Today I indulged in some wasabi (otherwise known as lunch from Tanpopo). Hey, I got a promotion and a raise - I can have a good (albeit too expensive for my wallet) lunch now and then. I love wasabi. It is potentially the only spicy food I like. And I like it very much. I like it spicy enough to clear out the sinuses. I eat enough of it with each California roll to make my eyes water and nose tingle. And still I’m sad when it’s gone. It’s a good thing I only indulge in Tanpopo once every few months. (, there’s some pickled ginger here waiting for you… should I leave it in my cube all weekend, or bring it to the orchard tomorrow?) (Speaking of food… who was I with recently that doesn’t like to eat with chopsticks? And why am I still friends with them?)

While walking to pick up my lunch, I stepped on a bee. It was already dead, but it still crunched. Ew. Then, on my way back, I noticed how many dead bees there really were on the ground. Like one every few square feet. Does this mean summer’s over, or is there some fatal bee disease we’re not hearing about?

Someone just walked into ’s office, turned on the light (he’s not in today), and closed the door. I didn’t see who it was, but I’m 90% sure it wasn’t him. No one’s supposed to do that. Maybe me. No one else. What’s going on here? Wait, it was one of the clericals, and she just came out. Perhaps she’s… retiring and wanted … I don’t know. I can only hope. It’ll be interesting to find out Monday who will no longer work here (as in our department, not for the state, because we’ve heard people are just getting moved to other positions in other departments; not being one of those people, I’m not sure). Crossing fingers for some clericals to retire, even if that means I have to do some piddly little tasks in the end (just so long as I don’t have to answer phones too often; that makes me want to cry).

Yesterday, one of our managers, actually one of the two directly under the director (of whom my boss is underneath, and then somewhere long down the line lies me, at least on the org chart - in reality, we all know that it’s clericals who run the world), told me I was fired. All in jest, of course. I couldn’t fix his problem with a “top-secret” org chart in Visio (which is a ridiculous program that I hate to use). I asked him to wait until Monday. That’s the mood around here these days.

I have this co-worker who’s retiring in April. She’s probably mid to late 50s. Her and her husband have lived a certain lifestyle that affords them the luxury of retiring early, and I really don’t understand it. They work 10 hour days, 4 days a week, here. And then they’re both bus drivers as well, and they work 2 days on the weekends doing that. Then they take Mondays off. They don’t own a car (which I don’t either and won’t throw stones about) and generally appear to have clung to every penny ever given them. I just… why would you spend the 30-40 years of your work life living like that, just so you could have the next 10-30 come a bit early? It’s not like they’re going to be retiring into the life of luxury or anything. I just want to enjoy this time. (Not that retirement accounts and retirement planning aren’t good, smart things to do. I have a retirement plan, thanks to the State. If I work here until I die, I might be able to afford to retire.) Why work yourself like a dog so that when you retire your body is too old to enjoy the free time? Take a vacation!

In my blog reading today, I came across this post. Reading the last paragraph… isn’t that what you’ve always wanted to say to an ex, but wouldn’t let yourself? I just about stood up and applauded. (I suppose if you haven’t followed the entire saga of their relationship like I have for the past… umpteen months, it’s not nearly as moving.)

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1. What is the most important thing you’ve ever lost? A friend, an opportunity, a love.
2. When is the last time you lost your keys? Lost? I locked my keys in my house last fall, and that was the last time I’ve been without them. I faithfully check my purse before leaving my house. (Super easy now that I only have 2 keys on my key chain, and only one of them works.) I don’t have a spare to the house, or have any friends with spares, so if I’m locked out, I have to wait for a roommate or house mate to come home.
3. Have you ever felt like you’ve lost your mind? All the time. Almost on a daily basis. OK, maybe not lost, but definitely misplaced. Usually the ability to think clearly, but sometimes my sanity. It’s a little messy up there in my head.
4. Are you likely to ask for directions when lost or to continue to wander? Wander, unless I’m late for an important meeting, at which point I’ll ask (or preferably get someone else to ask for me - people scare me). I also rarely pull u-turns when I’ve missed my exit or turn - I guess I’m not fully Minnesotan yet.
5. Numerology: reliable or just a load of bunk? BUNK. Astrology I’ll give you (not the fortune part, but some of the “about you” stuff).

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1. If you were given the opportunity to use a syringe full of sodium pentothal (truth serum) on any two or three people in the world (they can be either dead or alive, by the way), who would you choose to use it on and what questions do you think you might ask? I’m sure there’s some president within recent history that I’d like to ask a question of, though deciding between them at the moment is a bit difficult. Sometimes I think that I’d like to ask some stuff about when she and dated, or her college life, but then I think that perhaps I really don’t want to know. I think I’d like to ask the former senior pastor of the church that fired me what the h*ll he was thinking and how he would justify his actions. (Oops. I try not to be bitter about that. Deep, calming breath.)
2. Do you have a favorite childhood memory (by childhood, think ages 3 to 18-years-old)? If you don’t or would rather not share it, what was your favorite part of yesterday? I don’t remember a lot of my childhood, and most of what I do remember is actually re-tellings that has done, or pictures we have. The one that’s coming to mind first is when we lived in our first house (we used to call it our old house, but sold the “new” house two years ago, after living in it for 15 years, so now what do we call the old house?) and I was around 4 or 5. We had a cat, Alexander, who was the greatest cat to ever live. Hands down. He used to sleep with me (he was such a docile cat - let us dress him up in Cabbage Patch doll clothes and push him around in our little plastic shopping cart), and there’s a picture of the two of us sleeping with his paws on my face - one on each eye. Obviously, having been asleep at the time, I don’t actually remember it, but it just really signifies how great a cat he was. (He’s been gone for… 14 years now, and I’ve had quite a few cats since then, so I’m no longer sad about that, just reminiscent.)
3. If an impending natural disaster was forecasted for your town or geographical region, how confident would you be in your own ability to evacuate to a safe location? Along the same lines, how confident are you in your own city or town’s evacuation plan and capabilities? Not at all. Natural disaster movies freak me out. I’m quite sure I would be the one stuck behind on the other side of the bridge. If I’m being realistic (and not phobic), however, I know that usually in times like that I remain calm and can help others do so also. I have no idea what (or if) St Paul has an evacuation plan, but if it does, I’m not sure it would actually work, simply because there’s just too many people that wouldn’t pay attention or don’t speak English or would want to do it their way.
4. When was the last time you spent en entire morning or afternoon (4 hours or more) exclusively out-of-doors, and what was it that you did during that period of time? Just last weekend, and I were camping, so there was a lot of exclusively outdoors time. We went hiking, cooked on an open fire, did lots more walking, set up tents, got muddy taking down tents, and generally stayed damp all weekend due to rainstorm.

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I am very tired today. Didn’t go to sleep all that late, really, but woke up at 4, 5, and 6. At 6 I finally turned on the TV and watched part of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” before falling back asleep. At some point, I woke up to turn off my alarm clock and re-program it so I could sleep some more. And amazingly enough, I still got to work on time. But now I just want to sleep. I think I can come up with enough stuff to do here to keep me appropriately occupied for the day. Let’s hope.

I had forgotten how much I love Thursday night television until last night. came over and indulged me as I watched “The OC,” “CSI,” and “Without A Trace.” (OK, so I might have missed most of the plotline on the last two….)

It’s an iTunes day! And tomorrow we’re going to the orchard and picking apples and it’s supposed to be sunny and 80*! I could not be happier about that. Plus, I learned this morning that while my bus is being rerouted Saturday and Sunday for the marathon, only until noon on Saturday, so I won’t have to walk the extra blocks on my way home from the orchard. Yay!

Well, I appear to be in a good mood. Huh.

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(and clear the photos off my desktop)

Here are some cute photos of . (She really likes the guitar case and got me for my birthday.)

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I’m trying to make my grocery list for the co-op tonight. So far all I’ve got is spaghetti, mozarella, milk, and fruit juice. I’m sure there’s something else I need.

I have a headache. Boo-hoo.

Anyone notice I’m feeling particularly whiny today? I’m starting to annoy even myself. That’s gotta stop.

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My promotion went through! Just now! Yay! Plus I get a 40-cent/hour raise (and my boss is going to try to get me the next step up as well, which is like an additional 30-cent/hour. I know, I’m gonna be rolling in the dough. It’s super hush-hush here, given that we’re downsizing people and announcements will be made Monday. I’d feel guilty, but specifically said that I deserve it for all the hard work I’ve done and how good of an employee I am. (Apparently my work schedule doesn’t play into my quality of work.) It was like a whole three sentences of praise from him, which is huge if you know him. (He’s Sam the Eagle in his other life, and looks just like Jerry Orbach.)

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I actually used the following phrase in conversation yesterday:

I ain’t hick.

You heard it here, folks.

Context: and and I were hanging out, and in the midst of telling “your mom” jokes, somehow I used “y’all,” as I’m known to do from time to time (though growing up in Chicago didn’t exactly socialize me to use this, I have, for most of my life). decided I got bonus points for using it, and then said she’d have to teach me the correct way to use “all y’all,” at which point I replied with the above.

Now if I could just figure out a way to use “if’n” correctly with any combination of the above, I think my life would be complete.

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The missing item of “intimate apparel” I spoke of yesterday has been found. No more worries about lost clothing. I mean, I still love those pants, but having recently replaced them, I think I can get over the loss. They are long-gone. Time to move on. There is a new pair of pants in my life now. Speaking of pants, I think it’s time to resurrect: Donde esta mis pantalones? Crap. I can’t find it. I know a co-worker has a copy. Maybe kept a copy. I’ll search around and see if I can post it tomorrow. Lots of laughs.

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Courtesy of some other blogs I read…

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You’re a spare house key under the mat. Few people know you’re there, but those who do recognize your worth, especially when they get themselves in trouble. You might want to be a little more noticeable, but not everyone should know you’re there.

What sort of key are you and what do you unlock?
brought to you by Quizilla

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Your Seduction Style: The Coquette

You are a pro at playing the age old game of hard to get.

Your flirting style runs hot and cold, giving just enough to keep them chasing you. Independent and self-sufficient, you don’t need any one person to make you complete. And that independence is exactly what makes people pursue you.

What Is Your Seduction Style?

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OK, so I liked the key one. Not so much the other one. While I’m sure that there are plenty of people (guys specifically) who think I just play hard to get, it would be more true to just call me confused and shy. I don’t play games. At least, not intentionally. Who knows what my sub-conscious could be doing.

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My browser plug-in tells me it’s 43* outside today. I could have sworn that was the temperature in my bedroom this morning. We have no control over our heat, and the landlord hasn’t turned it on yet. I’m about ready to move into my cubicle at work if this continues much longer. Thankfully I don’t have plans to be home all that much over the weekend. If need be, I can go to Target, right? Or I can cook - that always heats things up. Maybe after our trip to the orchard I’ll make a pie. I make a very good apple pie (others can attest to this).

So I was very unhappy to get out of bed this morning. Last night I actually got out of the comfort of my bed to put on socks so I could fall asleep - my feet were cold! The thing that got me up this morning was a phone call to my cell (”Anonymous,” whose calls I do not take - that’s what voicemail is for) and the realization that the bus I wanted to be on would be passing in about 3 minutes. Needless to say I got to work late.

Last night upon leaving work I threw some files on a disk and put it in my purse so I could use them at home. The disk has disappeared. It’s not in my purse. It’s not still in the drive on my computer. I’m at a loss. They weren’t the only copies of the files, but I don’t exactly like the thought of someone else finding the disk.

If I try hard enough (and do enough dirty work that I don’t want to), I might manage to stay occupied most of the day. Or at least enough to avoid yesterday’s attitude issues and revealing conversations with co-workers. One can only hope. Of course, when I’m quiet and don’t talk about myself, people assume I’m mad at them, or just really tired. Let’s go with the latter. Maybe I’ll make a sign.

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Man, I am in rare form today at work. I have been telling people things I wouldn’t normally, speaking a bit freer, and in general just… not caring. This is, of course, only problematic if, say, tomorrow, certain co-workers thing that I’m also going to be as forthcoming. And, in all likelihood, I’m just a bit “off” today.

I blame it on the lack of work. The boredom has resulted in my spending the entire day either blogging or writing incredibly long (and sometimes very personal) emails to friends. I’ve been emailing back and forth with about a tiny predicament I have, which has involved great personal revealing and as much detail as necessary, as well as involving in the conversation (or at least afterwards, since she was the one who helped me figure out would be the right person to talk to and how important it would be to do so). So I’ve kinda been wearing my heart on my sleeve today, I suppose, or at least I’ve been sharing a lot and it’s spilled out over into the workplace a bit. I try to avoid that at all costs, but when the only place I can email and blog from is work, I guess it’s inevitable.

I have, however, been given a crappy project by (her words, not mine), that I will be delighted to take on. It’s nice to work at work. I know y’all are jealous of my workload, but really, I’m jealous of yours. (And no, , I don’t want to trade jobs with you for a bit. I’m quite sure that there’s some knowledge I don’t have in order to do yours, and you probably don’t want to sit around waiting to make photocopies or punch holes in paper.)

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Don’tcha just hate those days when you don’t realize until you’re on your way to work that

• your pants are too short for those shoes (or I suppose too long, though I’ve never had that problem)
• there’s a hole in your sweater, but it’s way too late to change (maybe people won’t notice?)
• you forgot your watch/jewelry/whatever
• the socks you put on are the uncomfortable ones / the sweaty ones / the ones that slip down into the shoe
• you should have put on a belt (or scarf or tie or whatever), and/or
• the whole outfit really should have been re-thought before leaving the house.

Usually, these happen most frequently when one is already late and there is no possible time to fix said errors. When I used to drive to work (especially when I was temping and spending 1 1/2 hours each way in the car), I at least had the time to fix my hair, makeup, and even floss my teeth (yes, I am that person - just be thankful I don’t drive anymore). This is significantly harder when one takes the bus, especially when it’s only a 10 minute bus ride and the bus is packed (who really wants to go to the hassle of putting on lip liner and lipstick in a little compact mirror with a bus hurtling down a hill hitting potholes while 40 other people watch?). The most I can do these days is pull my hair up once I get to work and apply lipstick (if I remember). Now, my co-workers don’t really care one way or the other - I’m the only woman under 45 and consequently the only one who might possibly care about trendy fashion (not that I do, really, but I would like to look pulled-together and up-to-date), and the men, by large, no, wait, in complete, don’t have opinions on the subject (or at least ones that matter - there’s that one co-worker who sits across from me who feels free to share his opinion (other opinions: 3rd paragraph down, and this charming incident), but he’s often just plain wrong and I don’t really care what he thinks).

Just finished sorting ’s mail. First work I’ve done today. Five pieces. All went in the “Reading” folder. It’s blue. There’s a green folder - Priority. And the red folders are items that need to be signed. Unless it’s a red pocket folder, in which case it’s a specific kind of paper that needs to be signed and then routed elsewhere. Isn’t that exciting? Aren’t you glad you know that? Don’tcha just feel complete? Yeah.

Ooh, something to look forward to! I haven’t done the cryptogram since Friday! That’s like… five days to catch up on. That should take up the better part of six minutes.

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[I have a really hard time spelling "apparel," and it's driving me crazy.]

[Editor's note: no, this will not be a post about my intimate apparel, except for the brief mention that I have lost a piece while camping and this disturbs me. Strangely, it doesn't disturb me nearly as much as the missing pants (that were never found - I have some ideas of where to look for the currently missing piece before declaring them MIA).]

took me out to dinner last night and then to see “Intimate Apparel” at the Guthrie. It was a really good play, and if you live in the Twin Cities area and have the chance, you should really go see it. The description on the site doesn’t do it justice. Our seats were off to the side but in the second row, so we could really see the expression on the actors’ faces. They were very talented - I really believed they felt the emotions they were portraying. Plus, the actor playing Mr. Marks was cute (Note to : I’d put him on my “list” if he weren’t so local; hardly seems fair - if Salma was a local I might protest more, though not so much if Brad were.)

I never was very good at literary analysis or movie reviews, so I don’t think I’m doing the play justice. Suffice it to say it was good and you should see it. I don’t know if I’ve ever been to a play that was actually good. Musicals, yes. But I think most, if not all, of the plays I’ve been to have been junior high or senior high productions (a few college ones, and those were decent, but I think our theatre department’s annual budget was the equivalent of a day’s wage in Mexico). That was one of the things I didn’t enjoy so much when I worked at church - going to kid’s plays and concerts. You want so much to like it and enjoy it and be proud of them, but let’s be honest, it’s junior high band, how good is it really going to be? They’re always so happy to see you, too (though really it’s the parents who are the most touched by your presence), so that part’s good. It’s just the 2 hours sitting through squeaky instruments, off-key singers, and awkward kids who forget their lines that’s the hard part. Love them anyways (the kids, not the plays/concerts).

Thankfully I never really had any kids who were big into sports, or at least not to the extent that I was ever invited to watch their games. I suppose high school sports aren’t really that bad, and watching sports live is so much better than on television (that surprised me, the first time I went to a Saints game, and the Twins game was even better; I don’t remember enjoying the Cougars games we went to in high school youth group). Maybe I’ve just learned to appreciate sports a little more in my old age. (No, I don’t have the home on speed dial yet, nor is my Medic-Alert bracelet on order. Just because I’m closer to 30 than to 20 [time out to take deep, calming breaths] does not mean I’m old. Really. [Yeah, just keep telling yourself that.])

Well, those were some random tangents. has informed me that my missing piece of clothing was not in her luggage. Now I’ll have to re-check my luggage (that I’ve already unpacked, though I may have forgotten the pockets…), and perhaps the deep recesses of my closet. This is quite unnerving to keep losing things. Next thing you know, it’ll be my sanity, or my head’ll fall off (though seems to think that pipe dope will fix this problem; note - don’t do a Google search on that term while at work if you think your boss might walk up behind you; stick to the term “Teflon tape” instead).

Last random tidbit. was notified on Monday that she got the job she was downtown St Paul interviewing for last week. Very exciting. She is now gainfully employed at three (3) different places. That, on top of the whole grad school thing, might mean and I will have a hard time scheduling time for all of us to get together. But we’ll make it work. And hopefully and I can take advantage of the times we’re both downtown at the same time. Congrats, !

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