my husband’s job also in jeopardy, we needed to broaden our job searching beyond Florida.

And so here I am now, a year later living a very different life in the Midwest. I like to say our move was out of necessity. A survival tactic. A Band-Aid. It’s not the ideal situation but at least we’re not living in a van down by the river. It’s ironic that tomorrow is Thanksgiving and today happens to be my Blogoversary because I’m thinking about all the good things that have resulted from blogging and the things for which I am thankful. First, I can’t emphasize enough how much I’ve enjoyed “meeting” people who are reading my little blog. In particular, Andi and Tracey have become two of my closest blogging buddies. Their energy and friendship have been a source of inspiration. Thanks to both of you – one of these days I hope we will get to meet in person!!

Thank you also to everyone who reads and comments on my blog. I love hearing from you and I look forward to continuing our interactions!

Here’s to another great blogging year ahead!

Thanks everyone,

Missy

Things That Really Bother Me

1. The drivers where I live are WORSE than the 90 year-old drivers in Boca. I mean, at least Grammie is driving the speed limit! People around here barely touch the pedal, it seems. I continue to be perplexed by this – there’s NO traffic! Why aren’t you driving the speed limit? It makes me nuts.
2. One of my co-workers is ALWAYS late to work -- nearly every day, I kid you not. And to make matters worse, she sends myself and my other co-worker an email message from her BlackBerry stating that she’s running late, her alarm didn’t go off, she had a wardrobe malfunction, her sinuses kept her up all night, her stomach is bothering her from eating too much cheese dip the night before and she’s stopping at Target to pick up Imodium, but they don’t open until 8 a.m. so that’s why she’s late…all of these are excuses she’s used. If I have to be here by or before 8 a.m., then what makes her so special that she can waltz in here 10, 15 or sometimes 30 minutes late?
3. People who are passive aggressive. I’m a “D” on the Disc test, and ENTJ on Meyers-Briggs. Basically this means that I tell it like it is, I don’t skirt around an issue. Unfortunately for me, there are A LOT of passive-aggressive types at work which is making it a little challenging for me. If you saw the recent season finale of Curb Your Enthusiasm on HBO, my complaint is similar to that of Jerry Seinfeld: What’s with people saying “Having said that…”? I mean, why can’t you just say what you mean the first time around?
4. Speaking of Seinfeld…you know what else is bothering me? Low Talkers. There is a certain person I work with who has a terrible, terrible habit of talking too low. Most days I find myself wanting to shake her to get the words out of her louder and clearer. What’s odd is that I think she’s adapted to this style of talking for business purposes. And I think she finds it perfectly acceptable to talk that way.
5. People who think their project/deadline is the most important thing on the planet, and that I should dropeverythingI’mdoingrightnowtohelpthem. ‘Nuff said.
6. Strangers who try to involve you in their drama. I was at Kohl’s not too long ago picking up a couple of picture frames (holy cow, have you seen how cheap their frames are? And cute, too!). Anyway, as I get into the check-out line it becomes obvious there is a huge issue with the cashier. She doesn’t know what she’s doing and she’s slow. So I jump into another line, where a soccer mom is purchasing clothes for her son. A TON of clothes...which means removing the hangers, checking for security tags, folding the clothes…and then the Mom starts complaining that the price isn’t ringing up correctly. So she starts looking at me, like, “Can you believe this? I mean, that price is wrong, it wasn’t like that in the Sunday flyer, I can’t believe they don’t have their merchandise labeled properly"…yada yada yada.
7. Finally, and because this just happened to me this morning…People who creep up behind your desk at work without any warning. How about a “hello” or “knock knock”? No, instead, I get someone talking right off the bat about a new project as I am still in the middle of typing an email. It’s like…can you give me just a second here to finish this thought that I was in the middle of typing? And that thought being how much I can’t stand it when people like you creep up behind me??

My Ongoing Fascination with David Duchovny

Oh I have sooo much I want to talk about...work, work politics, work gossip, how my husband and I are officially sick of eating at the Olive Garden {oh the horror of it all!!}, and my recent trip back to Florida--the first time since we moved in July {sniff}. But, all of that will need to wait. Because I am seriously in love with Hank Moody.

Hank is David Duchovny's latest character on the series Californication on Showtime. I first discovered this show on Netflix, watched Seasons 1 and 2, and then promptly ordered Showtime on cable so I could watch Season 3, currently airing. Are you watching this show? Well, ARE YOU? And if you aren't...WHY NOT??

Hank Moody is a struggling author with a 13-year old daughter and an on-again, off-again girlfriend/mother-of-his child, Karen {played by the incredibly beautiful Natascha McElhone -- seriously, it should be a crime to have cheekbones like hers. I would die for them.}

So, what's the big deal about this show? Well, let me tell you...first of all, it's very...shall we say...ADULT. This is not the kind of show you watch with your parents. Hank, of course, is a major chick magnet and seems to land a new girlfriend ever episode. {Or, as my husband says with such affection...Hank gets more ass than a toilet seat.} But, much like men say they don't read Playboy for the pictures, I like to say that I don't watch Californication for the action. I watch it for David Duchovy. The man is such a brilliant actor. Witty, funny and easy on the eyes...what's not to love? It's be great seeing him finally break free of his Agent Mulder character from the X-Files, although, he was just as equally entertaining on that show but for different reasons.

I just can't get over how they keep showing his butt on Californication. It's incredible!

OK, I have to stop here...I could go on and on. Do you have celebrities that you dream about? Who do you pretend to have as your boyfriend? Please, discuss, while I continue to be short of breath.