TheCyberWriter

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

I hate to blog about sentimental things, but I just couldn't pass this one up....My folks have a blue heeler dog (cattle dog, in case you are unfamiliar with dog breeds, LOL) that is very much a part of our family and he is about 5 years old. He goes just about everywhere mom and dad go - I even joke that he is their "granddog," as they don't have any grandkids. Zack, the dog, is the most wonderful dog you could ever hope to have! He is so affectionate, smart, and he doesn't know a single stranger! Well last night, Zack became sick :-( I'm hoping it is nothing serious, but still, I can't help but feel sad about his illness. I'm sure my folks are really tripping out also. I guess what I'm trying to get at is that people don't always seem to understand how important our pets are to us. They really DO become a part of your family! They are like our kids and grandkids (for those of us who have neither one of those things LOL). There are going to be people who don't understand why it's so upsetting when a beloved family pet falls ill. They just sit there and say "It's just a dog/cat/etc." To YOU maybe...but to us devoted and dedicated animal lovers, we know better! :-)...Anyway, I would appreciate it if you could spared some positive thoughts and vibes for Zack. Thanks much!!

I have seen this on a few other blogs, so I had to steal the idea for my own blog LOL Hope that's ok!! This is called "5 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Me." 1.) I wasn't afraid of riding the bus to school when I was in high school (it's supposed to be "uncool" when you hit that age bracket LOL). 2.) When I was a lot younger, I had much longer hair....and hated it!! 3.) My first car was a 1965 Mercury Comet Caliente (a classic car that's very collectible!). 4.) I hate cole slaw!! BLECH!! 5.) I think the Australian accent is VERY sexy! :-) Thanks for stopping by to check out my blog!