Things are busy at the ole new job.  I have three events coming in the next week.  Just found out I will be responsible for planning an absolutely HUGE event next year.  Yikes.  Add to my life one garage sale, one apartment search, one craft show and we're talking some upcoming crazy.  Who was that girl who was going to take it easy?  Was that me?  No, must been someone else.

I was just invited to be in the craft show a late this morning.  It's on the 6th.  Yeah, 8 days away.  I think I'm going to do it because the table fee is super cheap and I can make it back in one sale.  I probably have something that I can sell.  The earrings I made last Christmas did really well.  I'll take a look at the ole craft closet tonight and see what's shaking.

The thought of moving makes me a little insane.  I have so much crap!  You should see how I get rid of bags and bags of stuff, but there's still loads of it left!  I hope I sell a lot at the garage sale I'm having at a friend's house at the end of May.  I've been saving to buy an iPod.  I'm trying to be a cash and carry kind of girl. 

Thinking about taking the real estate plunge.  I don't know how I'm going to do it, but people keep telling me it can be done.  The new job/paycheck definitely sheds a brighter light over the whole situation.  But it gives me heartburn when I see the mortgage payment projections.  We're talking $1600/month for a small 2 BR condo.  This is with $15K down.  Yikes, I'm feeling light-headed already.

FLYING THE FRIENDLY SKIES: Responding to a request for an inquiry by Sen. Norm Coleman, the GAO released a report yesterday that revealing that "military and civilian defense officials improperly used government credit cards to buy 68,000 first-class or business-class airline seats when they were supposed to fly coach." The tickets cost the government in excess of $124 million over two years. The GAO reported that John Stenbit, the Assistant Secretary of Defense purchased 17 first class tickets for $68,000, citing an unspecified medical condition. Jack Dyer Crouch, another Assistant Secretary, took 15 luxury trips costing $70,000, justifying the expense by saying he needed to be ready for meetings upon arrival. The Pentagon has convened a task force to investigate.

I hate this!  I mean, when you're that bold to do something you know you shouldn't be doing, considering the news gets a hold of just about everything, what are you doing that is still undiscovered?  And there are people who say why didn't this get reported at the administrative level. Let me tell you why.  No one cares about what the administrative assistants say. 

For two years I've tried to report someone in my department who grossly misuses government funds.  Nothing has happened.  If someone did listen, that person who did the reporting could become the scapegoat in an already corrupt department.  And so the violations continue to happen unchecked.

It makes me livid. 

This is on my HOME computer (I do a lot of dumb things, but I'm not actually dumb enough to have had this on my work computer!)

It always made me laugh when I came home and sat at the computer.  But I guess since I've left Crazytown, there's no reason to hang on to old memories....

One of my new co-workers is on the market and looking hard.  Another co-worker suggested she go to a Christian church and pretend to be Christian (she's Jewish).  She thought about it and was doubtful it was a good plan, but was considering it.  I mentioned there were an awful lot of Republicans at Christian churches. 

"Hm, I could pretend to be Christian, but I don't think I could date a Republican...."

• my co-workers are not power-hungry, complainers nor pissants


• people in my office com-mun-i-cate.  Which means they tell you what you should do and then either tell you how great that you did it or suggest how you could improve


• I don't have an office, but my new area was all decorated on my first day with a welcome sign and flowers.


• Things are busy!


• People help each other when it's busy


• Co-workers are on good terms with just about everyone


• We eat lunch together at least 3 times a week and rarely talk about work


• Everyone has an outside interest


• I'm encouraged to take classes because they believe that the more I know the bigger asset I will be to the dept, unlike other places where they complained if you didn't know stuff, but refused to let you take any classes.


• My boss is not a pinhead.

It's been a while since Anne over at Librarianguish asked me these questions.  Sorry about that Anne. 

Here goes...

1. I see that you've lived in both New York and California. What do you like about each place, and what do you not like about each place?

I love the laidback attitude of California.  The weather is great here and the people are friendly and it's just plain beautiful.  I love that I can be on the beach, in the snow and in the desert all in the same day.  I love really good Mexican food and margaritas.  On the east coast it doesn't taste real.

I love New York because it's always busy.  There's always something to do. The city has a pulse.  I love the people and how your personal space is respected and how there are just certain rules of etiquette that you wouldn't dream of breaking.  And I like that people there aren't afraid to dress up like they are here in southern California.  I love that the public transportation is good and you don't need to have a car. I like how a big city with millions of people seems like a series of small towns.

What I hate about New York is the cost.  It's sooo expensive!  Even in my small hometown a studio apartment can cost $1600/mo.  That's just crazy!  I hate how winter can look so grey.

What I hate about California is the way people will stay within their own comfort zones when it comes to getting to know someone.  On the east coast people are closer in proximity to a variety of different cultures whereas here on the west you tend to see less diversity within a group.

2. What is your dream job/career/life calling?

I'm a writer.  It's what I was called to do - be a storyteller.  It's what I always wanted to do.  Of course I'm too chicken to go at it full steam.  We're working on that. 

I've also thought it would be fun to do guy makeovers like on Queer Eye.  A lot of guys really need some help on knowing what looks good on them.  I used to work in retail and that was the funnest part of the job.  Women are too emotional about what they wear and aren't that open to taking good advice.

3. What is the most dangerous/stupid thing you've ever done? (can't help it, this is a good one)

I don't know if this is good or what?  I haven't done too many stupid things.  I suppose the worst is drinking and driving.

4. Tell us about the worst boss you ever worked for.

Jeez, there have been so many....!  Um, one who would send me home for not wearing earrings (back when I worked in retail) because she said it wasn't a professional look.  Or if I wasn't "up to date" enough style wise.  My friends who were still working would either take off their earrings or wear something similar the following day and never get sent home.  Carla? You sucked!

Um. then I had a boss who never quite understood her job after the switch to computers.  She constantly lost things and would forget to check who she was sending a nasty-gram to via email.  We'd always have to spend hours explaining and re-explaining stuff to her because she just didn't get it. Then, my biggest supervisor pet peeve ever, she wanted us to train our new boss and wrote us up as having attitude problems when we refused.  Nancy?  You sucked!

Finally there's the last one who was just sort of clueless.  She made all these glib comments like "if you don't like it, go get another job" and when half her staff did just that in less than 6 months time, she hired her friends and made up stories as to why everyone left.  Joanna?  You sucked! 

5. Who was your favorite school teacher as a child? Why?

That's an easy one.  Mr. Adams.  He was great.  He treated all of us like sponges, ready to soak up any and every bit of juicy knowledge.  Nothing was too complicated if we were interested in learning.  I had him for 4th and 5th grades.  We cooked, we read, we wrote, we drew pictures, we played math games.  A lot of what I learned those two years was just review when I got to junior high.  He had us doing calculus! he also encouraged me to write.  And he just believed in me.  That was probably the most important thing.

Who gets the questionnaire next?  Here are the rules:

1. Leave me a comment saying “interview me.”
2. I will respond by asking you five questions here. They will be different questions than the ones below.
3. You will update YOUR blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions

My interpretation of myself as a South Park character.

South Park Character Studio

Starving to death is a painful thing.  Your tongue swells up.  You don't have enough fluids to blink or process bile.  Your acid content rises and becomes increasingly uncomfortable.  It's not a good way to die.

If the end result was the same, why couldn't they just give Terry a overdose of morphine or something. 

I just don't think it's fair that Terry Schiavo had to suffer so much when that rotting bastard Timothy McVeigh got to make his peace, close his eyes, get an injection and drift off into neverland.

That's all I have to say about our system of "justice."