TheCyberWriter

Tonight I deleted my MySpace page. This was hard for me in a way because it was the easiest way for me to keep up with my friends. It was getting hard for me to keep up with it, plus, I started seeing that my so-called "real friends" weren't my friends after all. I just got tired of the drama. Anyway, I don't have anything exciting to write, I just wanted to say it's good to be back on here. I will try to not be such a stranger on here anymore LOL Thanks for reading my blog! :-)

Yesterday was a very interesting day for me! I hung out with a good guy friend of mine that I have known since kindergarten. (this is the friend I have mentioned that is getting ready to move to Texas in the near future, btw) We did some running around, shopped for candles...and went to a hookah house with his partner LOL Now, having said that, I must admit that until yesterday, I was very unfamiliar with what this was. Thought I had heard of it, but wasn't sure it was, you know? Hookah is where you smoked flavored tobacco through a pipe...basically! LOL No, it's nothing dangerous or illegal - I see those gears in your head turning!! LOL We smoked strawberry and vanilla flavored tobacco, ate a snack consisting of a dip served with pita bread slices...and just hung out, the three of us, I mean. It was very relaxing :-) Actually, since I don't smoke, I wasn't real sure what to do LOL I tried smoking about 10 years ago, but after 2-3 smokes, I knew it wasn't my thing. I'm grateful because not only is smoking very unhealthy, it's also incredibly expensive. But this hookah thing...man, it was sort of addicting!! LOL I'm glad I was with a friend so we could both share in this experience - it was his first time as well LOL (and as I finished typing that sentence, I realized how wrong it sounds LOL)

I let an experience with a really rude engineer ruin part of my day today! :-( One of the things we get calls for, is when engineering firms or contractors call wanting permit fee information for commercial projects. They figure the price of the permit fee with the bids they submit for various jobs. Well since I'm still in residential, I can't answer any questions with regard to fees on commercial projects. The only thing I can really do is tell them what they will need to submit in order to receive an estimate. They need to furnish us with the following information: the building square footage, building usage and an address. The address is really important because depending on where the building will be located, the price of the permit can vary considerably due to certain fees. After telling the person what we need for an estimate, I tell them to FAX this information to us and send it to the attention of our Commercial Reviewers. The folks in this department review the information and contact the person wanting the estimate and give them the information they want. I'm just in Permits, so I have nothing to due with this process, except that I am one of three people who would actually enter and print the permit when it's ready to be picked up. Every once in a while we get someone who will call in and after we tell them what is needed for an estimate, they get a little annoyed and they are like, "But I need this information TODAY." This brings me to what happened today....I got a call from an Engineer this morning wanting an estimate and when I told her what we needed, she gave me the classic line: "But I need this TODAY." And no matter what I told her, she just kept telling me, "But I need this TODAY!" At that point, I transfered her to one of the Commercial Reviewers. I was just really annoyed with her because she was being a total bitch! A little later that on, the folks in Commercial gave us a consensus: we should be telling these people that ok, today, you can have your estimate, but for future reference, you will need to provide us with that information at least 24 hours in advance. And you can't tell me these people don't know a week ahead of time that they are going to submit bids on these damn projects!! LOL I guess it just confirmed that we are a society always in such a big hurry. Everything is about today. We needed something yesterday and it can't wait another day!....Ok, I'm off my "Bitch, Moan and Fucking Complain" pedastal now LOL ;-) (tee hee)

I'm not sure if I have shared this before, but I'm a HUGE fan of perfume!! :-) I just love smelling good!! LOL (yes, it's way better than smelling bad, I know LOL) I received my order for 4 new perfumes today in the mail and I must admit they smell wonderful!! It's so hard to beat a good Calvin Klein fragrance, you know? ;-)...As I mentioned in my last post, I had my first wax job over the weekend. I spent most of Sunday and yesterday itching my upper lip. I also noticed a few small red bumps on my upper lip as well. I'm not sure if it was some allergic reaction to the wax, or...?? But I'm having second thoughts about doing it again. Does anyone know if these are normal reactions to the wax?

Wow, it's been a while since I have written! :-( I wish I had some fun, exciting news, but folks, my life is pretty dull LOL...Yesterday was loads of fun! I talked to my friend M for a while and after hanging up with her, she said another friend of ours, W, wanted to hang out with us. I got to M's apartment first and about 5 minutes after I got there, W got there also. It was great seeing her! I hadn't seen her for several months, so not only was it great seeing her, I got to hear several stories about her 2 year old son. He is such a cutie! :-) We had been there for about an hour or so when we decided to order Pizza Hut. After the pizza was ordered, I decided to make a pit stop at a convenience store to get some pop and ice. When I got back, the girls were like, "Guess what movie is on? Sixteen Candles!!" LOL So the three of us hung out at M's apartment, eating pizza, watching "Sixteen Candles" and bullshitting about the past :-) You see, we are all the same age and went to the same school. We got M's Senior Year memory book out and couldn't stop cracking up at how much things had changed since she wrote in it. I couldn't help but think to myself that the stuff I wrote in mine hadn't exactly come true either, BUT....LOL I would like to think that the last 12 years have been great :-) After the movie was over, we got to talking about body waxing. M is a hairdresser and she does nails, eyebrow/lip waxing and hair cuts at her place. I decided I would be brave and let her wax my lip LOL I never had anything on my body waxed before, so this was going to be a learning experience for me LOL All they kept saying was how much it would hurt, blah, blah, blah...Ok, seriously? It didn't really hurt at all! It stung for like 2 seconds and then it was over. Maybe I just have a high level of pain tolerance LOL....I just can't stop smiling because it was fun :-) We weren't out getting drunk or being stupid...we were just hanging out, laughing heartily about the past, watching cheesy movies and just being together :-)

As I approach the big 3-0 later this month, I can't help but feel like somehow my attitude is changing. I just can't put my finger on what it is, but it's like I'm developing this "Amazingly Enough I Don't Give A Shit" attitude with the world LOL I don't know if this is just a "me" thing, or what...but I somehow feel like this is a breath of fresh air. I have spent much of my life worrying about what other people think or their opinions. I was kind of wondering if anyone else out there - who is an adult - has ever felt this way before? Did you start feeling this way in your 30's? Is this what they call "old age?" LOL

Not this weekend, but last weekend I was invited over to my friend C's house. He lives about 25 miles from me and I think due to the distance, we don't get to hang out as often as we would like. We have known each other since kindergarten and after we finished 9th grade, he and his folks moved to Texas. Towards the end of high school, we reconnected and resumed our friendship. He would come up to visit during summer breaks when we were both in college. When we were in school, a lot of kids picked on him because he was somewhat of a sissy - sorry, but he was! LOL But I just liked him and thought he was great fun to be around. So I guess you could say I was always his friend :-) He told me a number of years later that I was one of only a few people that were actually kind to him in school. As much as this made me feel good, it also sorta broke my heart. I think this is because people judged him based on his feminine side, instead of getting to know him for who he really was....Well in 1998, he and I got into a nasty fight. It was over something really lame, but as a result of it, we didn't speak to each other for several years afterwards. Fast forward to 2005 when it was time for my 10 year high school reunion. I was surprised to C at our reunion! He didn't graduate with us, but as I said, he did attend school with all of us until 9th grade. It was great connecting with him! And you know, as the night went along, we were talking like we had just seen each other. You never would have guessed that it had been 7 years since we last spoke to one another ;-) That night, he told me that he lives in the KC area now and that he finally realized that he is gay. The gay part didn't come as a surprise to me at all. In fact, I was glad he came to this realization. I had a feeling he would try to live a straight life, only to end up being miserable. As we talked, I got to see how successful he had become. He has a great job with a major company and he even earned his Master's degree. I always knew he would be successful at anything he tried because not only does he have a good head on his shoulders, he is also very smart! The night of the reunion, he told me he had a boyfriend and that his boyfriend was from the area of Texas in which he lived - and he also happened to be quite a bit younger than us. Ever since the night of the reunion, we have in ways, been inseperable. We hang out together from time to time, plus talk on the phone and what not.....Well the other day, I had made plans to go to his house on Friday after work. The day I made these plans was the day of my doctor's appointment, plus it snowed here that afternoon. When I got out of the doctor's and saw that it was snowing, I was feeling really tired, plus I wasn't up to fighting the traffic to go over to his house. So this past week, we rescheduled plans and I decided that I would go over on Friday. As I was driving over to his house, I was feeling excited, as I always do - he and his bf are a lot of fun to hang around, you guys! :-) When I pulled into his driveway, I saw a strange sight: a realtor's for sale sign in his front yard - C had put his house up for sale :-( At first, I had to make sure I was at the right house LOL But no, I had the right one...So I walked in his house and I was like, "So what's up with the For Sale sign on the house? You moving to Johnson County? LOL" (and really, that's what I thought, that he was just moving to a different area) He said he had put his house up for sale about 3 weeks ago and that he was requesting a transfer at his job! :-( His company is nationwide and has a branch in the Dallas area. I was floored, you guys!....So what started out as a fun evening, was somehow overshadowed with this news :-( I told him that I would support whatever he decided to do - be it staying in KC or moving back to Texas. Seriously, with the job market being as weird as it is, you have to do what you have to do. His company is laying off and he is just worried, so I understand why is looking. I guess I was just surprised he would seriously consider moving back to Texas.....You guys, I'm sad! :-( He hasn't even moved yet, and I already miss him :-( I guess there is a chance he won't move and may find a job up here if he loses the one he has. And again, I want him to be happy...I guess part of me doesn't want him to go, you know? Any thoughts or suggestions as to how to handle this???

Today was intersting at work. Since there are three people in my department, the work is typically divided into thirds. My 6 month review is coming up towards the end of the month and I'm trying to make sure I'm doing my third of the work. I know in some areas I do my fair share, but there might be a couple of areas where I'm lacking. This would mostly be because I didn't learn how to do certain things until recently. Well today we had a set of plans to work on and get ready to send to the state. I realized I hadn't done one of these in a LONG time, so I picked it up to work on. Well I had to dig out my notes and refresh my memory as to all the steps I needed to take to complete this task. I started to get a little flustered and I think my supervisor started to feel sorry for me. Rather than just help me, she came over and practically started doing the work for me. This is her thing though, and I should be used to it by now. She is real good at not explaining something, but rather just jumping in and doing the task for you. Well shit, how am I supposed to learn anything if she's always there to do it for me??!! I don't know, it just really annoyed me!....I found out the other day that the county is requiring all employees to take a mandatory class on harrassment in the workplace. Their claim is that they want all employees to "feel comfortable in their working environment." I don't have a problem with attending this class, but I had to chuckle; do you guys remember me writing a while back about the guy who's always touching me at work?? Well he still does it! So when I found out about this harrassment class, I was like, "Good, maybe K will get some useful information about inappropriate touching in the workplace." LOL.....On a much lighter note, the weather here has really been warming up lately :-) Hope all is going well for you guys! Will write back later...

Well I haven't had a chance to get in for the test the doctor wants me to have. We have sorta been crazy busy at work, so really, I haven't been able to be on the phone much. I'm shooting for next week to get the test appointment set up - don't let me forget, you guys! LOL....Let's see, what else? Oh! Today we had Mardi Gras luncheon at work. I normally wouldn't make a big deal out of something like this, but this was the first time I have ever had Cajun food. We had jambalaya (with chicken and sausage), red beans and rice, hushpuppies (thanks to Long John Silvers, LOL), a few different desserts, as well as soda to drink. I must say that it was quite nice! :-) I have noticed lately that I haven't had much of an appetite when it comes to food. I don't know what the deal is. The doctor even asked me in my appointment last week about my eating habits - mostly if I had noticed a change in my appetite - and I told her I had. I told her it felt like I wasn't hungry that much, or as much as I should be. It's weird...I almost hate going to a restaurant because I never know if the food will be appetizing to me or not, you know? Do you suppose this can be why she wants me to have my thyroid checked? At any rate, it's still very weird......Hope all is going well for you guys! Sorry I haven't written for a few days; I guess I haven't had any exciting news to report LOL :-)

Well yesterday was my doctor's appointment. The doctor gave me a whole series of physical tests to check my reflexes and all that good jazz. I didn't find the tests to be difficult, which is a good thing. She didn't really want to give me a diagnosis until I have some tests done. The first test she wants me to have is for my thyroid. From what she said, if your thyroid is messed up, it can give you symptoms similar to those of neurological conditions (which is what I have been having). SO...she wants to rule my thyroid out at this point in time. That's about all the news I have right now...I hope to get this test done ASAP so I can get closer to a prognosis......

Hi everyone....Well this Friday is an important date for me. I made a New Year's resolution and I'm actually going to follow through with it. I promised myself to make a doctor's appointment to get checked out. I have been having some neurological problems for the past several years. They started when I was about 22-23 and instead of getting better, they have just gotten worse. When I first started having symptoms, I just brushed them off to stress. I also convinced myself that they couldn't be anything serious because I was so young, you know? I mean shit, when you are 22, you never think anything bad will happen to your health. As I have gotten older, my symptoms got worse....to the point where they are now a daily occurance in my life :-( So I felt like I was at a crossroads: continue having problems, or get them checked out and take charge of my health. Naturally I chose the latter of the two scenarios. I spoke with a friend of my mom's, who is a nurse, and told her what was going on. She seemed to think I didn't have anything to worry about but that I should get checked out. I made a doctor's appointment the very next day...SO...I have - so far - been true to my New Year's resolution.....As it gets closer to Friday, the more anxious I get. I guess maybe anxious is an understatement; I'm also really scared....I know this can be a really good appointment and I will be given a clean bill of health. OR...I will be faced with bad news :-( I'm an optimist, so I'm leaning towards good news!!....Well I need to run, but I'm going to be back before Friday to post more...I have a feeling my mind will be swimming in thoughts by the time Friday gets here and even in the meantime. If you all could spare a few positive thoughts and vibes for me, I would greatly appreciate it. I will also keep you all up to date...Thanks everyone!!

"AUSTIN, Texas - Some conservatives and parents’ rights groups worry that requiring girls to get vaccinated against the sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer would condone premarital sex and interfere with the way they raise their children. By using an executive order that bypassed the Legislature, Republican Gov. Rick Perry — himself a conservative — on Friday avoided such opposition, making Texas the first state to mandate that schoolgirls get vaccinated against the virus. Beginning in September 2008, girls entering the sixth grade will have to receive Gardasil, Merck & Co.’s new vaccine against strains of the human papillomavirus, or HPV. Perry also directed state health authorities to make the vaccine available free to girls 9 to 18 who are uninsured or whose insurance does not cover vaccines. In addition, he ordered that Medicaid offer Gardasil to women ages 19 to 21. Perry, a conservative Christian who opposes abortion and stem-cell research using embryonic cells, counts on the religious right for his political base. But he has said the cervical cancer vaccine is no different from the one that protects children against polio. “The HPV vaccine provides us with an incredible opportunity to effectively target and prevent cervical cancer,” he said. Opponents say Perry should have let the Legislature decide whether to impose a mandate. “He’s circumventing the will of the people,” said Dawn Richardson, president of Parents Requesting Open Vaccine Education, a citizens group that fought for the right to opt out of other vaccine requirements. “There are bills filed. There’s no emergency except in the boardrooms of Merck, where this is failing to gain the support that they had expected.” Texas allows parents to opt out of inoculations by filing an affidavit objecting to the vaccine on religious or philosophical reasons. Conservative groups say such provisions still interfere with parents’ rights to make medical decisions for their children. The executive order is effective until Perry or a successor changes it, and the Legislature has no authority to repeal it, said Perry spokeswoman Krista Moody. Moody said the Texas Constitution permits the governor, as head of the executive branch, to order other members of the executive branch to adopt rules like this one. Bankrolling state laws The federal government approved Gardasil in June, and a government advisory panel has recommended that all girls get the shots at 11 and 12, before they are likely to be sexually active. Merck could generate billions in sales if Gardasil — at $360 for the three-shot regimen — were made mandatory across the country. Most insurance companies now cover the vaccine, which has been shown to have no serious side effects. The New Jersey-based drug company is bankrolling efforts to pass state laws across the country mandating Gardasil for girls as young as 11 or 12. It doubled its lobbying budget in Texas and has funneled money through Women in Government, an advocacy group made up of female state legislators around the country. Perry has ties to Merck and Women in Government. One of the drug company’s three lobbyists in Texas is Mike Toomey, Perry’s former chief of staff. His current chief of staff’s mother-in-law, Texas Republican state Rep. Dianne White Delisi, is a state director for Women in Government. The governor also received $6,000 from Merck’s political action committee during his re-election campaign. A top official from Merck’s vaccine division sits on Women in Government’s business council, and many of the bills around the country have been introduced by members of Women in Government. Merck spokeswoman Janet Skidmore would not say how much the company is spending on lobbyists or how much it has donated to Women in Government. Susan Crosby, the group’s president, also declined to specify how much the drug company gave. © 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed." I saw this article on MSN.com today and found it to be very disturbing! I think PARENTS should be responsible for making a decision like this for their daughters, not the government. I think this whole mess is a load of crap! :-(

Today was payday for me and one of the things I did when I got off work was stop by the bank - wanted to deposit my check plus withdraw some cash from my savings account. I have been banking with the same bank for 10 years and I must say that in that time, I haven't run into any serious glitches with either one of my accounts. Well tonight, I deposited my paycheck into my checking account, no problem. I then went to make my withdrawal from my savings account. For some reason, my transaction failed. The little slip that printed out said something about me not being authorized to withdraw money from this account. I thought maybe there was a glitch in the system, so I reinserted my card to try again only to get the same error message. At first I was pissed and then I had to chuckle to myself. I thought, "That's funny, I have been making deposits and withdrawals from this account for 10 years until tonight." LOL The last withdrawal I made was about 2 weeks ago and I didn't get any weird messages like this, so I'm very confused as to why I got the message tonight.....So I will have to contact the bank on Monday to find out what's going on...and YES, there is money in the account (more than enough to cover the amount I was going to withdraw)!! hahahahaha :-) So my question is this: has anyone had something like this happen before???? Any folks out there in the banking industry know what something like this could mean?? I'm just really sorta perplexed, to say the least LOL

I'm not one to complain about a slow computer at my job, but the ones we have really ARE slow! LOL When I'm on the phone with someone, sometimes it seems to take forever for my computer screens to change from one menu to another. This is really annoying because a lot of times, people on the other end are people who are really pressed for time and are probably going from job site to job site. Imagine how embarrassing it is when you are on the phone with people constantly saying, "I sure do apologize for my computer being so slow this morning." :-( Luckily people are really understanding of this, but still...it's embarrassing. Well I heard my department is getting new computers!! WOOOHOOO!!!! I know at my last job, the department I was in seemed to always be the LAST one to get anything, let alone something new LOL It was damn near a committee meeting when you asked for new equipment. In that case, you didn't necessarily get something new, but someone else's hand me down equipment - hey, it was an improvement, so you didn't complain!! LOL I guess it just feels good to be at a job - even though it is the county LOL - where they realize the need for new and updated technology and how important it is for our jobs. Just wanted to share!! ;-) LOL

Ever since I started my new job last September, I have had the pleasure of meeting several wonderful new people! There is a lady who works in my building but in a different department as me that I have been getting to know. She is an older lady - today I found out she is 68 and still working! :-) One of the reasons I got to know her is because we both take our lunch break at the same time. We are both really picky about brushing our teeth after lunch, so we tend to run into each other in the restroom. Today I was visiting with her about retirement and what not and when I asked her when she could retire, she said, "Oh I could retire now if I wanted to, but I'm shooting for 70." LOL It surprised me that someone who is of retirement age would actually want to work past that age, but her next comment really took me back. She indicated to me that after she divorced and her kids were grown, she built an addition on to her parents house and moved in to help take care of them. Both of her parents are still alive and will be 90 this year. She said her folks are still in pretty good health, but they are obviously slowing down - shit, they are 90, what would I expect? LOL She said her brother, her kids, and grandkids all take turns coming over to the house to help cook, clean, do laundry and do errands for her and her elderly parents. I thought this was really cool! One of the things she said was that she hoped she never had to put her parents in a nursing home :-( What a tough decision that would be! Not only that, but it would be even tougher on the persons who were facing the move into the nursing home itself, you know? I guess I was really in awe that there are people sill around who don't happily rush their parents off to nursing or retirement homes. There really are kids who are willing to look after their parents when they become elderly and probably shouldn't be on their own anymore. We need more people like this in the world!! :-)

Howdy fellow bloggers! Hope this entry finds you doing well! The KC area received about 3-4 inches of snow last night in a winter storm. Despite the snow we received, we were really pretty lucky! I'm not complaining, but I will be so glad when winter is over LOL It sucks because there are things I want to do but I can't do them because of the weather. Why is it that whenever I feel motivated by something, the damn weather takes the wind out of my sails?? LOL...I anticipate work being slow tomorrow due to the snow. Sometimes being slow is a good thing! When there are little things that need to be done, we are able to catch them up when we are slow. But when those little things start running out, we tend to sit around and just look at each other sometimes LOL (not that we aren't nice to look at! LOL hahahaha).....At any rate, since I'm a little short for words tonight, I just wanted to drop by and say hello to you all and hope you are riding the weather out in your little corner of the world! ;-) TTFN!

I'm going to be in the market in the near future for a new laptop. I'm on my second Mac and I can definitely say it will be my last one. Not that I think Macs are bad, I just think you are limited in what you can do online - especially if you want to download a lot of stuff. It just seems like if you don't have Windows, you are SOL. Not only that, but why the hell are Macs so damn expensive?? I have yet to figure that out! So my question to you all is this: if you have a laptop (or know of someone), what kind do you have would you recommend it to someone???

How many of you like Girl Scout cookies?? It seems like every year, I get hit up by someone at work to buy them and honestly, until this year, I only bought 1 or 2 boxes. Well this year I sorta went all out - I bought SIX boxes of those things! LOL I must admit that the Thin Mints are my favorite - always have been too!! LOL I bought 2 boxes of Thin Mints, 2 boxes of the Shortbread and 2 boxes of the Lemon Iced, or whatever you call them. I haven't had that last kind yet, so I'm not sure if they are any good or not....How many of you were in Girl Scouts or Brownies? I was a slacker and only made it through Brownies for a couple of years LOL Actually, I think I got out of it because it was way too girlie for ME! LOL...Please feel free to share any of your Girl Scouts or Brownie stories! :-)

Howdy bloggers!! Say, have any of you created a page over at MySpace?? I was really not going to join over there due to all the sick perverts that made the news in those infamous DateLine NBC specials about child predators. Seems that MySpace is quite popular with those bastards! (and for all we know, they could be under the radar here as well) I was curious about what MySpace is all about, SO...I caved in and joined LOL I found lots of cool groups for many interests I have :-) I saw this as an opportunity to meet even more people who share the same interests that I have. My question is this: do any of you have a MySpace blog and if so, how would you rate it? Is it worth it, is it overrated? Any thoughts about it??

I'm not sure how the weather is fairing in your neck of the woods, but we have been getting snow and ice for the past 3 days! :-( On top of that, it has been really cold here also! :-( I always complain about the cold weather, but then again, I also complain when it gets really hot too LOL I guess there really is no such thing as a happy medium when you live in the heart of the Midwest LOL I saw an article the other day that said 2006 was officially the warmest year in U.S. history (I think this is what I heard, so if I'm wrong, please feel free to correct me). The weather gets stranger and stranger all the time. I can remember being a young kid having snow days quite often in the winter. We would get hot summers too, but the winters were the real bear most often. I have noticed that as I have gotten older, the winters here have seemed to mellow out a LOT! One of the things that really messes with me in the winter is that thanks to daylight savings time, there isn't as much sunlight. So you get cold AND the dark :-( I belive there is proof that a lack of sunlight really messes with a person mentally. I'm certainly no exception to this :-( I know on days where there isn't much sunlight, I will feel sadder than I should, or I will just feel sad for no apparent reason. All I can say to that is "Thank GAWD for tBlog!" :-) I really enjoy reading everyone's blogs - they seem to help me keep my sanity lately LOL Please keep them up!! :-)

Over the last several years around Christmas time in KC, there has been a story about a local businessman who calls himself "Secret Santa." He is famous for handing out loads of cash every year to total strangers during the Holiday season. He got his start after he himself fell on hard times a number of years ago; he even lived in his car for a while. One day someone helped him with a $20 bill and from that point on, he made it mission to help others in need when he was able to. Secret Santa's identity remained a mystery until this year when he came forward...and sharing that he had been diagnosed with cancer....I saw on the news tonight that Secret Santa has passed away :-( It makes me feel sad that he won't be around anymore to help people, but I'm confident that his story and generosity has touched the lives of others and has inspired them to follow in his footsteps. It's never too late to help out someone in need...Need has no season.

I have been blessed at my new job with some really great co-workers. Everyone I work with - with the exception of one LOL - has been so kind and welcoming to me since my first day on the job :-) There is one guy I work with, "K", whom I think is really nice. Not only is he nice, but he also has a great sense of humor. Having said that, I'm working up to what I think is his inappropriate behavior. He has this habit of walking up behind you without you knowing he is there and then he scares the shit out of you. He either whispers in your ear, or in my case, he will take his finger and touch your ear. He has done this to me before and I didn't think much about it, although it did seem a little weird. I will admit that the first time he did it, I laughed and thought it was kinda cute. Well he has continued this behavior, which I realize is probably my fault because I never told him to stop doing it. For that, I apologize! Well one day last week, he was messing with some plans we have in our office. They are sitting on a wooden stake similiar to what you use for putting a "For Sale" or "Garage Sale" sign in your yard. The plans are then hung in a holding bin for anyone to use. Well he was messing with one of these wooden stakes and I don't know if he meant to do this or not, but somehow the stake he was messing with found it's way across my ASS!! Yesterday I told my supervisor what had been going on. I also told her I was aware of the fact that "K" was in the habit of of messing around with just about everyone in the office - well, mostly the ladies. I have seen him firsthand sneak up behind women and scare them, or whisper in their ear unexpectedly. I just told her that his behavior was making me uncomfortable. I told her everything he had done to me. She told me she was supposed to advise me that if "K" messes with me again, I'm supposed to tell him to stop it. She also said that I need to tell her again if it continues to happen. She was going to document what I had told her plus relay the information to a higher-up who was going to review it against the sexual harrassment policy. I don't really know if this is sexual harrassment or not, but I certainly don't think this behavior should be allowed. There is a time and place to act like this, but the workplace is not one of them. I guess it really just made me uncomfortable because I myself am not a touchy-feely person. I have my moments, don't get me wrong, but when I'm at work, I'm all business. So I guess the thing is this: I'm glad I spoke up about how this behavior made me feel, but I don't want "K" to get into serious trouble...you know? I just think he needs to be made aware that what he does isn't welcome with everyone in the office. I don't know...do you think I'm making something out of nothing??

Today was the second time in two weeks I have ordered Chinese food for lunch with some girls in my office. I don't know about you guys, but I have been seriously addicted to Chinese since I was first introduced to it at the age of 13. One of the things I like is when you have eaten your meal, the server brings you your bill plus the fortune cookie. Now I know fortune cookies aren't always the best tasting (depending on how fresh they are! LOL) and their little messages may seem lame, but have you ever really read them? I will admit that over the years I have dined in Chinese restaurants, I have gotten many fortune cookie messages that were SO not me, or SO not what I was going through at that moment. Well today was an exception; I almost made a note on my calender to remember this important date! LOL I cracked open today's cookie to find a really sweet message. It might not mean much to you, but it was sweet to me, I should say LOL...It said: "The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others." Is that not a cool quote, or what?? So it really got me to thinking...the last few entries I have made, I have had a real sense of accomplishment in the work I have been doing. I don't know why, but the last few days have just gone really well for me and I think this little fortune cookie was just reminding me of what my mission is with the county. I also think it means that the best way to know who you are is to be a friend to someone. I also believe that it doesn't matter how many friends you have, but rather how many people you are a friend to. At any rate, I hope this gives you all something warm and friendly to think about...it certainly made ME think, that's for sure!! :-) Thanks for stopping by!!

Howdy again, bloggers!...As I wrote in my entry from yesterday, it feels really good to be appreciated at my job. Not only have I encountered people over the phone and in person who appreciate me, I'm finding that the plumbers I deal with on a daily basis appreciate me as well. First of all, not to complain, but I'm not especially fond of pet names. I mean, it's one thing to be in a relationship with someone and have them call you "honey," "baby," or "sweetheart," but beyond that, is it normal to feel a little embarrassed when a complete and total stranger uses one of the names when referring to you? I have found myself on the receiving end of such a name as of recently, including today. I was working with a plumber on the phone, taking down his information as to where he needed me to send out an inspector. After the conversation was over, he thanked me with a "Thanks, hon!" LOL I didn't really think too much about it, but it was like, "Dude, I'm not your damn hon." LOL So my question is this: is this a term of endearment, a compliment...or....?? I must be doing something right if I hear it a lot! :-)

Well today was a really good day at work! Part of my job is pretty straight forward in that I have to provide a service to the public. When I first joined the county, I wasn't sure I would be happy doing "customer service-related" work. I must say that I'm finding this to be a pleasant surprise!...Today, I helped several people and I tell you, it was so cool to hear them say "You have been such a big help!" Or, "I hope this person you referred me to is as a big a help as you have been." I tell you, just hearing that makes my day :-) When I first started this job, I really feared receiving nasty phone calls from people experiencing problems they were going to expect ME to be able to fix. It makes you feel like you have accomplished something when you have helped someone and to top it off, they pay you a compliment. It really is nice to know that not every member of the general public is a total asshole :-) LOL